By KIM NORTH
Weirton Daily Times
WHEELING, W.Va. — All that stood between Wheeling Park High and a fourth consecutive trip to the West Virginia girls’ state basketball tournament was a Morgantown team that had lost twice to the Patriots — by scores of 58-42 and 47-39 — earlier in the season.
However, there’s an old adage in sports that it’s tough to beat a team three times in the same season. The Patriots (20-4) found that out the hard way Tuesday night.
The unranked Mohigans (14-11) executed their game plan to near-perfection in order to stun No. 1 Wheeling Park, 50-49, in the Region I championship game.
With the win, Morgantown advances to the state tournament, which begins March 11 in Charleston.
“Considering the situations, I think this is as big of a win that there ever has been in program history,” Morgantown coach Jason White said. “This is a team that started off 1-6, and at one point we were 5-10, with no seniors. To battle back … and the focus these kids have had in practice … all the credit goes to them.”
For Wheeling Park coach Ryan Young and his squad, it’s a case of “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”
“We didn’t expect it to end like this. They [Wheeling Park seniors] deserved better than this,” Young said. “Morgantown played a great game and they shot the ball very well. It felt like there were times when they never missed.”
The teams played on even terms, for the most part, with Morgantown holding a 15-14 lead after one quarter, before Wheeling Park rallied for a 27-24 advantage at halftime.
The visitors went ahead 40-38 with 8 minutes left, with a trip to Charleston on the line. The Mohigans’ largest lead was seven. Wheeling Park’s was six.
The contest was deadlocked four times in the final quarter, the last coming when Morgantown’s Cat Wassick drove to the basket and was fouled as her shot went in, tying the game at 49 with 13 precious seconds left to play. The junior calmly sank the ensuing free throw for a 50-49 lead, which forced Young to call a timeout.
The Patriots advanced the ball down the floor and passed it around several times before point guard Shanley Woods found the ball in her hands on the left wing. The senior sliced her way through a pair of defenders before meeting up with Tori McDowell, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, who blocked the game-winning attempt and then secured the rebound with 0.4 seconds remaining.
The Mohigans held the ball for a large portion of the game, including a major part of the fourth quarter, making Wheeling Park come out and defend. When the Mohigans did shoot, they were on target 50 percent of the time (20 for 40) and only had nine turnovers.
“We wanted to limit their possessions. They’re so dangerous,” White said of the Patriots. “We thought if we could limit their possessions, we would have a chance at the end. That’s exactly what happened.”
Kaitlyn Ammons led Morgantown with 16 points and nine rebounds. Berit Johnson added 14, including four 3-pointers, and Wassick added 10.
Woods tied Ammons for game scoring honors with 16. Lindsey Garrison added 12 — all on triples — and Bella Abernathy finished with 11.
“Our seniors have worked too hard to not go down there (to Charleston) again and get a shot at winning (a state title), but I’m still proud of them. It’s a tough way for them to go out, but it just wasn’t our night,” Young said. “It was Morgantown’s and that’s what happens in playoff basketball sometimes.
“When you get in a one-game scenario like this, this stuff happens all the time. Hats off to them.”
Wheeling Park only turned the ball over six times, but shot just 36 percent (16 of 45) from the floor.
