CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Parkersburg South girls basketball coach has seen no shortage of resiliency from his team throughout the 2025-26 season.
So when the Patriots’ 14-point halftime lead was cut to four late in the third quarter, Davis figured his team would offer a quality response.
That’s precisely what Parkersburg South did, scoring eight unanswered points to again open up its lead, and responding to one final Bulldogs’ charge to earn a 59-46 victory in a Class AAAA quarterfinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
“We answered it in the fourth quarter well and bounced back and that’s kind of been us all year,” Davis said. “When we’ve had a little disappointment, we’ve bounced back and been resilient and that’s one of the many good qualities this basketball team has.”
The fifth-seeded Patriots (18-5) were on top 43-37 to start the fourth quarter after Lindsey Logston scored on a drive to the basket for the final points of the third.
Emilee Owens knocked down a three-pointer 13 seconds into the fourth to up the lead to nine, and after Quinn Bolyard split two free throws, PSHS went on top by a dozen when Kenna Mace scored from close range.
“At this point, we didn’t think the moment would be too big for us,” Davis said. “That didn’t cross our mind no matter what our roster makeup is.”
The No. 4 Bulldogs (19-3) had another run in them, however, and got separate buckets from Aviyanna King, with one in between from Tianna Sanabria to close to within six halfway through the fourth.
But not until an Alexis Simmons triple with 52 seconds left did MHS score again, at which point its deficit was 53-46.
Logston followed with two free throws, and the Patriots made their next four in the 22 seconds that followed to wrap up the win.
“They executed a little bit better than us tonight, but that doesn’t define the season that we had,” Bulldogs’ coach Ronnie Fitzpatrick said. “It’s been a truly amazing ride for us this year.”
The result allows PSHS to face George Washington in a semifinal.
“We have people willing to fulfill roles each day no matter what that game or practice requires,” Davis said.
Thursday’s outcome was largely decided on the Patriots’ dominance throughout the second quarter.
MHS led 14-13 after one quarter, but trailed 36-22 at halftime after Parkersburg South made 8-of-13 shots and 6-of-9 free throws in the second quarter.
The Patriots scored the first 11 points of the second quarter to gain a double-digit advantage at 24-14 when Logston scored inside.
Logston was the catalyst with nine points in the period after she’d accounted for eight in the first, while teammate Olivia Conaway contributed six in the second quarter.
Logston scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the first half. She also led all players with six steals.
“My mindset was to be aggressive and take what’s given to me,” Logston said. “We got a lot of offense from our defense. We did a good job of getting turnovers and translating that into offense.”
Bolyard, a freshman, scored 14.
“We felt really prepared for this moment,” Bolyard said. “We didn’t go in hoping we could win. We know we can win. We just have to do what we can do.”
Martinsburg had 24 turnovers and was 6 for 16 on free throws, while the Patriots made 18-of-32 foul shots.
“We had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers. That’s the stage,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s getting used to being in this environment. At times, we got ahead of our skis if you will and maybe threw a pass or when we should’ve taken an extra dribble or jumped and double-teamed when we were supposed to rotate.”
The Bulldogs were 6 for 16 on free throws, while the Patriots made 18-of-32 attempts.
King led Martinsburg with 12 points.
“For us and who we are,” Fitzpatrick said, “all we do is put our head down and keep learning.”