CHARLESTON, W.Va. — No. 8 seed Martinsburg put a major scare into top seed Huntington, but Highlanders’ junior guard Dionna Gray refused to see her season end in Thursday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal.
Gray scored 26 points — all in the second half — and carried Huntington down the stretch as they outscored the Bulldogs 11-2 over the final 1:55 to prevail 54-49 at the Charleston Coliseum.
“We were super confident as the game went on,” Gray said. “There was never one point in the game that I thought we weren’t going to come back. As they started to lose the lead, we gained more confidence.“
Gray began her 15-point fourth quarter with a three-pointer that cut Martinsburg’s lead to 39-36 with 6:21 to play.
By the time Gray scored again, Huntington (14-1) trailed 41-40, though the Bulldogs (8-5) stretched their lead back to five with layups from Kaydance Bradley and Prosperity Stitt.
Imani Hickman’s triple brought Huntington to within two, as did two free throws from Gray that began the game-deciding run with 1:55 to play.
Gray’s conventional three-point play put HHS in front for good with 1:29 left.
“We were shooting way too much outside, not attacking as we should,” Gray said. “I realized I needed to get to the rack and distribute the ball well.”
Martinsburg had a chance to regain the lead, but McKenzie Jolliffe missed two free throws — a costly theme throughout for the Bulldogs, who finished 7 of 21 at the foul line and missed all six of their attempts in the fourth quarter.
“You could feel the tension,” Gray said.
On the flip side, Gray made two free throws with 58 seconds left, then split a pair to leave Huntington up 51-49 with 27 seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs had one possession down two points and another down three inside of the final 25 seconds, but both resulted in turnovers.
“The game kind of speaks for itself. I bet pretty much anybody in this state except our thirteen players, five coaches and bunch of fans probably didn’t give us much of a chance,” MHS coach Kyle Triggs said. “It shows what type of team we have. Huntington made plays down the stretch, but I’m super proud of my kids.”
Gray made two more free throws with five seconds left to seal the outcome. She finished 8-of-9 on free throws — all of which came in the fourth quarter.
Although Martinsburg needed 7:09 of the first quarter to score, the Bulldogs were a different team once they got on the board.
After shooting 1 of 11 in the opening frame, Martinsburg made 17-of-36 shots the rest of the way. The Bulldogs took their first lead at 12-10 on a Jolliffe triple and never trailed again until Gray’s three-point play in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs’ largest lead came with 5:10 to play in the third quarter at 29-20 after an 8-0 run that featured threes from Olivia Mayer and Leonna Holmes and Stitt’s jumper.
“Martinsburg did a great job of controlling the tempo of the game and that slowed us up,” Huntington coach Lonnie Lucas said. “If we don’t run, we have trouble getting on track.”
Hickman had 12 points and a game-high 21 rebounds, helping Huntington dominated the boards, 58-37.
“We controlled the boards and that kept us in the game,” Lucas said.
Mayer made 6-of-10 shots and led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Stitt scored 11 to go with 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Ella Joseph’s 14 boards led the Bulldogs.
Huntington meets No. 4 Morgantown in a Friday semifinal.