MORGANTOWN — Two teams heading in different directions met on the hardwood Tuesday evening as cross-town rivals Morgantown and University played for the second time this season.
Morgantown (13-7) entered the game having lost six of its last seven games while the Hawks (11-10) entered winners of seven of their last eight, including four straight.
Those trends reversed Tuesday as the Mohigans picked up a 65-54 win on their home court inside the Rowdie Center.
“I think it’s big for the girls,” MHS coach Doug Goodwin said. “We had a tough stretch there where we played some very talented teams. It’s a great boost for us.”
The difference in the game was the fourth quarter, in which the Mohigans outscored their rivals 23-15, powered by 14 points in the frame by freshman Kayli Kellogg.
Kellogg, who finished with a game-high 30 points, hit on three straight three-points in the fourth to maintain the MHS lead and secure the win. The final two threes both came in response to three-pointers by the opposition that had cut the lead to three.
“We lost Kellogg a couple of times and that hurt us,” UHS coach Nick Lusk admitted.
Bri Fox’s fourth-quarter trey cut MHS’s lead to 49-46 before Kellogg responded. Hannah Stemple then hit a three to make it 52-49, but Kellogg responded again to put the Mohigans back up six.
“That’s huge, but that’s the confidence she has in herself to get out and make those shots,” Goodwin said.
The Hawks never got that close again as MHS closed out the final four minutes to pick up the victory.
“I think (Kellogg’s) confidence has grown a lot,” Goodwin said. “All of us have been in a little bit of a shooting slump, but we’ve stayed and got some shots up this week, which I think has benefitted us.”
Kellogg’s fourth-quarter outburst was key for Morgantown as University had securely won the third quarter. Trailing 33-27 at halftime, the Hawks turned up the pressure on defense in the third, forcing Morgantown turnovers that led to quick baskets. UHS had a 10-2 scoring run in the frame.
“I thought we really pulled it together,” Goodwin said. “We got off to a really poor start in the third. We didn’t control the possessions very well to get started and gave up some buckets but in the fourth quarter we turned it around.”
Despite hitting eight three-pointers of their own Tuesday, University couldn’t keep pace with the Mohigans’ scoring without turning them over.
“Number one, they hit shots and we didn’t,” Lusk said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. We struggled (Tuesday). If Ash (Weaver) gets what she gets scoring-wise and Bri Fox gets what she gets, I’m feeling pretty confident that we’re winning that game and we just didn’t have others step up and score and that was the difference.”
Weaver led University with 15 points while Fox had 12. Ella Simpson and Stemple each finished with 11.
“University High is a good team, they’ve got good shooters,” Goodwin said. “They’re not going to lay down and it’s always going to be a battle.”
Behind Kellogg’s 30, Paige Smith finished with 11 points and Sofia Wassick had nine.
Morgantown will close out the regular season tonight at Buckhannon-Upshur. University travels to Preston on Thursday.
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 65, University 54
UHS 14 13 12 15 — 54
MHS 17 16 9 23 — 65
UNIVERSITY (11-10) — Weaver 6 0-0 15; Maisel 3, Braham 2, E. Simpson 11, Stemple 11, L. Simpson 0 0-0 0; Fox 4 2-2 12; Johnson 0 0-0 0.
MORGANTOWN (13-7) — Wassick 4 1-2 9; Hatcher 1 0-0 2; Jones 3 0-2 6; Kellogg 12 1-2 30; Smith 4 0-0 11; Howell 2 0-0 5; Paulen 1 0-0 2.
3-Pt. Goals — University 8 (Weaver 3, Stemple 2, Fox 2, Maisel 1). Morgantown 9 (Kellogg 5, Smith 3, Howell 1).
Fouled Out — Morgantown: Hatcher.
