CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Morgantown wouldn’t go away.
Parkersburg had an answer time and time again.
Ultimately, the Big Reds’ ability to execute down the stretch was pivotal and Parkersburg held off Morgantown for a 56-51 victory in a Class AAAA semifinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
“What a great game between two teams with a combined 18 state titles,” PHS coach Chris Murray said. “Credit to Morgantown. They found a way through their adversity.
“I jut felt like we kept getting really good offensive opportunities and forcing them into tough shots.”
The result sends No. 2 PHS (18-6) to the state title game Saturday against rival Parkersburg South.
“Big shoutout to Wood County basketball,” Murray said, noting Williamstown is in the Class AA title game as well. “I would say that has to be a golden era of talent in the area.”
A three-pointer from Morgantown’s Carper Messerly pulled the Mohigans (16-8) even at 44 at the 4:45 mark of the fourth quarter, before the Big Reds countered with six unanswered points on two free throws from Kennedy Porter and separate buckets from Faithlyn Butcher and Lucie Cline, the latter of which made it a six-point game with 2:50 remaining.
But the Mohigans displayed the resiliency that allowed them to reach this stage and were to within two after two free throws from Sydney Deuesenberry and a paint basket from Alyssa Tingler.
“That’s the way semifinal Friday is supposed to be,” MHS coach John Fowkes said. “It’s a heck of a ball game between two teams that I’d consider to be rivals, but it’s not a nasty rivalry.”
Butcher split two free throws with 1:34 remaining to make it 51-48, and after Porter rebounded a Messerly miss, PHS point guard Lauren Flanagan made a floater in the paint to up her team’s lead to give with 52 seconds.
“You can’t guard two people,” Flanagan said. “[Porter] is such a force down there and she had to decide. She was hugging KP’s side the last couple possessions and I thought I’m just going to shoot it, because I work hard on my shot and deserve to take it.”
Tingler scored again with 39 seconds left to make it a one-score game, and after Flangan made the second of two free throws, the Big Reds produced a defensive stop late that allowed Butcher to seal the game with two more throws.
“We thought the zone would give them problems, but they came out on fire. That’s what it takes to win in Charleston,” Fowkes said. “You have to knock down shots. We were the better team in the second half at times, but the ball bounced their way a couple times.”
PHS led 16-11 after one quarter on the strength of six points from Frances Guice and five from Flanagan.
“We were getting to the rim on ball reversals and it was a matter of converting those,” Murray said.
Porter’s seven points and five rebounds in the second period were instrumental in ensuring PHS didn’t lose any ground as the Big Reds went to halftime on top, 29-24.
“I was struggling getting boards and putbacks in the first quarter, but something sparked in me and I needed to get boards and change the pace of the game,” Porter said.
But after making 9-of-25 first-half field-goal attempts, MHS shot 5 for 11 in the third quarter. That included a trey from Messerly to bring that cut her team’s deficit to 40-37, and the Mohigans were to within one late in the frame on a Leyton Balderson layup, though Porter scored in the closing seconds of the third to send her team into the fourth with a three-point lead.
Porter paced a balanced scoring attack with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Her effort helped PHS win the board battle, 43-32.
Flanagan followed with 13 points, while Guice scored 11 and Butcher added nine.
“[Butcher] was a spark plug for them,” Fowkes said. “She wasn’t even on the scouting report.”
Tingler shot 6 for 8 and scored a team-high 12 points, while Messerly added 11 in defeat.
“This group of kids, what they mean to this old guy sitting here, I can’t even put into words,” Fowkes said. “They’re the greatest human beings on earth. They make me a better person.”