MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a fast-paced first quarter Tuesday night, the University High girls’ basketball team made six shots in the first eight minutes and even took a 14-13 lead into the second frame.
After that, the Hawks made just six field goals the rest of the game.
Buckling down defensively, the Mohigans, playing just their second game of the season after a 14-day COVID-19 shutdown, controlled the pace on their way to a 54-37 win at UHS.
MHS (2-0) opened its season Monday against South Charleston at West Virginia State and it was the Mohigans’ defense again that hurled them to a win, allowing 38 points to the Black Eagles.
“We’re winning games right now because of our defense, and not because of what we’re doing offensively,” head coach Jason White said. “It’s about attention to detail … knowing who their players are, what their strengths are and taking away what they do well.
“We won’t get beat with their best doing what they do.”
Of the Hawks’ (4-3) 12 total makes, six were from beyond the 3-point line. Points in the paint were hard to come by, thanks in large part to senior Kaitlyn Ammons. On top of her team-leading 18 points and 10 rebounds, Ammons contested almost every shot under the basket.
“We stuck with the key game plan, which was to keep the ball out of some of their key players’ hands,” she said. “We communicated a little bit more. We just got off a big two-week break because of COVID, it’s huge that we communicate because not everyone is in shape yet.”
After seven practices, the Mohigans were forced to shut down because of an outbreak within the team. Starting nearly two weeks after the rest of the state, conditioning was the biggest concern coming back, so White wanted to get a strong rotation going.
Against UHS, MHS played 11 players, with 10 seeing significant action at about 7-8 minutes. Berit Johnson was the only other Mohigan to score in double figures with 11 points. As thrilled as White was with his defense, he didn’t feel the same about his offense.
“Offensively, we’re just such a work in progress,” he said. “At times, we execute well, but at other times, it’s like we’re trying to play at 110 and we’re not even capable of playing at 80. We’ve got to slow things down a little bit.”
The Hawks have already played seven games in 13 days — before Tuesday, they played three straight days from March 11-13. A young team looking to replace significant production from last year, especially in the post, UHS is continuing to figure out what works best.
Lauren Dean led the Hawks with 12 points, while Ella Simpson and Eden Gibson each added 9.
The Mohigans will host No. 1 Wheeling Park in their home opener at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, while the Hawks will travel to Parkersburg South to play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
MORGANTOWN (2-0)
C. Wassick 1 0-0 2; Ammons 8 0-0 18; Johnson 4 0-0 11; Bechtel 1 5-6 7; Peasak 1 0-0 3; S. Wassick 1 3-4 5; Henkins 0 2-2 2; Hawkins 1 0-2 2; Brown 0 0-0 0; Sweeney 0 0-0 0; Moore 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 8-10 54.
UNIVERSITY (4-3)
Dean 3 5-6 12; Sharkey 0 0-0 0; Gibson 3 0-0 9; Simpson 3 2-4 9; Jordan 1 0-1 2; Weaver 2 0-0 5. Totals: 12 7-10 37.
MHS: 13 16 15 10 – 54
UHS: 14 5 12 6 – 37
3-pointers: MHS 6 (Ammons 2, Johnson 3, Peasak); UHS 6 (Dean, Gibson 3, Simpson, Weaver).
