Monday night’s girls’ basketball game between Morgantown High and visiting Preston looked to be a match-up between two teams moving in opposite directions.
While the Knights were in the midst of a brutal stretch of five road games in eight days — limping into MHS on a three-game losing skid — the resurgent Mohigans had recently defeated a pair of No. 7 teams (South Charleston and Martinsburg) to climb all the way back to .500.
As the regular season was winding down and the sectional tournament close on the horizon for both teams, both teams needed to add some momentum.
The answer was clear and obvious as Morgantown, behind center Kaitlyn Ammons’ 23 points, defeated the Knights, 53-29.
The Mohigans (11-10) forced several early Preston turnovers, and then fed Ammons on the block, resulting in eight points in the paint, and a 13-6 first quarter lead. When Ammons scored another pair of early second quarter buckets, the Knights (12-9) wisely decided to double her, but that left guard Cat Wassick free to drive for a conventional 3-point play and a 20-9 lead midway through the quarter.
The collapsed Preston zone defense forced Morgantown to shoot from distance, and it took advantage of the opportunities, as Ammons and Kerrington Peasak drilled triples to give the Mohigans a commanding 28-14 advantage at the break.
After a five-point run by the Mohigans to begin the second half, the Knights fought back with a six-point run of their own to get it back to 36-22, but sharp shooting from Lindsay Bechtel late — including a big 3-pointer — grew the Mohigans’ lead back to a comfortable 21 points heading into the final frame.
Substitutions ensued in the fourth quarter, which resulted in the 53-29 final.
Preston JV coach Rick Maczko coached the Knights in place of Brian Miller, who has taken a leave of absence from the team after the death of a family member. Maczko admitted that that had an impact on the team.
“Our heads just weren’t in this one. It’s been real tough on us,” he said. “We have to play with lots of fire to be successful. I know the kids wanted to play well, but it’s been a very emotional time, it was tough to get up for the game like we need to.
“We knew their big (Ammons) would get her points,” he continued. “We hoped that we could shoot well enough to keep us in the game early, but we struggled a bit, and they started to hit from the outside. That’s a pretty tough offense to handle when they shoot it well.”
Morgantown coach Jason White knows that his team appears to be peaking at just the right time.
“We’re so young, and we started 1-6, and we could’ve buckled at that point, so to be above .500 at this point is really pretty great,” he said. “We’ve grown up so much throughout this season, and now we’re taking all those hard growing pains, all the mistakes and lessons learned and transformed ourselves,” he said. “Girls have found their roles, and we’ve begun to think much less in terms of ‘me,’ and more in terms of ‘we,’ and it’s made a huge difference.”
When asked about the emergence of Ammons, White explained how summer injuries have slowed her down until now.
“She’s had to play herself into game shape, because she was so limited in her summer work,” he said. “So she’s really learning how to read what the defense is giving her, and she’s so willing to make the extra pass to good, confident shooters that we’re starting to become a pretty tough team to match up against.
“We’re excited about how far we’ve come, where we are right now and we think we might be — both this year and in the future — on the verge of something special.”
The Knights close out their regular season on the road today at John Marshall, while Morgantown travels to Parkersburg South on Thursday night.
