FAIRMONT, W.Va. — It was somewhat a case of pick your poison for Lewis County Friday against Martinsburg in a matchup in the East Fairmont Classic at EFHS.
The Bulldogs made seven first-half three-pointers against the Minutemaids’ zone defense, which went a long way toward Martinsburg leading 35-27 at halftime.
When LCHS made a more concerted effort to take away their opponent’s perimeter shooting in the second half, Martinsburg countered by getting the ball inside at a more consistent rate, which allowed the Bulldogs to score more often at the rim as they pulled away in a 68-42 victory.
“We shot the ball really well in the first half and then we started getting the ball inside,” Bulldogs’ head coach Ronnie Fitzpatrick said. “We’re an inside-outside team and we got that to work for us today.”
The teams were tied at 15 in a a back-and-forth opening quarter before the Bulldogs (8-2) got a three-pointer from Jazelle Cox and two free throws from Zianna Lomax to lead by five ahead of the second period.
Although Lewis County (6-4) never led, the Minutemaids were well within striking distance throughout the entirety of the first half as a result of their perimeter prowess.
The Minutemaids’ first three field goals of the second quarter each came from behind the arc, including one from Addie Curry that was offered in response to a triple from the Bulldogs’ Alexis Simmons and enabled Lewis to trail 29-24.
The Bulldogs, however, maintained their proficiency from long range and got two treys late in the half from Tianna Sanabria, including one that upped a five-point lead to 35-27 at halftime.
Sanabria accounted for four treys and led all players with 14 points at the intermission.
In the second half, Lewis’ extended its defense to ensure Sanabria was covered closer.
That approach helped the Minutemaids hold her scoreless over the final two quarters, but the Bulldogs capitalized on more room inside, including six straight points from Claire Rivas after Egress had scored inside for the first points of the third quarter.
King’s second triple followed Rivas’ strong stretch, before Miyah Williams scored inside twice toward the end of what amounted to a 16-0 run.
“We’ve started to get zoned a lot, so we’ve worked a lot on moving the ball and not being stagnant when teams zone us,” Fitzpatrick said. “We like to play an uptempo pace, but we can also execute in the half court and we’re starting to show that.”
Martinsburg got its ninth and final triple of the contest from Josslyn Homer for the final points of the third for a 56-33 lead.
While Sanabria’s 14 points stood as a game high, five other Bulldogs scored at least seven points — Lomax (9), Rivas (8), Simmons (8), Homer (8) and King (7).
“It’s a long season. You need that depth in order to last,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s great that we can go 10 to 12, or even 13 deep.”
Martinsburg shot 23 for 49 and had only nine turnovers.
Egress led Lewis with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Minutemaids made eight threes and seven two-point field goals and finished with 11 fewer shots attempted than the Bulldogs, largely as a result of 21 turnovers.