By Stephen Smoot
Robert C. Byrd, as they hosted its own tournament, probably did not reckon on having a huge fight on their hands in the opening game. After all, their Class AAA size on paper should have made it dominant versus the Class A Wildcats.
That said, birds should always stay wary of aggressive cats!
Throughout the first half, Robert C. Byrd and Pendleton County battled evenly. The Wildcats lean heavily on two scoring mainstays from last year to drive their offense. Senior Jameigh Miller, a Potomac State signee for basketball, has changed roles from last year. She would move from the post to the wing, rebounding and scoring well. This season, Travis Heavner, head coach, asked her to assume more of the ballhandling duties in addition to giving the team a strong threat to score from outside.
Susan Vincell, junior center for the Wildcats, operated at will inside against the Flying Eagles until they started throwing more bodies and playing more physically against her. With three minutes left in the second quarter, their head coach could be heard throughout the building, shouting, “You better get 42!”
Not long after, “42” grabbed an offensive rebound, scored a layup, and put her team up 19-18.
At the two minute mark, Robert C. Byrd connected on a three-pointer to retake the lead 21-19. Not long after, Miller drove in for a layup and picked up a free throw. With just under a minute, Jess Parker hit Vincell with a lob that she laid in for a 26-21 lead. The Flying Eagles, however, closed out the half with a last second three for a 26-24 lead.
Pendleton County and Robert C. Byrd got their best shots in against each other in the third quarter. The home team tied the game quickly, but Vincell got fouled on an offensive rebound and putback attempt. Her free throws restored the two-point advantage, but the Flying Eagles tenaciously answered 30 seconds after.
Miller with under six minutes in the third dribbled to eight feet, pulled up, and drained the shot. A minute later, she drove to the same spot and pulled up, but found two defenders awaiting her. Undeterred, she pivoted and faked twice, shook off the defenders, and hit the open shot to put her team up four. After the home team closed the lead to 32-31, Tia Heavner fired a pass to Katie Heavner for a layup to extend the advantage.
The third quarter saw the home team playing more aggressively on defense, but the calls more often put that squad on the line. They converted a number of free throws to edge ahead as the third quarter wore down. Over the next four and a half minutes, extending into the final quarter, the Flying Eagles scored eight straight to seize the lead for good at 39-34.
Tia Heavner’s 17-foot shot from the wing narrowed the gap at the 6:25 mark, but the home team hit a layup to set the score at 41-36. Miller drained a three, but the Flying Eagles answered with a layup. With 3:37 left, Vincell’s pass to Parker put the Wildcats within three, but the Flying Eagles took off afterward to seal the win.
Shayne Clutter’s old style running one hander bank shot closed scoring for the game. Robert C. Byrd prevailed 53-44 in a game much closer than the final score indicated.
In the tournament final, the Wildcats played well, but fell to Elkins. Competition against larger schools, however, has served to help Pendleton County perform better later in the season against Class A rivals.
