CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Keya Bartlett sparked a 21-2 second-half run with five 3-pointers, lifting No. 3 Parkersburg South to its first state title since 2006.
The Patriots (20-7) beat fifth-seeded Logan 58-34 on Saturday night as Bartlett made seven 3s overall to tie the Class AAA tournament single-game record. Bartlett scored a game-high 26 points, and upon burying long-range jumpers on three straight possessions, she ignited Patriots fans to chant “Threeia Bartlett.”
“It just felt amazing,” Bartlett said. “It makes me feel good to hear the crowd go crazy after I make a shot.”
Parkersburg South coach Scott Stephens said Bartlett made the difference: ”We came out and played well to start out, but it was still a ballgame at half. Then (Keya) caught fire and got the momentum going our way.”
Logan (17-10), which never led, was paced by Shayna Gore’s 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Monica Mitchell chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.
“We played tight the entire game and that’s to be expected, but I’m so proud of them,” said Logan coach Kevin Gertz. “I want them when they go in the locker room, to look at the big trophy that we’re taking back and remember everything we achieved. We were (ranked) 144 three years ago and now we’re No. 2.”
Parkersburg South freshman point guard Tayrn McCutcheon, who had the duties of guarding Gore, scored nine points and handed out 13 assists, most of which wound up in the hands of Bartlett.
“She was tough,” Gore said. “I’ve never seen anyone play that fast before.”
Bartlett, who was 7-of-17 from deep, tied the 3-point record shared by Erica Glance of North Marion, Taylor Wheeler of Huntington, and Kristy Akers of North Marion, and broke the record for most 3s in a tournament with 14.
Bartlett said of the records: “It’s awesome, and I’m going to break it next year.”
Led by two freshmen, McCutcheon and Katelyn Bryd, and sophomore Bartlett, Parkersburg South wasn’t expected to make such a magical run.
“Everybody doubted us, (said) that we were to young to come up here and win,” said Bryd, who chipped in 11 points in the victory. “Just because they doubted us so much it pushed us even more to win here, and we did.”
Parkersburg South started off the year 0-3 and wasn’t thinking about making it to Charleston, let alone winning a state title. But the Patriots finished the year winning 20 of their last 24 games to cut down the nets.
“We got beat by a really good Fort Frye team, and Wheeling Park comes in and wipes us out of the gym and University comes in and beats us,” Stephens said. “Then we got a few wins, including a 100-point game that put a little more energy in the team and made practices a little more fun to come to. And everything started to come together.”
Class AAA All-Tournament Team
Shayna Gore, Logan
Madison Morris, Spring Valley
Tayrn McCutcheon, Parkersburg South
Hannah Tothe, Logan
Leah Taylor, Morgantown
Sarah Kelly, Spring Valley
Keya Bartlett, Parkersburg South
Monica Mitchell, Logan
— CJ Ricker