CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The 2015 high school girls basketball season comes to a close on Saturday as three championship games are set. Morgantown and St. Joseph Central will look to defend their titles in Class AAA and Class A, while Class AA is assured to see a new champion crowned.
CLASS AAA
No. 1 Morgantown (25-1) vs. No. 2 Parkersburg South (23-4), 7:15 p.m.
Parkersburg South’s 64-41 semifinal win over South Charleston on Friday night was the final piece to the puzzle as the past two Class AAA girls basketball state champions will square off in the title game for the second year in a row.
It will be the fourth meeting between the teams this year, with Morgantown holding a 2-1 edge.
“They do a great job and we both try to do lots of similar things,” said Parkersburg South coach Scott Stephens. “It’s fun to play against them.”
The Mohigans upset Parkersburg South (23-4) a year ago on the Charleston Civic Center floor as the Patriots were the top seed. South will be looking to return the favor on Saturday.
“I get nervous every time we play Morgantown – not anxious, it’s just so much fun to play Morgantown,” said Parkersburg South guard Taryn McCutcheon. “We have friends on that team and real competitors. I think that gets the adrenalin going.”
McCutcheon on Friday night scored eight points and dished out 11 assists in her team’s win over South Charleston. Keya Bartlett led the way overall, scoring 21 points, while Anna Hayton added 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Morgantown earlier on Friday beat Huntington in the other Class AAA semifinal, 48-42. Sydney Holloway led Morgantown with 12 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Olivia Seggie’s 11 points as the Mohigans made it back to Saturday’s championship game.
“We’ve known throughout the year that we are going to take people’s best shot,” Morgantown coach Jason White said. “That’s what we want. We’ve been preparing for this day all year against a difficult schedule. The kids cherished being the underdog, because that was motivation – the fact that people doubted what you could or couldn’t do.
“Now, the motivation is to prove that we’re the No. 1 seed for a reason,” he continued. “They’ve done a great job.”
CLASS AA
No. 2 Fairmont Senior (24-2) vs. No. 4 Sissonville (23-3), 2:30 p.m.
It’s Fairmont Senior’s first trip to the girls basketball state championship since losing to Wheeling Park in 1998 out of Class AAA. The Polar Bears won the 1997 Class AAA title, beating George Washington 47-30.
After needing overtime to survive the Class AA quarterfinals, Fairmont Senior wasted no time putting away sixth-seeded Lincoln in Friday’s girls basketball semifinal. The Polar Bears, led by senior standout Emily Stoller, scored the game’s first 16 points and coasted to a 65-35 win. Stoller finished with 22 points, following up her 32-point effort in Thursday’s win over Bridgeport.
“I’m just glad we have an opportunity, what we do with it is on us,” Fairmont Senior coach Corey Hines said of getting to the title game. “I’m just thankful, blessed and very humbled. It’s a situation where I’ve had some great kids. It’s all because of them.”
Sissonville is into the state title game for the second year in a row after losing to Westside a season ago. The Indians had plenty of drama in Friday’s semifinal win over No. 1 Wyoming East, 55-54, erasing a seven-point deficit with under three minutes to go.
Sissonville was led by Karli Pinkerton’s 20 points on Friday, while Madison Jones added 15 and Mikayla Long finished with 13.
A win on Saturday would be the Indians’ first girls basketball title since 2003.
“It’ll be the fourth game in two years against Fairmont Senior,” Sissonville coach Rich Skeens said. “They’re a very, very good team and they play a lot of bodies. We have our work cut out for us.”
A season ago, it was Sissonville taking down the No. 1 seed as well in the semifinals. The top seed that year? Fairmont Senior.
CLASS A
No. 1 St. Joseph Central (19-5) vs. No. 2 Wheeling Central (23-3), 12:00 p.m.
Wheeling Central is back in the Class A state championship game for the first time since 2012 after beating Tucker County on Friday 52-40.
“All year long, since we were eliminated last March by Charleston Catholic, we’ve been trying to get better for this season,” said Central senior Regan Blaha who scored nine points. “I couldn’t ask for any better teammates for my senior year. This win today just means the world to us and we will get some rest and prepare our best for tomorrow.”
The Maroon Knights are up against St. Joseph Central as the Irish will be going for a seventh consecutive state title. While the St. Joe program has won six straight titles, this year’s group has had a lot of newer faces in more prominent roles.
In Friday’s 51-27 semifinal win over Charleston Catholic, Destiny Sims scored 13 points to lead St. Joe, Kendra Ziegler scored 12 points on four three’s, while Alexis Hall added 10 and Mychelle Johnson scored seven.
“(St. Joe) is the team to beat and they have been,” said Wheeling Central coach Penn Kurtz. “They have a very good team and create a lot of problems when you try to defend them. They will be the favorite, we’ll have to play a great game and these young ladies are capable of doing that. We’re just thrilled to be playing on Saturday.”
Wheeling Central was led in Friday’s semifinal by junior Lindsey Baker who scored 26 points, going 16 of 19 from the free throw line.
“You can’t foul her,” said St. Joe coach Shannon Lewis said. “That’s what we talked about today – they will miss most of the shots if you step up and challenge them, but if you foul them, they’ll go to the line for two free shots and usually make them. (On Saturday), if (Baker) is hitting jumpers from 15-feet with a hand in her face, that’s fine. Just don’t smack her and foul her.”
Wheeling Central’s last girls basketball state championship win came back in 2008 — a four point win over St. Joseph.
“They’re as well-coached as anybody,” Lewis said of Wheeling Central. “We’ve felt, coming in, this matchup was a collision course. They took care of their side and they’re so good on the defensive end. They have some athletes who will try to keep us in check. It’ll be a bit of a chess match, we’ll have to make some plays and someone will have to make some shots.”
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