Down by 15 early in the second quarter to powerful rival Wheeling Park, Morgantown had no fewer than seven chances to tie or take the lead down the stretch, but couldn’t get a shot to fall as their comeback fell short, 52-50.
The No. 2 Patriots (6-1) sprinted out to a 17-5 first quarter lead behind the sharp shooting and dribble penetration of guard Lindsey Garrison, who scored 15 of her game-high 17 points in the first half. The fourth-ranked Mohigans (2-1), still playing their way into basketball shape after the team was put on hold by COVID-19 earlier this month, seemed out of sorts and tentative on offense. When Park extended their advantage to 22-7 two minutes into the second quarter, MHS coach Jason White spent a timeout to refocus his group and insert Revaya Sweeney into the mix. The dividends were immediate, as she energized the Mohigans with a driving bucket, several defensive stops and rebounds, and with 45 seconds left, a huge triple to cut the lead to six. Even though WP picked up a late score to lead by 28-20 at the break, the Mohigans were back in it.
“I thought Revaya really helped us turn the game around,” White said. “She picked us up, injected some life into our game on both ends, and started to get us believing in ourselves.”
A big, 20-point third quarter for MHS led by guard Cat Wassick and eight points from Lindsay Bechtel got the Mohigans to within a single point for the first time at the 3-minute mark. But while Morgantown’s defense bottled up Garrison, that left room for forward Bella Abernathy to drive in the paint. She took the ball hard to the rack, scoring a lay-up or getting to the foul line often when the Mohigans most needed a defensive stop.
Several more times from late in the third through the final quarter, MHS had possession with a chance to tie or lead, but they just couldn’t get a shot to fall. After a full-court press caused a turnover and a conversion to get it to 47-45 with a minute left, Park connected on a home run pass and lay in to extend back to four, and only Sweeney’s triple at the buzzer brought the final deficit to within two.
After the game, White could not have been more proud of the way his team battled.
]“It just speaks to the senior leadership we have,” he said. “We easily could’ve packed it in early in the second quarter, but instead, the girls knew that hadn’t played well, and there was plenty of game left to be played. The fact that we got it down to a one-possession game – against one of the best teams in the state – gives us a real big shot in the arm.
“It seems like we’ve had one bad quarter in every game we’ve played this year, and that just comes from limited practices and limited scrimmages. We’re in kind of on the job training mode for cleaning up the little details that can make all the difference against good teams. I really like our team, they’re very special, and I guarantee this game and the lessons we’ve learned will make us a better team when the games really matter come tournament time.”
The Mohigans host John Marshall on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
WHEELING PARK (6-1)
Lindsey Garrison 6 2-2 17 Naliah Lekanudos 2 0-0 4 Asia Roby 1 3-8 5 Zariah Marling 0 1-2 Maggie Stakem 4 0-0 8 Morgan Bohrer 1 0-0 2 Bella Abernathy 5 7-9 17 Totals 18 13-21 52
MORGANTOWN (2-1)
Lindsey Bechtel 5 0-0 13 Kat Wassick 2 0-0 5 Mia Henkins 1 0-0 3 Berit Johnson 2 3-4 7 Kerrington Peasak 1 0-0 3 Ravaya Sweeney 3 3-4 11 Katelyn Ammons 3 2-4 8 Totals 17 8-12 50
Wheeling Park 17 11 13 11 – 52
Morgantown 5 15 20 10 – 50
Three-pointers – WP 3 (Garrison), MHS 8 (Sweeney 2, Peasak, Henkins, Wassick, Bechtel 3)
