CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In a game where neither team led by more than five at any point, Wednesday’s Class AAA quarterfinal between No. 2 Wayne and seventh-seeded Keyser figured to be decided by a few plays later.
The Pioneers made their fair share of them and more than the Golden Tornado, allowing Wayne to overcome a late four-point deficit courtesy of a game-ending 10-2 run that made all the difference in a 54-50 victory at the Charleston Coliseum.
“What a game. We just fought and fought and it was a mature win,” Wayne head coach Wade Williamson said. “We had chances to fold up the tents a few times and we didn’t. Our kids stayed the course, believed and trusted each other and we were able to get it done.”
With Keyser (19-4) clinging to a 48-44 lead and the 3-minute mark approaching, the Golden Tornado had a golden opportunity to make it a six-point game when Bibs Felton found Autumn Kerchner for a close range attempt, but she couldn’t convert it for a six-point lead. On the other end, Jayce Sammons scored on a drive to cut the Pioneers’ deficit in half.
Following a Golden Tornado turnover, Wayne (19-4) gained a late one-point lead when Addie Adkins banked in a three-pointer.
“I had to get a shot off. We were down and I wanted to put us ahead or tied,” Adkins said. “That got us the energy that we needed.”
Lexi Blankenship scored to put WHS up by three, before Kerchner countered with a basket at the 1:13 mark to bring KHS to within 51-50.
The Golden Tornado had several fouls to give to send Wayne to the free-throw line, and when that occurred, Mikayla Stacy split a pair of foul shots to make it a two-point margin with 27 seconds remaining.
Felton’s shot in an attempt to tie was off the mark and Sammons secured the win by making two free throws.
“We had a four-point lead and we miss four layups and have two turnovers with a chance to runaway and hide with a double-digit lead,” Golden Tornado head coach Josh Blowe said. “Then they go down and made one really tough shot and one easy. That was the deciding part of the game.”
Sammons opened her team’s scoring with consecutive treys, and the largest lead for either team came with the Pioneers on top 11-6.
Keyser got even at 13, settled for a two-point deficit through one quarter, and then used an 8-2 spurt early into the second period to gain a 21-19 advantage following consecutive triples from Rooney Urice and Kiya Kesner.
With the game tied at 25 and time winding down in the opening half, Austyn Healy connected from long range to give Kesyer a three-point lead at the break.
“Our team played tremendously hard. You see a big difference from the little girls that were here last year to the young ladies here tonight,” Blowe said. “The maturity and physicality was impressive to watch as their head coach. We battled through a lot of adversity and when you play good teams, it runs both ways.”
Wayne ran off nine straight points in a stretch of 2:14 late in the third to match its largest lead at 40-35, before Kesner sank a triple to make it a two-point game after three.
Felton and Stacy accounted scored the first four points of the final period for their respective teams, but the Golden Tornado made 6-of-6 free-throw attempts to turn a two-point deficit into the 48-44 lead they were unable to maintain.
“We’ve been here three straight years and have kids that have started for four years,” Williamson said. “We went through our pains where we didn’t do those things but now we’re confident in what we’re doing and we can make those plays because we’ve been there and done that.”
Wayne had four double-figure scorers: Stacy (16), Sammons (12), Addie Adkins (11) and Brooke Adkins (11).
“This is my last year. I’ve worked my butt off for this and so have my teammates,” Stacy said. “I wanted to play for my team, stop playing selfish and hustle. That’s when I play my best.”
Brooke Adkins also led all players with 11 rebounds, while Addie Adkins added nine. The duo was instrumental in helping the Pioneers finish with a 39-27 rebounding edge, including 19-5 on offensive boards that lead to a 17-4 edge on second-chance points.
“I keep going back to those last three minutes where winning plays are made,” Blowe said. “they made a couple winning plays and we didn’t.”
Kesner paced Keyser with 12 and Felton finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Wayne attempted 13 more shots (52-39) and 14 more free throws (29-15). The Pioneers made 21-of-29 foul shots and the Golden Tornado made 14 of 15.
“If you’re going to lose the field-goal attempt battle, you better win the free-throw battle to make up for it,” Blowe said. “We didn’t do either tonight.”