CHARLESTON, W.Va. — No. 1 George Washington outscored No. 8 Washington by 10 points in the opening quarter of Thursday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
The start went a long way toward determining the outcome, as WHS scored the first nine second-half points to pull to within one, but could never fully get over the hump as GW advanced with a 65-52 victory.
“Thankful that we got off to a good start, but the rest of the way the game was fairly even and that’s a credit to Washington and their sense of urgency,” GW coach Jamie LaMaster said. “The short of it, we get out-rebounded by 20 and go 5 for 24 from three, but we force 23 turnovers. We played pretty well defensively for the majority of the game and had multiple 5 and 10-second calls, so we were pretty disruptive.”
The result advances GW (22-1) to a semifinal Friday against the winner of Martinsburg-Parkersburg South.
Washington (14-9) got the game’s first basket from Timia Perry, but by the time it scored again, GW was clinging to a 12-4 lead.
Six different GW players scored in the opening period, while Washington had three field goals and eight turnovers.
But WHS increased its offensive efficiency throughout the second quarter, shooting 7 for 16 and getting six points from both Perry and Chyler Shade, who made all three of her field-goal attempts.
Zi’Keryah Myers was the offensive catalyst for GW and scored seven of her team’s 17 points as the squads broke even over that 8-minute stretch and the No. 1 seed went to halftime with a 33-23 lead.
Any thought that a comfortable victory loomed for GW was put to rest early into the second half, which Washington began with nine unanswered points to trail by one.
Four of Washington’s five starters scored during the 9-0 spurt in the third, including a conventional three-point play from Perry and Natalia Holmes’ jumper off a second-chance opportunity that left her team facing a 33-32 deficit at the 3:07 mark of the third.
“We had a chance to see them early in the season, too, so that helps,” Washington coach Rahsaan Edwards said. “We were up 23-20 at the half in the first game. We felt pretty good coming into this game, too. It was a matter of getting the nerves calmed, but I thought we came out ready to go.”
Holmes’ next bucket had Washington back to within a point at 35-34, but GW ran off 11 points over the final 2:02 of the third starting with Jeriyah Pryor’s conventional three-point play.
Rayana Breckenridge followed with a triple and Mariah Johnson scored the final points of the period on a corner three that left GW on top 46-37 with 8 minutes to play.
“It felt great to get the energy back on our side so we could close out the game,” Breckenridge said.
Pryor scored the first four points of the fourth to expand the advantage to 13, and Washington never got closer than what its deficit to start the fourth was in the final period.
“They don’t panic. We’ve been there before,” LaMaster said. “We always know to maintain composure, stay strong defensively, be unselfish on the offensive end and it’ll work out for you.”
Breckenridge led a balanced attack with 18 points. Pryor had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Lewis scored 13 off the bench while making all six foul shots.
“Down here, all the teams are quality,” LaMaster said. “Seeds sometimes go out the window and you have to sit down and respect the opponent. I was proud of the energy. Basketball is a game of runs.”
Washington had a 46-26 rebounding advantage but was responsible for all but 10 of 33 turnovers.
Perry’s 18 points and 13 rebounds led the way in defeat.
“She was an animal on the boards again and tough inside,” Edwards said.
Holmes scored 10 and Sheridan Itobi added nine.
“I hurt for them because I know how much they put into this and how hard they work for this,” Edwards said. “That’s my biggest thing. They work extremely hard. But I’m proud of them. Everything we’ve accomplished this year is because they put in the time and effort.”