MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The University girls have played some of their best basketball this season of late.
That continued Friday when the Hawks notched a Class AAAA Region I, Section 2 championship by blowing past Buckhannon-Upshur, 61-35.
Still, University’s 61-35 sectional title victory over Buckhannon-Upshur made the Hawks 2022-23 season more special.
The Hawks (16-7) have now won seven straight.
“I thought our effort, especially defensively, stood out,” UHS head coach Nick Lusk said. “When we give that effort, we are hard to beat. I thought we played well with our press. We sped them up, which turned them over, then we turned them into points, which is what you have to do against their length.”
Of the nine players that scored, three finished in double figures, including an 11-point performance from sophomore forward Ella Simpson.
“It shows that we are sharing the basketball,” Lusk noted. “We have been on a winning streak lately, and it is because we have shared the basketball. We are getting good looks, and we are good when we get those shots. However, we do get selfish and force some things. I thought we were getting good looks in the first half. However, we could not throw it into the ocean in that half. When we share the basketball like that, we get good looks.”
Simpson, who often serves as the Hawks’ go-to option, did more than score Friday.
“Her rebounding stood out this evening,” Lusk stated. “Her defensive effort at the top of the press was big. We tell our girls when to pick and choose when to go, and I thought she did a great job with that defensively.”
University entered the second quarter with a 13-7 lead and it grew to 17 before long as the Hawks scored 11 straight points to start the period.
Four played scored during that stretch, including Julia Maisel’s three-pointer with 4:38 to play in the half.
“When our bench came in, it gave us more life,” Lusk said. “It gave us energy, which helped has helped us all season. Those girls have stepped up all season. When I can bring Ashlyn Weaver, Julia Maisel, Lyla Byers, and Lexi Simpson off the bench, there is not much of a drop, which helps us.”
The Buccaneers’ first points of the frame did not come until the 3:52 mark when Gabby Parke connected for one of BU’s two field goals in the quarter.
UHS ultimately settled for a 28-15 halftime lead.
Both teams traded baskets to start the second half, but University eventually stretched its lead to 39-20 thanks to a 7-0 run, which was capped off by a steal and layup from Eden Gibson with 32 seconds left in the third.
Gibson finished with seven points and provided a major impact in different ways.
“She has been controlling the pace all season,” Lusk said. “I told her the other day that she had been doing a great job running this team. That is her job as the point guard, and she has done a great job at it.”
Buckhannon-Upshur continued to battle and scored six straight points on consecutive triples from Parke and Alyssa Abel with 3:42 remaining, but the Hawks would conclude the game by scoring seven of the final nine points, including four free throws from Hannah Stemple, who scored 10 points.
Parke and Kenna Maxwell combined for 18 of the Buccaneers’ 35 points. Abel added eight points, including making 5-of-6 free throws.
With Friday’s result, Buckhannon-Upshur (13-11) will travel to Wheeling Park for a Region I co-final next week, while UHS stays home and welcomes crosstown rival Morgantown.
The Mohigans won the first two meetings by an average of four points.
“It is going to be a battle,” Lusk said. “They know us, and we know them. The last time we played, it came down to a last-second shot. It is going to be a lot of fun. You play the game because you want to play games like that. That one will mean more because it will be for a spot in the state tournament.”