CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gilmer County girls basketball coach Amy Chapman knows full well her team’s commitment to excellence on the defensive end.
Never was that more evident than throughout the Class A state tournament and again Saturday in the state title game against No. 2 Tug Valley.
The top seed Titans smothered the Panthers from the opening tip, held them to 10 first-half points and 10 field goals for the game to claim a 66-22 victory at the Charleston Coliseum.
Over three games in three days, the Titans allowed a total of 64 points, never surrendering more than 26 in any game.
“We’ve had a defensive effort all year,” Gilmer head coach Amy Chapman said. “It showed up this week, but it was pretty impressive the commitment to defense this week from the young ladies, the execution and being able to stay with it all week long.”
The Titans (23-4) started slow offensively, but turned it around after the first media timeout just past the midway point of the opening quarter.
Starting with the first of Lena Frymier’s five three-pointers, GCHS outscored Tug Valley 11-1 over the last 2:41 of the first frame to build a 13-3 advantage.
“We gave them some fits early,” Panthers’ head coach Seth Ooten said. “Throughout the game, they got runouts and some things that they like.”
Frymier’s second three 4:46 before halftime made it a 15-point margin, and the Titans continued to get it done with defense, holding the Panthers (23-3) to 3-for-17 shooting in the second period after they made 1-of-13 shots in the opening quarter.
Gilmer settled for a 29-10 halftime lead, getting 10 points from Frymier through two quarters, while 6-foot-4 Ava Dobbins contributed eight points, seven boards and five blocked shots to go with four points and six assists from point guard Allie Ellyson.
“After that first timeout, coach told us to calm down. Everybody was a little wild,” Dobbins said. “We calmed down and got our offensive flow going.“
The advantages was 41-18 after three quarters and continued to grow during the fourth, when Ellyson made two triples and Fryer and Summer Bourn added one apiece.
“Few people would’ve put us in this spot here before the season,” Ooten said. “We ran up against a good team and they’re here all the time.”
One night after making 12 threes in a semifinal win over Greenbrier West, the Panthers did not hit from long range in this one.
“We definitely keyed in on their guards. We saw that they shot the ball well the night before,” Chapman said.
Frymier and Ellyson led all players with 18 points apiece, while Ellyson added nine assists and five steals in the 108th and final game of her storied prep career.
In her freshman and junior seasons, Ellyson was part of runner-up Titan teams.
“It means everything. I’ve wanted this for so long,” Ellyson said. “To lose two state championships in three years was very mentally draining for me, but I knew we could come back and do the same thing but with a different result and that’s what we did.”
Dobbins recorded her first triple-double, registering 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
Haven Deskins finished with nine points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, while Bailee Hall had six points and 13 boards, giving Hall 46 boards in the state tournament.
“We may not always shoot the best, but you can’t question the effort,” Ooten said. “They played hard.”
The result gave Gilmer its second state championship and first since 2016.
“What a ride this has been. It’s been incredible,” Chapman said. “They’re wonderful young ladies and 1000 percent deserve being here right now with this trophy.”
Class A all-tournament team
Preslee Treadway, Greenbrier West
Raven Matthews, Tucker
Kenzie Browning, Tug Valley
Lena Frymier, Gilmer
Bailee Hall, Tug Valley
Ava Dobbins, Gilmer
Haven Deskins, Tug Valley
Most Outstanding Player: Allie Ellyson, Gilmer