Local Sports, Morgantown, Sports

Morgantown moves past John Marshall behind strong second-half performance

MORGANTOWN – The Morgantown High girls’ basketball team defeated the John Marshall Monarchs 76-34 inside the Rowdie Center on a chilly Friday night.

Sophomore Kayli Kellogg led the Mohigans (7-2) with 21 points, senior Sadaya Jones added 11, and Lucie Hatcher finished with 10.

MHS had nine different scorers in the contest.

The Mohigans led by 15 at halftime, 36-21, before using a 26-5 advantage in the third quarter to pull away from the Monarchs (4-5).

Morgantown’s Sydney Deusenberry (2) jumps up for a layup against John Marshall on Friday night.

“Our press wasn’t great in the first half. It wasn’t bad, but we talked a few things over in the locker room, and I loved how we came out in the third quarter,” MHS head coach John Fowkes said. “I think our girls are starting to trust what they’re doing in practice more and applying it to games. We had a new group with a new coach at the beginning of the year, and it’s all starting to come together. We had the flu bug run through the team, which was a tough time, but after that was over, we had some great practices, and we couldn’t wait to get back on the floor tonight.”

MHS opened the game on the front foot, leading 15-7 midway through the first quarter. But the Monarchs didn’t allow the hosts to extend an early lead and kept the Mohigans’ lead at single digits after one, 20-12.

The hosts began the second quarter with a quick 7-2 run, which grew to 11-4 with 2:30 left to play until the break. The Mohigans didn’t allow John Marshall any open looks, contesting every shot and controlling the boards on the misses. MHS grabbed 23 defensive rebounds during the game and entered the locker room, leading 36-21 at halftime.

Morgantown’s Kayli Kellogg (12) defends the ball against John Marshall on Friday night.

The Mohigans opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run through the first three minutes. The run eventually grew to 17-0 as John Marshall had no answer for Jones and Hatcher rebounding the ball.

Jones finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on Friday night.

“We don’t think about who is scoring:” she said. “We just want to win, and we know there are other ways to impact the game besides scoring points.”

Fowkes says Jones’s ability to impact the game in as many ways as she does is crucial to their success.

“She is a Division-I signee and player, so we need her to do a little bit of everything if we want the most from her,” Fowkes said. “She knows her strengths, and when she shares the ball like she did tonight, I think we have a good chance against any team.”

The Mohigans outscored John Marshall 40-13 in the second half to earn their seventh victory of the season. They will travel to Martins Ferry (Ohio) on Monday.

BOX SCORE

Morgantown 76, John Marshall 34

JM 12 9 5 8 – 34

MHS 20 16 26 14 – 76

John Marshall (4-5) – Reese 4 3-4 13 White 0 2-4 2 Storm 1 4-4 7 Inclan 1 0-0 3 Miller 1 0-0 2 Finley 1 0-0 2 Shock 0 1-2 1 Babacheck 2 0-1 4

Morgantown (7-2) – Kellogg 9 1-1 21 Jones 5 1-2 11 Hatcher 5 0-0 10 Nelson 4 0-0 9 DeVries 3 0-0 7 Porter 3 0-0 6 Duesenberry 2 0-0 5 Alsop 1 0-0 3 Taylor 2 0-0 4 

3pt goals made: John Marshall 4 (Reese 2 Storm 1 Inclan 1); Morgantown 6 (Kellogg 2 Duesenberry 1 DeVries 1 Nelson 1 Alsop 1)