FAIRMONT, W.Va. — East Fairmont smothered James Monroe throughout the first half, holding the Mavericks to two field goals and nine points as the Bees went on to a 58-43 win Monday in the East Fairmont Classic.
“We were pressuring the ball and our recovery was really good,” Bees’ head coach James Beckman said. “They broke a few traps and our execution getting out of those traps was crucial. They missed a lot of shots too, which allowed us to get out and run.
“We held them to four points in the second quarter and a crucial part of the game was the second-quarter run.”
After Karissa Hunnicutt hit an early 3-pointer to give the Mavericks (6-7) a 5-4 lead, the Bees (6-7) prevented James Monroe from making another field goal the remainder of the first half.
East Fairmont also got six points from Somer Stover during a 9-0 run to close the first quarter, allowing the Bees to lead, 13-5.
Five different EFHS players accounted for a field goal during an 11-0 Bees’ surge in the second quarter, making it a 20-0 run in all and a 24-5 lead.
James Monroe managed to make 4-of-6 free throws over the final 45 seconds of the half to face a 15-point deficit at the break, though it made only 2-of-18 field goals through two quarters.
But the Mavericks discovered their offense in the second half and needed only 3:45 of action to match their point total from the first two quarters when Hunnicutt’s layup made it 33-18.
That was the start of a 12-4 James Monroe run that brought the Mavericks to within 37-28, before the Bees’ Tatum Oates scored to beat the third quarter buzzer.
A triple by James Monroe’s Akayla Hughes started the fourth-quarter scoring to cut the East Fairmont lead to 39-31, but the Mavericks got no closer.
Instead, the Bees went on a 9-1 run to double their lead with Stover scoring five straight points to help put the game out of reach.
“We settled in late in that third quarter and we were able to weather the storm by slowing down, pacing ourselves and putting a run back together,” Beckman said. “The high-low game with Tatum and Somer was working well and that’s what spurred that late run was them looking for each other.”
Stover finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead the way in the win.
Morgan Boroski led the Mavericks with 12 points.
Fourteen of James Monroe’s 21 turnovers came in the first half.