MORGANTOWN — The University girls’ basketball team welcomed the top-ranked team in Class AAA Fairmont Senior on Thursday night but couldn’t hold off the Polar Bears despite an early lead as UHS (7-9) fell 47-43.
If you’ve ever heard the saying “basketball is a game of runs,” that was proven in the opening quarter. The Hawks seized the early momentum 5-0 and had FSHS (17-1) confused on offense, which forced an early timeout. Then it was the Polar Bears turn for their own run as they scored the next seven points of the game to take the lead by two at 7-5 halfway through the first.
The difference through the first quarter was turnovers. UHS struggled with the on-ball defense of FSHS, particularly Emily Starn, who stole the ball multiple times from the hands of the UHS ball-handler. Ella Simpson stepped up for the Hawks in the first, however, and pace them with seven points as they found themselves ahead 13-10 at the end of one.
To open the second, Starn continued to pester the UHS guards as the full-court press was applied by FSHS. This allowed the Polar Bears to keep the Hawks scoreless through six minutes of the quarter as they grew their lead to six points at 19-13 on the heels of a 9-0 run. UHS’s Lyla Byers finally broke the drought with a 3, as well as a lay-up from Emily Sharkey after a steal. Despite only scoring five points in the second, UHS only allowed 12 by FSHS which kept them within four at the break, 22-18.
Out of the locker room to begin the third, each team found a few baskets back and forth. Free throws allowed the Polar Bears to keep their slight advantage at 38-31 going into the final quarter. They shoot 22 total for the game to just 11 for UHS.
With its back against the wall and desperate to seize momentum, UHS scored four quick points while the Polar Bears found themselves going cold. They watched their once seven-point lead (38-31) be cut to just one point with 3:55 to play. Simpson scored 2 of her 17 to give UHS its first lead since the first quarter at 39-38 with just three minutes to play.
A Polar Bears timeout gave both teams a quick breather before the sprint to the finish. FSHS continued to press in the full-court and force a few crucial turnovers in the final minutes. With the clock running down and trailing in the game, fouling became a necessity. FSHS standout Marley Washenitz scored 9 of her 24 points at the stripe and helped her team secure a hard-fought victory 47-43.
“I thought we did great defensively, we executed our game plan on defense,” UHS head coach Nick Lusk said. “The fourth quarter rebounding killed us and we had our turnover issues, but we held them under 50 defensively and I’m proud of that.”
This loss comes just one night after facing Class AAAA No. 4 ranked Wheeling Park and it won’t get any easier for the Hawks as they turn around to host the top-ranked AAAA team and defending state champion Huntington on Saturday at 3:15pm.
Fairmont Senior (17-1)
Marley Washenitz 17 9-12 24 Meredith Maier 12 3-6 12 Laynie Beresford 11 0-0 8 Reagan Blasher 5 0-0 2 Emily Starn 11 1-2 1.
University (7-9)
Ella Simpson 16 2-2 17 Lyla Byers 5 1-2 8 Aza Boateng 3 4-6 6 Emily Sharkey 7 0-0 5 Eden Gibson 9 0-1 4 Hannah Stemple 6 0-0 3.
FAIRMONT SENIOR 10 12 16 9 – 47
UNIVERSITY 13 5 13 12 – 43
3-pointers: University 4 (Sharkey 1, Byers 1, Stemple 1, Simpson 1); Fairmont Senior 4 (Beresford 2, Washenitz 1, Maier 1)
