PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Boosted by one of their best defensive efforts of the season, Gilmer County held Parkersburg Catholic to a season-low point total in a 47-18 victory at PCHS.
Outside of an 8-0 run from the Crusaderettes to open up the second half, the defending Class A state champions controlled play on the defensive end of the floor to improve their record to 13-1 while sweeping the regular season series between the teams. GCHS defeated Catholic, 64-41 last month in Glenville.
Gilmer County allowed only a buzzer-beating basket by Peyton Murdock to close the first quarter in building a 17-2 halftime advantage.
“I am tickled to death with our execution defensively,” said Gilmer County head coach Amy Chapman. “They really followed the scout. They came prepared and they knew the opponent well and the tendencies. They really did their homework and got in the gym. We worked on some things that they do and what we needed to do to disrupt that. I am super proud of the defensive effort. It was 32 minutes of hard-nosed defense.”
The Crusaderettes scored the first eight points of the second half on a pair of three-pointers from Annie Tokodi-Ruth and a basket by Ellie Kinnison. PCHS trimmed their deficit to 17-10. However, the Lady Titans would allow just four points in the final six minutes of the quarter and they led 32-14 going into the final frame.
Seniors Blair and Ava Dobbins combined for 36 of Gilmer’s 47 points. Blair led the way with 23 while Ava added 13. Many of the baskets from the twin sisters were set up by assists from the other.
“We work on it every day in practice, the passing itself and the type of pass that needs to be made. Repositioning themselves and reposting, we work on it every day. They have really worked on it since day one. They are executing it really well and making really good passes to each other.”
Gilmer County is allowing just 25.6 points per game in their state title defense. The Lady Titans have split a pair of games with Tug Valley, last year’s Class A runners-up. Next week, Gilmer will be tested against Tucker County (11-2) and regional opponent Tolsia. The Little Kanawha Conference Tournament follows.
“I love the rest of our schedule in February. We have such good opponents from here on out. The whole season we have played great opponents. This is just going to get us battle-tested and ready for the postseason run. So I am excited to see some of the challenges ahead of us.”
Tokodi-Ruth led the Crusaderettes with 10 points. Parkersburg Catholic is 11-5 in the first season since the program was relaunched after a one-year absence.