CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Wyoming East girls basketball coach Angie Boninsegna wasn’t sure what level her team would play at offensively Wednesday against Mingo Central.
With that in mind, Boninsegna tried to instill in the second-seeded Warriors that defense and rebounding would be critical against the seventh-seeded Miners in a Class AA quarterfinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
The message was heard loud and clear as Wyoming East forced 28 turnovers, held the Miners to 10 field goals and won the battle of the boards by 16 to earn a 60-32 victory.
“It’s about the kids executing what we want them to do and they really buy into if we play defense and rebound, we’ll be OK,” Boninsegna said.
The win allows Wyoming East (9-2) to face Petersburg in a semifinal Friday.
Although the Miners shot 60 percent in the opening quarter, they only attempted five shots, while the Warriors made 8-of-16 field goal attempts to race out to a 22-8 lead.
The Warriors used an 11-0 run to go ahead for good after the game was tied at 5. Seventeen of Wyoming East’s first-quarter points came off turnovers, while nine were off second chances, putting the Miners in an insurmountable hole in their first trip to the state tournament.
“With first time events, there’s a bit of nervousness, but I’m proud of them for getting here,” Mingo Central coach Kim Davis Smith said. “We got a little nervous and outside of our game plan today. We had to be very steady with our game plan to have a chance. I feel like that was the difference in the game, but Wyoming East is a great team.
Mingo Central (9-5) made only 2-of-12 shot attempts in the second period as it fell behind 36-14 at halftime.
Warriors’ senior guard Skylar Davidson had eight of her 10 steals in the opening half.
“I’m just waiting on the right opportunity,” Davidson said. “I jump at them to bait them in and I feed off of (teammate Abby Russell’s) defense.”
Wyoming East led by at least 21 throughout the second half and Davidson continued to shine. Along with double figure steals, she had game highs of 19 points and seven assists, along with five rebounds.
Daisha Summers added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals in the victory. Abby Russell contributed nine points and Sarah Saunders grabbed eight boards.
Madisyn Curry led the Miners with 13 points and 17 rebounds, but the rest of her team combined for 13 boards.
Half of the Miners’ field goals were three-pointers, but they made only 5-of-22 shots inside the arc.
“We’re a small team, so we try to switch a lot,” Boninsegna said. “That’s effective, because we’re quick and that got them a little bit off rhythm. They stumbled a little bit when we switched on them.”