CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Grafton attempted 12 fewer shots and had nine more turnovers than East Fairmont in Tuesday’s Class AAA quarterfinal between Big 10 Conference teams at the Charleston Coliseum.
The fourth-seeded Bearcats more than made up for it by shooting better than 50 percent in all four quarters and 22 for 39 for the game to go with a plus-15 rebounding margin as they worked their way past the No. 5 Bees, 57-49.
“One of our goals was to take good shots,” Grafton head coach Hartsel Keener said. “We needed to limit our live-ball turnovers and take good shots offensively so that we didn’t allow them to get runouts.”
GHS (22-1) remains unbeaten against in-state competition. It won its first 19 games before suffering the lone loss to date against Southern Garrett (Md.).
In its second victory this season over the Bees (20-5), the Bearcats had four double-figure scorers, all of which shot above 50 percent from the field.
Kenna Keener led the way with 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots. Teammates Hadley Horne (14 points, eight rebounds), Natalie Beltner (12 points) and Hope Dever (11 points, six steals, four assists) were also pivotal in helping determine the outcome.
“We write down keys to success for each game and the first key to success is play as a team,” coach Keener said. “That’s one thing this group of girls has bought into. They don’t care who’s scoring as long as the Bearcats score.”
Still, the Bees, which led for less than 2 minutes, were within striking distance when three-pointers from Klaire Rogers and Kinley Opas early in the fourth helped trim a nine-point deficit through three quarters to 44-39 with 6:44 remaining.
“We turned the thermostat up a couple notches in the second half. I never thought the game was out of reach,” Bees’ head coach James Beckman said.
Keener and Horne accounted for the next two baskets to move the Bearcats’ advantage back to nine, but EFHS was to within six halfway through the quarter following an Emma Moore triple.
Two free throws from Moore with 2:19 remaining made it a four-point margin at 51-47, and the Bees had a chance to draw closer following a stop, but one of their 15 turnovers led to Horne scoring at an awkward angle in the paint with 1:32 to play.
Opas’ layup with 38 seconds left made it 54-49 but marked her team’s final points before Grafton made 3-of-4 free throws over the final 20 seconds to wrap up the victory.
The Bees led 5-2 and 7-6 early, but starting with Horne’s basket at the 3:10 mark of the first quarter, Grafton went in front for good.
Dever’s three (she accounted for both of her team’s treys) upped her team’s lead to eight, and the Bearcats settled for a 15-9 advantage after one quarter.
Dever other three came with 3:44 left in the half to make it 24-13 — the only time it was a double-figure margin through the first two quarters. The Bees countered with six unanswered points, but ultimately trailed 28-19 at halftime.
Grafton had all eight second-chance points at halftime and a 14-3 edge in that aspect for the game.
“They did a phenomenal job of keeping possessions alive to get second and third-chance opportunities,” James Beckman said.
Keener’s bucket with 3:24 left in the third allowed GHS to hold the game’s largest lead at 41-28.
“We’ve been playing together for a long time and we go well together,” she said.
Grafton had 35 rebounds to the Bees’ 20, with Keener and Horne combining for one more board than the entire Bees’ team.
“The difference in the game today was rebounds. We knew it was a tough tall task for us,” Beckman said. “The 35-20 stat sticks out the most to my coaching staff.”
Kasey Rogers led the Bees with 12 points and six steals, but shot 1 for 11 on threes.
Freshman Audrey Singer followed with nine points and made 4-of-4 shots, while Moore scored eight points to with three steals.
The Bees were 4 for 19 from long range through the first three quarters and 3 for 8 in the final period.
EFHS was limited to five fast break points.
“Turning over the basketball goes hand in hand with the style East Fairmont plays,” coach Keener said. “If you can get into the half court and play a half court game, that’s where you can be successful.”