By Stephen Smoot
This season for the Pendleton County grils’ varsity basketball squad has greatly resembled the climb of a high elevation mountain. Every move to take a step forward or elevate themselves has come with tremendous effort and heart. Every move has also resulted in lessons learned as a young team often undermanned due to illness this season, has pushed them ahead.
The week leading up to the Friday night matchup brought a highlight in a strong showing at Moorefield. Pendleton County handled the Yellow Jackets in Franklin earlier in the season and prevailed on the road 62-54.
Susan Vincell brought a big game inside, torching Moorefield for 20 points and grabbing 22 rebounds. Jameigh Miller started slow, but scored big baskets down the stretch on her way to a 14-point night. She led the team with four assists as well. The steadily improving Lexi Tingler dumped in 10 points. Jess Parker scored eight, and Tia and Katie Heavner both scored five.
On Friday evening, Parker was unavailable, but the team battled hard against a Tucker County team that has enjoyed thus far a dominant year, losing only to Wayne and Southern Garrett.
The game opened with a hustle play. The tip angled toward the sideline and Katie Heavner dove to deflect the ball off the opposing player out of bounds, giving her team the opening possession. Miller took a drive in to the basket, flipping a finger roll into the bucket, drawing a foul, and completing the old fashion three-point play to put her team on top initially.
Both sides brought great effort and effective defense in the first half. The Wildcats kept the home team off the scoreboard until the 6:25 point when the Mountain Lions swished a 10-foot shot. Tucker County used their experience and athleticism to wrest away steals from the Wildcats, but the visiting team held their own as well for a time. Tia Heavner prevented the second basket by blocking a layup on a fast break.
Tucker County, though, took a 6-3 lead with a three-point shot and a subsequently made free throw at 4:34. Pendleton County closed to within one after Tucker County fouled Vincell, who converted both free throws. The Mountain Lions, however, scored seven straight to take a 13-5 lead by the end of the quarter.
Olivia Gonshor hit a free throw early in the second, but the home squad hit a layup to extend their lead to nine. Tucker County would extend their lead multiple times in the second quarter, but the Wildcats would claw and scratch their way back into the fight. They looked to break the game open late in the first half, building up a 22-10 lead at 2:23.
Miller found Vincell for a five-foot shot to cut into the lead. Then Gonshor added another free throw at 33 seconds, with Tingler adding another at 16 seconds. The 12-point advantage shrank to seven as the half closed out.
It took a minute for Tucker County to find the basket in the third quarter, but Vincell battled for an offensive rebound and put in a layup to cut the lead to 24 to 16. Tucker County answered with a three.
Pendleton County generally passed and rebounded well on the offensive end, finding good shooting opportunities, but struggled to convert on them. Tucker County’s shooting found a way to parry every Pendleton County thrust.
Tingler drove for a layup at the 4:24 mark, but her team then faced a deficit of 34-20. Mountain Lion momentum took over the rest of the quarter, opening up a 46-27 advantage that expanded to 54-27 with just over seven minutes left.
Then the game took a different turn than the 36-point loss at home endured just two weeks prior. Pendleton County refused to surrender.
After a Miller basket, Tia Heavner pulled down an offensive rebound and laid it in to cut the lead to 54-30. Lauren Williams then swiped a steal and got the ball to Tingler for a layup. The Mountain Lions at 3:38 hit a three, but Vincell followed with a layup. Tingler followed with a steal that she took nearly the length of the court for a 57-36 score. Vincell then took a pass and completed a shot from foul line extended at the 2:30 point.
Tucker County’s offense had degenerated into just shooting threes at this point, but no longer hitting them. Tingler hit two more shots as the game wound down, an offensive rebound converted into a layup and a high arcing eight foot running shot with 14 seconds. Lily Brogan’s defense and rebounding at the defensive end helped to keep Tucker County off the scoreboard late.
A 59-43 result will rarely warm a coach’s heart if on the wrong end of it, however, the Wildcats showed a great glimpse of games and seasons to come. They halved the margin of loss to one of the best teams in West Virginia Class A in just two weeks by refusing to give in even with the game result no longer in doubt.
Susan Vincell prepares to shoot a free throw as Tia Heavner (13), Katie Heavner (40) and Jameigh Miller (24) prepare to react when the shot goes in.
