— By Taylor Kennedy
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Buckhannon-Upshur put together a strong opening half offensively, scoring 41 points over the first two quarters to set the tone in a 64-36 at East Fairmont.
Separate runs of 13-1 and 16-4 allowed the Bucs to open up a comfortable advantage and enter halftime with a 41-21 lead.
“We played a complete game,” Buccaneers’ head coach Rob Kittle said. “We ran the court and shot the ball well. Defensively, we got into foul trouble because we were playing good, aggressive defense.”
Senior Shelby McDaniels and junior Kendal Currence carried the load for B-U and combined for 41 of the team’s 64 points.
McDaniels led all scorers, piling in 22 points. She also dished out eight assists as her ability to wiggle through East Fairmont’s full-court pressure created numerous baskets.
“She is a smart and level-headed basketball player,” Kittle noted. “When they collapse on her, she can see the floor and kick. Shelby is a tremendous asset for us to have. She is a great leader, and she understands the game well. I cannot say enough good things about her.”
Currence had a strong performance and finished 19 points, including 12 in the opening half.
Her presence down low was too much for the Bees’ post players.
“She has incredible length, and she has a great understanding of the game,” Kittle said. “She is a physical player, and she can step out and hit the jump shot. That is something we have waited for, and you see glimpses of it here and there. The sky’s the limit with her athleticism. Hopefully, she can continue that into sectional play.”
The Buccaneers’ 28-point victory marks the ninth time they have won by 20-plus points this season.
“We started rebounding,” Kittle said of what helped his team excel. “We were giving up way too many second-chance points. I told the girls that once we started controlling the glass, we could get out and run and get easy baskets. I thought that was the difference for us.”
Despite winning comfortably, the Bucs finished with 17 turnovers and forced 12.
Kittle wants to see his squad’s ball security improve before sectional play begins.
“We let them speed us up a little on a few occasions, and we know against Morgantown and Wheeling Park we are going to have to do better,” Kittle said. “Most of our turnovers did not lead to easy baskets for them, which is one of the things they like to do to get going. We have to clean it up on the offensive end.”
Kittle believes every game from here forward will guide his team to its ultimate goal.
“It is great for our confidence,” Kittle stated. “We have to keep building off of it.”
Bees’ sophomore guard Kenly Rogers led her team with 10 points, but was held to three in the second half.