By Stephen Smoot
As first-year coach Travis Heavner’s girls’ squad eyeballs the end of this regular season and prepares to challenge in the post, the lessons learned start to accumulate and the team itself take shape. Older players with playoff experience have helped to mentor the younger. Individuals have gained confidence and skill against an occasionally unforgiving schedule.
East Hardy contested the opening tip, diving for the ball as it rolled toward the end line, but the Wildcats took the possession. Before the end of the first minute the Pendleton County press, courtesy of Jameigh Miller, had taken the ball and drawn a foul. Tia Heavner converted on both free throws to give her team a lead that it built fast and never relinquished.
When the season opened, coach Heavner had a number of guards with raw talent, but less experience running an offense. Miller provided help as a “point forward,” using her ball handling skills and experience to manage the offense. This gave guards like Lexi Tingler and Tia Heavner an opportunity to grow into more game management responsibility and allow Miller to focus on scoring and rebounding.
Tia Heavner and Tingler also have developed badger-like belligerence on defense, harrying opposing guards up and down the floor. Tingler committed larceny on the Cougars nine times in the contest.
That intensity on defense helped to build the lead. Tia Heavner swiped a ball and took it in to double the score to 4-0 with just under seven minutes left in the first. Miller, 30 seconds later, made her first three-point shot to put the score at 7-0.
The next score came when Tia Heavner forced the Cougars into a turnover with stingy defense. Jessica Parker drove towards the basket, made a little stutter step to fool the defense, then dished the ball to Tingler for a 10-foot jumper and a 9-0 advantage.
Relentless defense created opportunistic offense the rest of the quarter as Pendleton County racked up a 21-2 lead with 1:31 left in the first. Then came the other byproducts of hard defense, fouls from plays of hustle and defensive aggression that allowed East Hardy to increase its point total to six by the end of the stanza.
Leading 24-6, the Wildcats did not let up as the second quarter opened. East Hardy cut into the lead as officials whistled Pendleton County for infractions on defense, putting the Cougars on the line repeatedly to open the second. At the 5:30 mark, East Hardy had whittled the lead to 14. Leading scorer Susan Vincell put her first points on the board by hauling down an offensive rebound and laying it back in for a score to give her team a 28-12 advantage.
Wildcat defenders collectively have improved on anticipating passes, jumping into the passing lanes in their man defense, and disrupting plays. Players like Olivia Gonshor, Shayne Clutter, and Laura Brogan’s effort plays could not always be quantified into statistics, but in getting hands on balls, putting themselves in the way of plays, grabbing key rebounds, and in all the little things supported the winning effort of the team. Brogan fought hard under the basket while Gonshor and Clutter frustrated the opposition with their speed and agility.
Vincell asserted herself more as the game went on. With a second under three minutes in the first half, her layup put her team up 34-13. She remained a force under the basket, leading her team with 16 points, dominating in offensive rebounds with seven and adding five on the defensive end as well. Tia Heavner came in right behind with 10 rebounds on the night.
As the second quarter came to a close Lauren Williams, another player making huge strides in service to the team, wrested away one of her four offensive rebounds and scored right before the buzzer. The halftime score was 43-20.
In the third quarter, the two old hands did much of the scoring work. Miller continued to work from outside. She made four of eight from behind the three-point line and Vincell continued to do her blue collar work of keeping Cougars off the boards and adding to her team’s lead underneath.
Pendleton County’s lead continued to build. Katie Heavner took a fast break drive in for a layup near the close of the quarter to put her team up 59-20 with 2:18 remaining.
Pressure from Pendleton County eased in the fourth and East Hardy got the benefit of a strict whistle. Much of the scoring came from East Hardy long shots and free throws.
After Vincell’s 16, Parker put in 14, Miller 12, Tingler 10, Tia Heavner eight, Lauren Williams five, and Katie Heavner four. Tingler led the team with eight assists while Parker and Miller each contributed four.
