CHARLESTON, W.Va. — East Fairmont’s girls basketball program is at the state tournament for the fourth time in as many years.
As a No. 7 seed in Class AAA, the Bees find themselves in a different position than in years past, when perhaps more was expected.
“It doesn’t matter what seed you are. It’s who plays the best that day,” Bees’ coach James Beckman said.
Although that’s worked against East Fairmont previously, the Bees flipped the script Thursday by holding off No. 2 Spring Valley for a 54-52 victory in a Class AAA quarterfinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
“You have to be able to adapt in Charleston because everyone is good 1 through 8,” Beckman said. “We’ve changed a lot to get to where we want to be.”
East Fairmont advances to face Nitro in a semifinal.
The Bees (17-6) got a big lift throughout from proficient perimeter shooting, including 4 for 8 on three-pointers in the opening quarter, which EFHS shot 8 for 15 in to build a 20-14 lead. All five Bees in the starting lineup dented the scoring column in the opening frame.
The defending 4A state champion Timberwolves were to within 21-18 in the second quarter before a Mackenzie Shupe triple doubled the East advantage 4:33 before halftime.
But SVHS answered with eight consecutive points over a stretch that featured three free throws from Sophi Hutchison, one from Maelynn Cook and four points from two from Brooklyn Ellis on a bucket and two free throws.
East Fairmont guard Kailee Haymond countered with two threes over the final 1:32 of the half, giving her 12 points on four threes at the break, and more importantly, putting her team on top, 30-26.
“She had four tough ones on us. She’s a good player,” Timberwolves’ head coach Larry “Bo” Miller said. “In the second half, a couple other girls stepped up for them.”
Trailing by five in the third, the Timberwolves ran off a 7-0 spurt on a Hutchison triple, and back-to-back buckets from Emma Edwards to gain a 38-36 lead with 2:49 left in the period.
Shupe countered with a trey that marked the start of her six straight points, and Beckman’s team led 42-40 after the third.
With East Fairmont up a point in the fourth, Haymond made her fifth and final three, and teammate Ella Thompson followed suit with 4:27 left to give the Bees a 50-45 advantage. Thompson made another trey 37 seconds later for an eight-point lead.
But SVHS continued to charge back and after Hutchison scored from close range with 1:31 left, the Timberwolves trailed by two.
Miller’s team got the ball back with a chance to tie or lead, but Brooklyn Ellis missed a shot in the paint. After an East Fairmont rebound, the Bees’ Audrey Singer made the first of two free throws to make it a three-point margin with 17 seconds remaining.
Needing a three to tie, the Timberwolves couldn’t were unable to muster a quality look on the perimeter, and after a scrum for a loose ball, Lucretia Jackson was fouled on a two-point attempt with a tenth of a second remaining. Jackson made the first and intentionally missed the second, before the final buzzer sounded.
Haymond’s 15 points were a team high and Emma Moore added 11. Moore missed a significant period of time in the regular season but has provided the Bees with a boost upon her return.
“It means everything to me for everybody to be back and healthy,” Haymond said.
“It was very hard to sit and watch in my last year, But it made our team better and helped get a lot of girls experience,” Moore said. “That helps us in the long run. I’m grateful to be back and leave it all out there.”
Shupe scored nine in a reserve role, while Thompson added six. That duo was 4 for 6 on threes for a team that made half of its 22 attempts from long range.
“To shoot 50 percent behind the three-point line is incredible here,” Beckman said. “This is a hard place to shoot and we’ve learned it from years past. We’ve done a lot of work scheduling in-season to help shoot here, and we’ve done everything from practicing outside to going to venues with an open background.”
Kasey Rogers led East Fairmont with seven rebounds.
Hutchison, a La Salle signee and Spring Valley’s all-time leader in points, assists and steals, led all players with 20 points.
“She’s a dominant and fantastic player. We wanted to keep them from playing in transition like they like to play,” Beckman said.
Edwards added 18 points in defeat to go with a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Timberwolves attempted 17 more field goals than the Bees (65-48), but were 2 for 22 on threes.
“They had a good game plan,” Miller said. “They challenged us to shoot from the outside and we didn’t shoot very well. When you’re here and don’t shoot well, you go home early.“