DELBARTON, W.Va. — In the first three quarters of Tuesday’s matchup between Mingo Central and Chapmanville, neither team was able to build a lead larger than five points.
In the fourth quarter however, the Miners used a 17-1 run to pull away from their sectional rivals, 50-29. Mingo Central swept the regular season series and likely earned the top seed in their sectional tournament.
Mingo Central (11-1) led by a basket at halftime, 18-16. The Tigers opened the third quarter though on a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game. The Miners answered by closing the frame on a 13-3 burst. MCHS took a 31-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Sometimes your team has to learn how to face adversity. When things aren’t going your way, you just really have to dig deep. We just had some really good effort by other players today that I was really proud of. Defensively, Bella [Hall] in the third quarter was just huge,” said Mingo Central head coach Kim Davis Smith.
“We are going to play four quarters. We have put together some really good single quarters. But we want to get four quarters together.”
Mingo Central yielded just three points in the final frame. They have held five opponents under 30 points this season.
Addie Smith led the Miners with 12 points. Madisyn Curry scored 11 points and Jenna Sparks added 10.
“Chapmanville is a great team. They have lots of talent and some great shooters. They played great defensively. Their strategy is to hold Addie [Smith] down and keep her points limited. They did a good job with that. But we did a spectacular job with other people stepping up.”
Over the last two weeks, Mingo Central has defeated a trio of state-ranked opponents in Parkersburg Catholic, Wyoming East and Chapmanville. The Miners could face East, who is the only team to defeat Mingo, in February.
“We made our schedule difficult because we want to be prepared for March. We are on the right track for sure. There’s a few things we still have to get better. All coaches say that. But our bar has always been to finish in Charleston on Saturday and I feel we are on the right track.”
Daizi Farley led the Tigers (9-5) with nine points.
Mingo Central (11-1):
- Addie Smith – 12 points
- Madisyn Curry – 11 points
- Jenna Sparks – 10 points
Chapmanville (9-5):
- Daizi Farley – 9 points