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Bees breeze by Bearcats, 83-26

GRAFTON, W.Va. — East Fairmont girls basketball coach James Beckman admits his team may not be all the way comfortable playing a half court game.

In Monday’s matchup at Grafton, it mattered not.

The Bees applied full court defensive pressure throughout a dominant first half, forcing 17 of the Bearcats’ 32 turnovers in the first two quarters, which combined with a balanced scoring effort allowed East Fairmont to cruise to an 83-26 win at Scotty Hamilton Gymnasium.

“We try to get a lot of our offense from our defense, and we were able to do that,” Beckman said. “Our pressure led to some runouts and easy points and that’s what it’s about for us.”

It marks the 10th consecutive win for the Bees, who improved to 16-2 with a victory in a matchup of half the teams that comprise Class AAA Region II, Section 1. The Bearcats fell to 8-8 with their sixth loss in seven games.

“We’ve developed a plan in practice that continues to challenge them,” Beckman said. “You always hear coaches say you want to be playing your best late in the season and we’re still working to get there.”

Grafton played its best basketball in the opening couple minutes, getting layups from Hadley Horn and Lillie Crimm to build an early 5-0 lead.

From that point forward, it was all East Fairmont. 

After falling behind early, the Bees ran off 14 unanswered points to take control. That stretch featured two 3-pointers from McKenzie Moyer and one from Kenly Rogers, along with a Kyleigh Fridley layup and Kailee Haymond’s three points.

The Bees forced nine GHS first-quarter turnovers, which prevented the Bearcats from attempting more than five shots, three of which they made. 

Fridley connected on two jump shots late in the frame to help stake EFHS to a 21-8 lead entering the second quarter.

The Bees picked up where they left off, rattling off 11 consecutive points to start the period, with Fridley accounting for five, Tarayn Myers four and Rogers the other two.

“We did a good job sharing the ball and taking the right shots,” Beckman said.

After a Kambree Delaney layup allowed the Bearcats to trail 34-13, Beckman’s team answered with a 14-0 spurt to close the half. Rogers began the surge with a trey and Brooklyn Shupe followed with a conventional three-point play. Haymond added a layup, before Moyer scored inside twice and Shupe converted a layup to send the Bees into halftime with a 48-13 lead.

Despite backing off of its full court pressure, EFHS forced six third-quarter turnovers and got field goals from six different players in the frame to hold a 64-22 advantage ahead of the fourth.

The Bees shot better than 55 percent (35 for 63) and had four double-figure scorers in the victory. Rogers led all players with 17 points, Haymond added 16, Moyer contributed 14 and Fridley made all five of her shots to score 11.

“Our depth and balance really helps us,” Beckman said. “Our team chemistry is at an all-time high and it’s comforting to see as a coach.”

Shupe added seven points and a game-high five assists, while Myers led all players with eight rebounds to key the Bees’ commanding 31-17 edge on the boards.

Freshman Kenna Keener led the Bearcats with 15 points, 11 of which she scored in the second half. Keener did the bulk of her damage from the free-throw line by making 11-of-16 attempts. The Bearcats made only 6-of-24 field goals for the game.





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