HAMBLETON, W.Va. — Back on December 8, Tucker County’s girls basketball team opened its regular season at East Hardy.
The Mountain Lions claimed a 47-35 victory in what was the Cougars’ fourth game and first loss, though TCHS head coach Dave Hemlick didn’t feel as though his team executed the way it should have against East Hardy’s 2-3 zone.
The second regular season meeting between the two teams came Thursday, and this time around, the Mountain Lions executed to Helmick’s liking. Although Tucker County was held to 37 percent field-goal shooting, the Mountain Lions made eight 3-pointers and got to the free-throw line 25 times, while dominating the middle two quarters to roll by the Cougars, 64-34.
“We did a better job being patient on offense,” Helmick said. “We played them our very first game of the year and we weren’t patient and we didn’t shoot the ball well. We got out of there with a 12-point win, but tonight we moved the ball well and were more patient running our offense to get good looks and then we made some threes and made some big shots.”
Tucker County (13-2) built an early 7-0 lead before sputtering offensively over the remainder of the opening quarter, while East Hardy (7-10) got five straight points from Brooklyn Miller to pull even at 7. The two teams eventually went to the second period tied at 9, before the Mountain Lions took control.
Just as the case was to start the contest, Tucker County began the second quarter in strong fashion.
A layup from Macy Helmick marked the first points of the frame, before teammates Brylee Wetzel, Avery Colebank and Katie Colebank each split two free throws. Wetzel followed with a triple that left the Mountain Lions with a 17-9 lead.
East Hardy answered with the next three points, before Helmick went 1 for 2 on free throws and converted a layup to put her team back up by eight.
Later in the first half, Kadie Colbank scored inside to make it 24-14 for the first double-digit margin of the game. That bucket began a stretch of 10 straight points for Tucker, with Helmick and Wetzel each connecting for a trey and Addie Hicks providing a jumper as well.
The undersized Cougars made only 6-of-22 shots in the opening half and went to the intermission trailing 32-16.
“We were OK in the first quarter, but things kind of snowballed after that,” Cougars’ head coach Calvin Mongold said. “Tucker puts a lot of pressure on you and makes it tough, but we have to cut back on our turnovers.”
The theme of Tucker County’s strong starts to quarters continued in the third. Ericka Zirk scored from close range in transition, before Avery Colebank hit from behind the arc and Kadie Colebank sank two free throws to give the home team a 23-point lead.
The Mountain Lions were hardly threatened the rest of the way and went to the fourth with a 51-25 advantage after Hicks made a triple just before the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
“It’s a grind and we’re trying to get good at the right time,” coach Helmick said. “This win tonight is good, because it’s a team that we struggled with the last time we played. Getting that taken care of is a big confidence boost for us.”
Although the Mountain Lions had 18 turnovers, they forced East Hardy into 20 and were plus-10 in second-half rebounding to win the battle of the boards, 38-35.
Additionally, TCHS outscored EHHS by nine points on free throws (18-9) and 21 points from 3-point range (24-3).
“Over the last several years, this is one of the better shooting teams I’ve had,” coach Helmick said.
Wetzel’s 17 points were a game-high and she accounted for half of her team’s eight triples. Hemlock added 12 points with six assists and Kadie Colebank contributed a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards despite consistently drawing multiple defenders.
“They double and triple-team Kadie, and Kadie gets frustrated, but we have to work through all that,” coach Helmick said. “Once she calms down, she finds her reads. They’re coming from somewhere. She’s looking and finding the right people and we’re making some shots.”
Addie Hicks added nine points in the victory.
Miller led the Cougars with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Tinnell scored nine in defeat.