KINGWOOD, W.Va. — A Class AAA girls basketball regional battle royale broke out at Preston High between the No. 10 Knights and No. 8 University Friday night, but not before a lighting malfunction delayed the start for 35 minutes. And while it took both offenses quite a while to warm up, the Hawks’ white-hot, man-to-man defensive pressure was in place from the opening tip, allowing UHS to open a big second-half lead and hold on for a 52-42 victory.
Despite averaging over 60 points per game this season, Preston (8-2) had only scored a single point five minutes into the game, while UHS could only manage six. After the sloppy, defense-dominated 1st quarter, the Hawks (7-4) fed senior Ashten Boggs down low in the 2nd quarter on their way to an 8-2 run and an early 18-8 lead. Finally, the Knights found some success driving to the rack, and a huge 4-point play from Chesney Manko cut the lead to 19-16 before a pair of Boggs lay-ups gave University the halftime lead, 23-18.
In the third quarter, the versatile Boggs nailed a big trey, then converted a pair of stick-back lay-ins to expand UHS’s advantage to 13 at 37-24 with 1:30 left. But PHS coach Brian Miller, with nothing to lose, turned to a full-court press defense, and it worked like a charm. The Knights forced eight 4th quarter turnovers, one more than the Hawks had committed in the first three quarters combined, and the combination of some transition baskets and an aggressive offensive effort from Michelle Thomas — who scored 10 of her team-high 13 points in final quarter — allowed Preston to whittle the lead down to 46-42 with 1:50 left.
But the Hawks spread the floor, allowing Boggs to create in isolation. She would penetrated for a critical lay-up, then hit four more clutch foul shots down the stretch on her way to a game-high 27 points to finally put it out of reach.
“I thought we did a nice job with our half-court defense in the first half,” UHS coach David Price said. “We finally started to provide the kind of helping defense we’ve wanted all year, and we did it for good long stretches. And Ashten was terrific tonight both inside and outside, despite the fact that she’s battling a sinus infection. I thought we fouled too much, and we could’ve handled their pressure better and put this one away earlier, but that was a quality win.”
For Miller, his team’s short-term objective certainly wasn’t met, but there were plenty of positives to glean from the loss, especially from the Knights’ furious final push.
“University is such a strong, physical team and Boggs is a real match up challenge,” he said. “After tonight, there’s no doubt in my mind that they are a top-5 team in the state. But I told our girls that we were down big twice in this game, and we never surrendered, and cut it to four points. Plus we had chances to score after that. That is the definition of resiliency, and if I had to do it again, I would’ve gone to the press earlier, so you can put this one on me.”
In the JV game, the Knights defeated the Hawks 56-47. PHS was led by Emma Burns’ 22 points and Dalaynie Myers with 13. Emily Cordrey scored 15 and Kelsie Kyle chipped in 10 for University.
The Knights travel to Fort Hill, Md., on Monday for a 7:30 p.m. interstate road game while the Hawks return home next Saturday afternoon, hosting Huntington at 3:15 p.m.
UNIVERSITY (7-4)
Lauren Dean 2 0-0 5 Ashten Boggs 8 10-10 27 Kassidy Wolfe 1 0-0 2 Emily Sharkey 1 2-3 4 Abbie Coen 4 1-2 9 Mallory Napolillo 1 3-4 5 Totals 17 16-19 52.
PRESTON (8-2)
Kylie Felton 1 0-0 2 Michelle Thomas 4 4-5 13 Izabela Stahl 2 0-0 4 Tori Garlitz 3 4-4 10 Carsynn Sines 4 1-2 9 Chesney Manko 1 1-1 4 Totals 15 10-12 42.
UHS 10 13 14 15 — 52
PHS 6 12 8 14 — 42
3-pointers: UHS 2 (Boggs, Dean); PHS 2 (Manko, Thomas)
