CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Ahead of Friday’s Class AA semifinal, Parkersburg Catholic had soundly defeated Williamstown in two previous meetings this season.
Then again, the top seed Crusaderettes have handled every opponent on their schedule for the last two seasons. History repeated itself at the Charleston Coliseum with PCHS racing out to an 18-2 lead to set the tone in a 69-42 victory over the No. 5 seed Yellowjackets.
“We knew they’d be a tough test and even when we started to break away, they always seem to have an answer,” PCHS coach Marty Vierheller said. “But then our girls would have an answer for their answer.”
The result leaves Parkersburg Catholic with a 44-game winning streak and one last hurdle to climb — second-seeded Wyoming East in Saturday’s title game.
After last season ended with the Crusaderettes unbeaten, yet unable to play for a state title due to the start of the pandemic, PCHS had extra motivation to reach this stage.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” PCHS junior Leslie Huffman said. “I’m super excited to play in the championship, even if it’s not with (sister Madeline Huffman, a 2020 PCHS graduate). It’d be better with her obviously, but I’m glad to be playing with who I am.”
Parkersburg Catholic (18-0) scored the first 11 points of the game, six of which came from Huffman, who led all players with 22 points.
Although Williamstown (17-4) settled in and trailed 22-11 entering the second quarter, it was an uphill climb the rest of the way.
“In about half our games, we’ve been down and came back, especially in the latter part of the season,” WHS coach Fred Sauro said. “We tried to rely on that. These kids battled like crazy.”
The Crusaderettes started the second quarter much like they started the game and held a 31-11 lead, but the Yellowjackets answered with 11 straight points, before facing a 36-22 halftime deficit.
Huffman had 15 points, six steals and five assists at the break.
“Leslie was super glue for us today and she has a whole lot of super glue around her, too,” Vierheller said.
Aaliyah Brunny scored 11 of her 18 points in the third quarter, helping to put to rest any thought of a Williamstown comeback. Brunny’s third-quarter scoring output matched that of the Yellowjackets and allowed PCHS to lead 58-33 entering the fourth.
“We didn’t allow ourselves a chance to breathe and think, OK we got this,” Vierheller said. “Especially the way Williamstown can shoot the three.”
Huffman had 10 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals to go with her game-high scoring total. Like Huffman, Brunny made 8-of-15 field goal attempts and added five steals.
Lainie Ross contributed 10 points and six boards.
“They’re very good at running a fast break,” Sauro said of the Crusaderettes. “You have to stay in front of Huffman. You have to keep Brunny off the boards and you have to rebound, because all of them will rebound. And you have to be able to attack them downhill.”
Nicole Reynolds led Williamstown with 16 points, while Georgie Inman had 10 rebounds in the loss.
Williamstown committed 23 turnovers, including 18 in the opening half. The Yellowjackets were also out-rebounded, 40-31.
“There’s no shame in losing to them,” Sauro said. “They’re the odds-on favorite in most people’s eyes.”