MORGANTOWN — There was a battle of state champions Friday night and the Morgantown Mohigans came out on top, defeating Kennedy Catholic (Pa.), 47-41 at the BFS Tip-Off Classic at University High School.
The Mohigans (2-0) are the resigning West Virginia Class AAAA champions while Kennedy (1-1) is the reigning Pennsylvania 2A champion.
The contest came down to the wire as the score was 41-41 with 1:40 to play. Lily Jordan’s jumper gave MHS a 43-41 lead and the Mohigans made their free throws down the stretch to hang on for the victory.
“You want games that are exciting, you want games that challenge us and I thought that game challenged us to no end,” MHS coach Doug Goodwin said. “I thought we were very patient and attentive in the second half to instructions given. The girls just did a great job of keeping calm.”
Morgantown built a 25-11 lead in the second quarter on a 16-point run, but KC battled back after halftime to knot the game 37-37 entering the final frame.
“We always talk about time and score,” Goodwin said. “And that’s really what we focus on, that play, the next play, the next minute.”
Jordan finished with 12 points for MHS, eight of which came in the fourth. Kayli Kellogg and Sadaya Jones each had 16 to lead the team.
Kennedy Catholic was led by center Layke Fields’ 21 points.
Morgantown 47, Kennedy Catholic 41
KC 11 6 20 4 — 41
MHS 13 12 12 10 — 47
KENNEDY CATHOLIC — Pfleger 1 0-0 3; Vincent 2 1-2 6; Magestro 2 0-0 6; Fields 8 5-8 21; Harvey 1 0-0 2; Shimrack 1 0-0 3; Thompkins 0 0-0 0.
MORGANTOWN (2-0) — Wassick 0 0-2 0; Jones 6 4-6 16; Kellogg 6 2-3 16; 4 4-4 12; 1 0-0 3; Hatcher 0 0-0 0; Howell 0 0-0 0.
3-Pt. Goals — Kennedy Catholic 5 (Magestro 2, Pfleger, Vincent, Shimrock). Morgantown 3 (Kellogg 2, Smith).
