By Stephen Smoot
Pendleton County girls took a double-digit win over Paw Paw in the regional opener last week, but no one was likely entirely satisfied with the outcome.
Two weeks ago, Paw Paw scored 14 to the Wildcats’ 56 and brought little fight to the competition. Now, facing elimination and the end of their season, a seemingly different shipload of Pirates docked at the port of Pendleton County Middle/High School gymnasium last week. Paw Paw also brought to the game an eight and four record with wins over Highland, Virginia, and a two-point loss early to cross-county Class AAA Berkeley Springs.
This group sought to not keel over to, but keelhaul, the home standing Wildcats.
Eerily like the boys’ game against Union the previous night, Pendleton County took an early 5-0 lead. Paw Paw scored a short basket, but then the Wildcats pushed ahead to a nine to two advantage on a Tia Heavner layup. Paw Paw, undeterred, hit four total free throws at 2:51 and 45.8, tied the game with a three at 7:40 in the second, then took a 16-12 advantage at the 4:43 mark.
Paw Paw opened with a defense designed to take out Wildcat long distance sharpshooter Jameigh Miller. A box zone defended the area near the basket while a single player tracked Miller one on one. This slowed the Wildcat attack. Miller’s point total dipped well below her season average, but she made her presence felt on defense. On several occasions as Pirate leading scorer Shayla Tanouye drove in for a fast break layup, Miller foiled the play and prevented the score in a game where every point mattered.
Pendleton County fought back inside. Susan Vincell used a post move to lay the ball in at the 3:23 mark in the first half. Then Lexi Tingler took a rebound and sent it back up for a score, tying the game at 16. Despite the effort, the Wildcats looked up at a 20-16 Paw Paw lead as the half closed.
Tingler took the game to the Pirates in the first seconds of the second half, making two free throws after pulling down an offensive rebound and attempting a shot. Vincell swiped the ball at the 7:42 point, then tied the game about a minute in with her own layup.
In the second half, coach Travis Heavner returned the favor of using his best defender to lock down Paw Paw’s most active scoring threat. He assigned Jessica Parker, Shayne Clutter, and Olivia Gonshor in turn to the task of sticking by Tanouye literally anywhere she went on the court. Each played tight defense, rarely allowing her space to operate with or without the ball. They did so effectively and largely without committing the kinds of fouls that such defense normally generates.
Pendleton County gradually edged forward in the third, outscoring Paw Paw 14 to six, but not taking the lead for good until Vincell drove for a layup at the 2:29 point, then pushed past two defenders to score with 54 seconds remaining in the third. It gave the home team a four-point advantage in a game where baskets at times seemed as difficult to score as touchdowns in football.
A Paw Paw layup made it a two-point game once again with 6:47 left, but a minute later, Miller took one dribble in and arced a 15-foot pull up shot. Paw Paw scored another layup countered by two Tingler free throws. Tingler hit one of two at the 2:38 point with the Wildcats getting a 35-30 lead. Vincell then completed the old-fashioned three-point play with an offensive rebound, layup, foul, and made free throw.
A Vincell steal and a pass to Tia Heavner led to her making two free throws with under two minutes in the game. This ended any real threat by putting the Wildcats up nine with 1:26 to go and the defense playing well.
Pendleton County gave a hard effort on the floor, but seemed to lack confidence on offense at times. Coach Heavner was looking for players to seize the wheel, push forward, and blow the doors off Paw Paw.
Vincell and Tingler used physical play to fight for points either from the post or the free throw line as the game came toward a close, but Paw Paw defended them effectively at times as well.
Pendleton County looked ahead to Tucker County in the “win and you’re in” scenario. On Wednesday, they traveled up the mountain to play. The Wildcats have closed the gap somewhat on the Mountain Lions this year, slicing a huge margin of defeat in the first game in half during the second.
That said, this young team with a few experienced leaders has taken great strides this season in building experience and confidence, racking up a number of wins in February and emerging as a contender in the region for a playoff berth.
