WHEELING – Wheeling Park was so hot Thursday night that Preston nor a false fire alarm could stop the Patriots from advancing to their seventh W.Va. girls state basketball tournament in the last eight years.
Wheeling Park, ranked No. 2 in the final state Class AAAA poll, scored 40 points – a season-high for any quarter – in the first eight minutes and never looked back in romping past Preston, 91-18, in the Region I championship game inside the ‘Palace on the Hill.’
Utilizing their tenacious full-court pressure, the Patriots (21-4) forced the Knights (11-14) into a whopping 17 turnovers in the opening quarter. They finished with 34.
“I thought we created a lot of havoc defensively in the first quarter,” Wheeling Park head coach Ryan Young said. “Seneca Heller got her hands on a lot of passes, which created offense. After Natalie got her first shot down, she just continued knocking them down.”
Natalie Daugherty was sizzling in the first quarter as the senior scored 19 of her 25 points. She drilled five of her seven treys in the period, while Lala Woods had a trio of triples and Alexis Bordas chipped in 12 points. The three combined for all 40 points as the hosts shot 12-for-21 (57%) from the floor, including nine of 13 from behind the bonus arc. They finished with 16 trifectas on 37 attempts (42.3%)
“We are a hungry bunch right now,” Young noted. “The girls are really focused and ready for next week.”
Wheeling Park led 51-12 at the half and was ahead 62-12 with 5:09 left in the third quarter when the fire alarm sounded. The gymnasium was evacuated for safety reasons while Wheeling Park staff members and members of the Wheeling Fire Department checked the building with negative results.
Following the 20-minute evacuation period and another three minutes of warmups, the Patriots enjoyed a 75-14 margin after three quarters as the Knights only scored six second-half points.
“George Washington will probably go in as the favorite. We just hope we can get to the finals again,” Young said.
The Patriots fell to Morgantown in last year’s title tilt.
Bordas led Wheeling Park with 30 points, while Daugherty had 25 and Woods 15. Bordas also charted six steals, four rebounds and three assists, while Woods had five helpers, four boards and a trio of thefts. Jillian Huffman recorded five steals, four rebounds and a like number of assists, while Seneca Heller added six steals and four assists. Merritt Delk came off the bench to register seven rebounds and six assists.
Wheeling Park led 32-19 off the glass and only had eight turnovers. They charted 25 assists and 26 steals.
Kendra Nazelrod had five points to lead Preston.
The state tournament starts Wednesday inside the Charleston Civic Center and Coliseum. The No. 2 seed, the Patriots will play No. 7 Washington in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:15 p.m.
By KIM NORTH/The Intelligencer
BOX SCORE
Wheeling Park 91, Preston 18
PRESTON (18) – Simmons 0 2-2 2; Wilson 0 2-2 2; Miller 1 0-0 3; White 2 0-0 4; Nazelrod 1 3-4 5; Sheets 1 0-0 2; Totals: 5-25 7-8 18.
WHEELING PARK (91) – Bordas 11 5-6 30; Woods 5 0-0 15; Daugherty 8 2-2 25; Heller 3 0-0 6; Huffman 2 0-2 4; Hicks 1 0-0 3; Delk 1 0-0 2; Downer 1 0-0 2; Hunt 1 0-0 2; Miller 1 0-0 2; Hupp 0 0-0 0; Dalton 0 0-0 0; Totals: 34-65 7-8 91
