WHEELING, W.Va. — Wheeling Park used a 14-3 second-quarter run to build a lead they would not relinquish as the Patriots defeated Morgantown, 55-45 in the first of what should be several meetings this season.
The Patriots and the Mohigans (4-1) have split the last two Class AAAA state championships, with Park winning in the title game last March.
Leading 13-11 after the opening quarter, Park outscored MHS 20-8 in the second stanza to build a 14-point halftime lead.
Duquesne signee and reigning state player of the year Alexis Bordas led Wheeling Park with 32 points.
“She’s seen everything so far. Morgantown I thought did a really good job on her. They made everything really hard,” said Wheeling Park head coach Ryan Young. “(Tatum) DeVries is a very athletic kid. I didn’t realize she was that athletic. I thought she did a pretty good job on Lex but Lex is just a very good, smart and experienced player.”
Fellow senior Maggie Hupp added 15 points for the Patriots (4-1).
“We have kids that are capable. Right now, it is just a matter of gaining confidence. You have to have games like this for kids who haven’t played a lot. I think that’s going to go a long way as we move into the next calendar year.”
Sophomore guard Kayli Kellogg led the Mohigans with 18 points. Senior and UMBC signee Sadaya Jones did not play for Morgantown due to illness.
“We wanted to make everything as hard as we could on Kellogg. And I thought we did that. I thought we were a little late to help at times. But for the most part, (Bordas) is a really smart defender too. She gets all the credit for the offense but I think she stepped up and made everything difficult on her,” Young said.
“Morgantown is probably the most talented team in the state. I know they were down Jones tonight and I know they are going to be a different team when they have her. As far as our team, I think we are doing what I expected so far, which is go through some growing pains and play through mistakes and try to get better together. I think we have done that so far.”