MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Mohigans looked like they could do it: Upset the eighth-ranked Hawks (17-7) and claim the Region I, Section 2 title. After the Mohigans surmounted a late comeback down the stretch in the second quarter to take a one-point lead at halftime, the script entirely flipped in the second half as University pulled away for the 45-30 win.
Almost everything good that can be said about Morgantown (13-11) revolves around center Kaitlyn Ammons who had 19 points in the first half, hitting five triples and two quick layups to bring the Mohigans one point ahead of their rival at 23-22 going into halftime.
But in the second half, Ammons touched the ball less than five times as the Hawks stormed ahead.
“You don’t expect a 6-3 center to come out [like that],” UHS coach David Price said. “I knew she could make them, I knew she could shoot the rock. I just didn’t realize she was going to shoot at that pace – she was on fire.
“We needed to address [Ammons]. Ashten took that responsibility on her shoulders and I thought she did an incredible job. Seven points [over two quarters] is a big defensive job against that team. I don’t think we slowed up a bit [offensively], I think we slowed them up.”
To her credit, Boggs was much better in man coverage in the second half against Ammons, but it wasn’t the only reason the talented big saw hardly any touches – the Mohigans looked like a different group in the final 16 minutes. A stifling Hawks defense held Morgantown to seven points in the second half, four of which came from Ammons.
Meanwhile, the Hawks used a dagger 9-0 run to get some breathing room in the opening minutes of the third quarter before they slowed down the action and chewed clock, effectively taking any of Morgantown’s residual momentum away from them.
“[Ashten] denied [Ammons] the ball, she made it tough for her to get in a position where she would like to score,” Price said. “Sometimes you’ve gotta meet them away from the block. You can’t let them have whatever they want. She did a real good job of fighting that.”
With that big first half, Ammons was the only player making a major contribution, accounting for 82% of the Mohigans’ offense through the first two quarters. Cat Wassick had a few open shots that didn’t find the basket, and the junior guard was held to just one point off a single free throw in the fourth quarter. Berit Johnson, another constant contributor, was unable to find any room and was held to an assist role. And Lindsay Bechtel, one of the Mohigans’ rising stars this season, had just two points.
“They did a good job of taking [Ammons] away,” MHS coach Jason White said. “They played a soft man on other kids and tried to deny her with Ashten Boggs and Boggs did a nice job of it. We couldn’t get her the ball in the wing, we tried to put her in the block a couple of possessions, we really struggled to get the ball to her. That’s what we just talked about: We just didn’t pass the ball well tonight. We had things and people open, we just couldn’t get people the ball.
“I think that speaks to the physicality of the game. We tried to make passes without a very good space.”
University, on the other hand, had three girls in double digits. Mallory Napolillo led the Hawks with 11 points, while Ashen Boggs and Lauren Dean each had 10.
“We need to be able to take care of mismatches like [tonight],” Price said. “We’ve been talking about sharing the ball and get the ball moving to move defenses. You can’t just catch and hold it, catch and hold it, and think the defense isn’t going to be in position. The better we move the ball and make cuts, the better we look like a team.”
When asked of the pivotal opening run in the third, White noted it was a “crucial” turning point in the game.
“Over this last eight-game win streak, a team starts to go on that run and we’ve been able to stop that run and regroup and tonight it kept snowballing. We could never get it back,” he said. “If anything, it probably sped us up and made us more impatient. We were trying to play with a 5-second shot clock and try to get it all back in one shot, and we can’t do that. We’ve got to be methodical about what you’re doing and get that thing back possession by possession.”
Up next
Morgantown: The loss to University doesn’t end Morgantown’s season, thanks to the WVSSAC system of a co-regional final. However, it sends MHS to face the winner of No. 1 Wheeling Park and John Marshall on the road.
University: The win gives the Hawks home-court advantage over the loser of the Patriots and Monarchs.
Each game will tip off next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
BOX SCORE
MORGANTOWN (13-11)
Ammons 9 0-0 23; Bechtel 1 0-0 2; Peasak 1 0-0 2; Sweeney 1 0-0 2; Wassick 0 1-2 1. Totals: 12 1-2 30.
UNIVERSITY (17-7)
Napolillo 3 5-5 11; Boggs 2 5-5 10; Dean 4 0-0 10; Coen 4 0-2 8; Sharkey 3 0-0 6. Totals: 13 10-12 45.
MHS 10 13 4 3 – 30
UHS 15 7 18 5 – 45
3-pointers: MHS 5 (Ammons 5); UHS 3 (Dean 2, Boggs)
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