CHARLESTON, W.Va. – North Marion opened up Thursday’s girls basketball state tournament quarterfinals with a comfortable 58-24 win over Poca, holding the Dots to the lowest shooting percentage in recorded Class AA state tournament history.
No. 6 Poca (18-8) made just 6 of 44 shots for 13.6 percent shooting — the previous record was 16.9 percent shooting by Sissonville back in 1985 against Williamson.
“Wow – that team is good,” said Poca coach Kenny Sayre. “They’re just so relentless on defense. Five-in and five-out, they come and get you. We were getting shots and some open looks, but we just couldn’t make anything.
“I knew that was going to be a factor, first time being here,” Sayre continued. “North Marion has been here, they know the court, they know the rims and I knew that was going to be key for us. They’re pretty daggone good.”
No. 3 North Marion (22-4) scored 25 points off of 24 Poca turnovers.
“We were moving good on defense – we have times in the season when we stand around,” said North Marion coach Mike Parrish. “That’s one thing we stressed this week – moving and getting over picks. They run good motion offense and are moving a lot. We didn’t give a lot of open looks and we limited their chances.”
The fewest points ever scored by a team in the Class AA state tournament was 23 by Guyan Valley back in 1991 — a last second 3 from Autumn Smith Thursday kept the Dots out of that record column.
“Today just wasn’t in the books for us,” said Poca’s season leading scorer Casey Skeens. “I didn’t make a field goal – I normally score the ball. But North Marion did a great job and they are all over you the whole time – pressure, pressure, pressure.”
The Huskies led from start to finish, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead and taking a 28-14 advantage into the break. A 9-0 run to start the third quarter pushed the North Marion lead out to 37-14.
“Setting the tone early makes the other team jittery and puts you in control,” said North Marion guard Christa Tobin. “When you’re in control, there’s nothing else your opponent can do. When you beat them down like that, they get down on themselves and pretty much give up.”
Poca was making its first state tournament appearance since 1999. The 18-8 season and state tournament run was a significant cap to a complete rebuild for the Dots over the last handful of years.
“You don’t understand where this program was at five or six years ago,” Sayre said. “We didn’t have a team. These two seniors (Casey Skeens and Sarah Fisher) came to me and said ‘we’re here for you, Coach. We’ve got your back.’”
Tobin led North Marion with 13 points in the win, while Smith led the Dots with seven points. Overall, North Marion showed its depth as all 15 players got on the court and 13 of them scored.
“It’s a good win for the program,” Parrish said. “We’ve been down here the last four years and lost in the first round. It’s great for the seniors who have worked hard and put a lot of time in – we’ll see what happens from here.”
North Marion moves on to face either Fairmont Senior or Bridgeport in Friday’s semifinal at 11:15 a.m.