By Greg Carey
CHARLESTON — Parkersburg Catholic’s girls basketball team is usually at its best when the Class A No. 2 Crusaderettes are able to force an abundance of turnovers.
In Friday’s Class A semifinal against No. 6 Trinity, Parkersburg Catholic forced the Warriors into 26 turnovers. While PC may not have been at its best, it put forth a relentless effort plenty good enough to secure a 51-39 victory at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
“Our girls were special again today,” PC coach Marty Vierheller said. ‘We didn’t have our best offensive performance, but I’d put our defensive performance up against any game we’ve had this year and that’s special.”
The Crusaderettes (24-1) will play in the Class A title game at noon Saturday against the winner of Saint Joseph Central/Wheeling Central.
The Warriors (18-9) shot 28 percent and made only 10 field goals over the first three quarters. Trinity guard Reagan Shap was hounded throughout by PC freshman Leslie Huffman, who helped hold her to 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting two days after Sharp scored 40 in a quarterfinal win over Magnolia.
“We watched film yesterday and it brought about the feeling that we couldn’t let her turn the corner,” Huffman said. “That’s what killed us last time.”
Leading 24-18 at halftime, PC benefited from a strong third quarter by center Emma Gardner. Gardner, who entered the state tournament averaging four points per game, scored her team’s first six points in the period to help the Crusaderettes take a 38-25 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Emma’s a very capable scorer and has great hands and soft touch,” Vierheller said. “Our girls trust her and she trusts them.”
Trinity never got close than 11 over the game’s final eight minutes.
“Parkersburg Catholic’s pressure really got to us and we kind of got to ourselves,” Trinity coach Mike Baldy said. “We had a lot of turnovers and high passes and we didn’t catch them. Everytime we started chipping away, a pass was flying over someone’s head or into the stands or into someone’s hands from Parkersburg Catholic.
A strong start to the semifinal was also key for PC, which ran off 10 straight points after trailing 3-0. Madeline Huffman and Aaliyah Brunny each hit a pair of field goals in the opening quarter to help stake PC to a 12-5 lead, while the Warriors were outscored 6-0 in points off turnovers.
Trinity found its offense in the second period, closing the deficit to 14-12 on Kaylie Laskody’s conventional three-point play at the 6:18 mark.
After the Warriors’ Rachel Rosen scored to pull Trinity to within 15-14, the Crusaderettes answered with a 7-0 run that featured a 3 from Madeline Huffman and layups by Leslie Huffman and Brunny.
The 6-foot-3 Rosen finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds and made 6-of-11 field goal attempts, but the rest of her team made only 10-of-46 shots.
“I knew coming into this game that they didn’t have what Magnolia had down low and I’d have an advantage there,” Rosen said. I remembered they didn’t have any girls close to my size so I tried to play my best and used what I’ve learned throughout the season.
Gardner scored 13 of her team-high 15 points over the final two quarters.
Brunny had an impressive all-around stat line of 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, seven steals and five blocks.
Madeline Huffman and Leslie Huffman each finished with nine points and the sisters combined for 11 assists.
PC held a 20-5 advantage in points off turnovers, which played a big role in the Crusaderettes avenging their only loss of the season — a 64-62 setback to the Warriors on Dec. 22.
“We knew they were going to want to speed us up,” Baldy said, “and they had a great gameplan.”
Trinity played without guard Paige Dixon, who displayed symptoms of a concussion after suffering an injury against Magnolia.
