Parkersburg girls going for first state tournament in 20 years

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Parkersburg was the top Class AAA girls basketball program in the state in the late 80s and into the 90s as the Big Reds captured six state championships.

The last title was won in 1996 — and Parkersburg hasn’t made it back to the tournament since 1997.

Veteran head coach Kenny DeMoss is hoping that changes this year as he has helped develop a very young team that is balanced and battle tested recent wins over Morgantown, Greenbrier East, Spring Valley, Woodrow Wilson and rival Parkersburg South.

In fact, Parkersburg had won eight in a row prior to Saturday’s 67-61 MSAC title loss to top-ranked Huntington.

“We switched our lineup (eight games ago) when I asked a senior to come off of the bench and we went a little bit bigger with another freshman,” DeMoss said. “Since then, we have just really pounded the glass. Our rebounding is what has helped us do what we do – especially on the offensive end.”

The Big Reds have a group of four seniors on the roster, with several talented freshmen mixed in.

“We have five kids that average between 10 and 12 points per game and three of them are freshmen in Bre Wilson, Maddie Mace and Aleea Crites,” DeMoss said. “We have a sophomore Shaylee Kirby and seniors Alex Delozier and Hanna Carroll. Our first six are just very, very disciplined, unselfish and they just want to win.

“These are young and they make mistakes, but they’re getting better and they’re getting more confident with each other,” DeMoss said. “They trust one another and what we are telling them to do. At times, we look so good – but we haven’t really played four full quarters of basketball yet. But I’m hoping that happens this last part of the season.”

DeMoss is excited about the potential of his 17-5 team, but he knows it can come to an end quickly with a flat performance once the post season begins this week. The Big Reds on Friday will face either Parkersburg South or Ripley for a sectional championship.

Parkersburg moved to Region 4 this year in Class AAA after watching Morgantown come out of its previous region for state championships in the last three seasons.

“We feel good about our game,” DeMoss said. “If we do what we do, we like our chances. We lost in three regional finals, three years in a row to Morgantown. But we still don’t have an easy path (to the state tournament), and now we’re in a new region where the No. 1 team in the state is in that one, too.”

DeMoss was recently named the new principal at Parkersburg High and will have to give up coaching after this season in his new position.

“I had to give up coaching or I wasn’t going to get the (principal job),” DeMoss said. “At the end of the day, I’ll have to give up a really good group of kids for the next three years and I’m okay with that — because I know that I have more work to do when it comes to the school as a whole.”

But he still has one final run at the helm this year as the Big Reds look for a return to the state tournament.