MORGANTOWN — The recipe for success on the offensive end of the court is simple for the University High girls’ basketball team.
When you share the ball, good things happen.
In their regular-season finale Tuesday night against Hampshire at UHS, the Hawks scored early and often, on their way to an 84-46 win.
In the first quarter, UHS scored 25 points from five different scorers, led by Ella Simpson, who scored 13 of her game-high 32 in the first eight minutes.
It seemed like the Hawks always made the extra pass when needed, leading to many wide-open looks from all over the court, especially from the perimeter. They finished with 15 3-pointers in the game, led again by Simpson’s seven from beyond the arc.
“I definitely think we’re a very unselfish team,” she said. “Whenever we share the ball, that’s when we’re at our best. Everyone looks for each other; I don’t think anyone is playing a selfish game. As long as we get those passes and move the ball, we do really well.”
Perhaps the most selfless player on the court was senior guard Eden Gibson, who made just one shot – a 3-pointer in the first half – but finished with a game-high eight assists. She was followed by fellow senior Emily Sharkey and sophomore Hannah Stemple, who each had five assists.
The smooth offense also allowed the Hawks (14-7) to press, which wreaked havoc on the Trojans (11-10), especially in the first half. HHS struggled to even inbound the ball during a tough sequence in the first quarter, where UHS scored eight points in just 12 seconds.
“When we’re playing like that and sharing the basketball like that, we’re usually pretty good,” Hawks head coach Nick Lusk said. “We got a lot of good open looks, which when we get open looks, we usually knock them down. I thought defensively, we did a nice job tonight with the way we changed some things up.”
It was a balanced scoring effort for UHS – the only other player to score in double figures was Stemple, who had 12 points. Sharkey, Aza Boateng, Lyla Byers and Julia Maisel each had eight.
For HHS, Isabella Blomquist was the only player to finish in double figures with 12 points.
With the top seed in Class AAAA Region I, Section 2 already clinched, Lusk just wanted to see his team stay crisp as the postseason awaits next week.
“I told them just to come out with effort and play the way we can play,” he said. “That’s what I wanted them to do and that’s what they did. We came out and did exactly what we wanted to do. We took care of business and if we continue to do that, we should be in good shape.”
After losing the regional championship last year to Morgantown, the Hawks are ready for an opportunity to get back to Charleston for the state tournament, beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 as UHS hosts 4-seed Preston.
By SEAN MANNING
University 84, Hampshire 46
HHS – 11 12 17 6 – 46
UHS – 25 24 20 15 – 84
Hampshire (11-10) – Ault 4 0-0 9; Blomquist 5 1-2 12; Cook 3 0-2 8; Pryor 2 4-7 8; Baxter 1 0-0 2; McBride 2 0-0 4; Da. Knight 0 0-2 0; Shanholtz 0 0-0 0; De. Knight 0 0-0 0; Kerns 0 0-0 0; Call 0 0-0 0; Jenkins 0 0-0 0; Sions 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 5-13 46.
University (14-7) – Sharkey 3 0-0 8; Gibson 1 0-0 3; Boateng 3 2-2 8; Simpson 11 3-3 32; Stemple 4 2-2 12; Byers 3 1-1 8; Maisel 3 0-0 8; Weaver 1 0-0 2; L. Simpson 0 0-2 0; Fox 1 0-0 2; Alexander 0 0-0 0; Campbell 1 0-0 2. Totals: 31 8-10 84.
3-pointers: HHS 4 (Blomquist. Cook 2, Ault); UHS 15 (Sharkey 2, Gibson, E. Simpson 7, Stemple 2, Byers, Maisel 2).
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