CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Having played twice in the regular season, unknowns were few and far between leading into Saturday’s Class AA title game between No. 1 Wheeling Central Catholic and No. 3 Charleston Catholic.
While the Maroon Knights won both previous meetings this season, they were far better suited for a fast-paced, high-scoring affair. The Irish, on the flip side, wanted a game with fewer possessions and a slower tempo.
The latter ruled out, and as a result, Charleston Catholic earned a 55-41 victory at the Charleston Coliseum to claim its first state championship since 2007 and third in program history.
“They came out from the opening tip extremely locked in,” Irish head coach Wes Hevener said. “Defensively, we handled our assignments almost to perfection. Offensively, we very fluid. The ball moved and we did a great job of getting the shots we wanted. I couldn’t be more proud of the way the girls played.”
Central had scored 56 first-quarter points over victories against Philip Barbour and James Monroe in state tournament play. On Saturday, the Maroon Knights led 4-2, but never again. The Irish responded to their only deficit with 11 unanswered points, a stretch that included five straight from Molly Messer, a traditional three-point play from Mary Rushworth and an Ali Wilcox three-pointer.
CCHS (20-6) limited the Maroon Knights to 3-for-7 shooting and led 18-8 after one quarter.
“Anytime you can start the game the right way, it’s always helpful, especially here,” Hevener said. “We came in with a little chip on our shoulder, but we understood the [regular season] games were close. They had confidence they could compete with Central. We came out focused and taking care of the basketball was a big part of that.”
The strong start carried over into the second quarter, which Rushworth began with five straight points to up the lead to 15.
Hevener’s team led by 13 when Rushworth scored in the paint 2:41 before halftime, but WCCHS (23-3) countered with its best stretch of the opening half to trail by six at the break.
In a 7-0 spurt to end the second quarter, Erin Maxwell scored from close range, Addie Payton made a trey and Kaitlyn Blake accounted for the final basket of the half.
“That was really good going into the locker room,” Central head coach Roberta Olejasz said. “It would’ve been nicer to start it earlier in the second quarter so we could’ve gone in with a little bit of a lead.”
Blake, who totaled 65 points on 25-for-33 shooting over quarterfinal and semifinal victories, went to the intermission with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting. She consistently drew multiple defenders upon touching the ball.
“They definitely defended me better than the past few times, and every time I caught it, they sent three to me,” Blake said. “They were definitely not late today and did a really good job.”
The Maroon Knights started the second half much like they closed the first, and after scoring seven consecutive points in less than 2 minutes, the top seed was to within one point at 32-31 following a Seneca Heller three.
But starting with Rushworth’s basket in response, Charleston Catholic outscored Central 9-3 over the remainder of the third to again create separation and enter the fourth with a 41-34 advantage.
Aurelia Kirby knocked down a triple with time winding down in the third, just as Wilcox had done one round earlier at the same point in the contest against St. Marys.
“Extending the lead at the end of the third quarter was big,” Hevener said. “Same general scenario as the St. Marys game.”
While Payton’s trey brought Central to within four 20 seconds into the fourth, the Martin Knights would get no closer.
They went more than 3 minutes until their next basket and made only two more in the game. When Heller scored to trim the Irish lead to 45-39 at the 4:09 mark, Messer responded with five straight points, including a conventional three-point play with 3:45 to play.
“I knew when I came back this year what I wanted and it was a state championship. I worked all year, we worked all year, and we got it,” Messer said.
Rushworth scored a team-high 16 points and added seven rebounds, while Messer followed with 15 points and six boards.
“Kaitlyn Blake is really talented player. We knew it would be hard to score inside,” Rushworth said. “But making a couple outside shots and pulling them out of the paint, making the right back side passes and keeping our head up to share the ball was really important.”
Wilcox, a freshman, scored 11.
The Irish had only 10 turnovers and after being out-rebounded 22-11 in the first half, they won the battle of the boards 18-12 over the final two quarters.
“It was definitely a factor being able to play them twice and understanding what their strengths were and being able to find ways to maybe attack them a little differently,” Hevener said. “We contained Blake and she’s a fantastic player. The biggest difference was being in back side help and in the second half, we did a great job rebounding and holding them to one shot.”
Blake scored 14 on 6-for-18 shooting to go with eight rebounds. She was the only Maroon Knight in double figures.
Central’s two regular season victories over the Irish were by scores of 64-59 and 69-61.
“Charleston Catholic defended us extremely. Well. I said all along if the game was in the 40s or 50s, it would be a grind, and if we could get it in the 60s or 70s, it would bode much better for us,” Olejasz said. “We got down early and just couldn’t get it to the pace that we wanted.”
Class AA all-tournament team
Brynnley Bulluck, St. Marys
Mya Dunlap, James Monroe
Seneca Heller, Wheeling Central
Ali Wilcox, Charleston Catholic
Addie Payton, Wheeling Central
Mary Rushworth, Charleston Catholic
Molly Messer, Charleston Catholic
Most Outstanding Player: Kaitlyn Blake, Wheeling Central