PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Wheeling Park overcame an eight-point deficit early in the third quarter, before holding off a furious Parkersburg rally in the final minutes to claim a 59-55 victory Thursday at Memorial Field House.
“It might not be as pretty as you want it in the end, but when you pull it out, you’re happy,” Patriots’ head coach Ryan Young said.
The Patriots appeared to be in control after answering a Brilynn Florence 3-pointer with a 10-2 spurt to lead 54-44 with 3:54 remaining. During that critical surge, Lala Woods and Natalie Dougherty each hit 3s, while Daugherty and Sophie Abraham scored inside to give Wheeling Park (8-1) its biggest lead of the contest.
PHS responded with another triple from Florence, and after Kisten Roberts scored inside and Taylor Miller made two free throws, the Big Reds had trimmed their deficit to 56-51 with 1:46 left.
Parkersburg (4-4) continued to draw closer, making it a one-possession game on Roberts’ layup, and then a one-point game when Miller made two free throws following a Patriots’ turnover.
Woods split two free throws to double Park’s lead, and with a chance to tie or take the lead, the Big Reds committed a costly backcourt turnover with 13 seconds to play.
“When they went on that run, I was really proud of how we responded and we were able to cut into the lead,” PHS head coach Chris Murray said. “We had it within two with the ball and had a turnover, but I was proud of how hard the girls played.”
Following the PHS turnover, Woods sealed the verdict by making two foul shots with 11 seconds left.
“We were in a similar situation at University down five going into the fourth and we gutted it out the beginning of the fourth and built ourselves a lead, much like we did today,” Young said. “Then we kind of gave it back at the end and it’s something we can learn from for sure. Parkersburg did a great job of not quitting.”
The Big Reds took a 30-25 lead into halftime and immediately upped it to eight on a Florence triple to start the second-half scoring. But Park responded with its best stretch of the contest, and Woods’ floater just before the midway point of the third quarter brought the Patriots to within 35-32.
Trailing 39-36 late in the third, the Patriots pulled even on Abraham’s 3, then took their first lead of the second half when she scored again on a 10-foot jump shot. Alexis Bordas’ triple enabled WPHS to hold a 44-39 lead ahead of the fourth quarter.
“In the first half, we talked about how it was probably the most selfish we’d played all year,” Young said. “We just took shots that weren’t great shots and they were hitting shots. This is a tough place to play and they kind of got us in a hole. I was definitely proud of the way they came back in the third quarter.”
The Big Reds overcame an early 8-4 deficit to lead by one point entering the second quarter. A 9-0 PHS run late in the first half turned a two-point deficit into a 30-23 advantage, with Florence scoring five points and Riley Hilling connecting from beyond the arc during the surge that enabled the Big Reds to lead at halftime.
Daugherty led WPHS with 17 points, while Woods (14) and Abraham (13) also scored in double figures. Bordas contributed six points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
Florence led all players with 19 points and made five of her team’s seven 3s. She also had a team-high eight boards.
Roberts finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Trinity Balog scored 10 in defeat.
The Big Reds had their four-game win streak snapped.
“Wheeling Park does a great job of staying committed in their press,” Murray said. “They’re going to continue running you up the line and running you up the court, and if you beat it, there’s that risk and you get some layups out of it. But coach Young does a really good job of getting them to stay committed.
“It was just relentless and I thought we handled it pretty well for the most part. We had some bad mistakes, but that’s going to happen. They’re kids and they’re going to make mistakes.”