CHARLESTON, W.Va. — East Fairmont’s main objective was to hold Greenbrier East standouts Kennedy Stewart and Ava Workman in check.
To an extent, it was mission accomplished in that regard.
But the seventh-seeded Bees had no answer for Spartans’ 6-foot-1 senior Hannah Fuller, who dominated the second half and totaled 16 points and 17 rebounds to help the No. 1 Spartans finish off an unbeaten season with a 57-51 victory in the Class AAA title game at the Charleston Coliseum.
“There are times when we expect it and it doesn’t happen. Today, it really happened,” Spartans’ coach Jim Justice said. “They didn’t expect it and didn’t have much of an answer for it.”
Fuller was especially productive after halftime after going to the break with two points, four rebounds and no field-goal attempts.
That changed in a big way in the third quarter when Fuller made 4-of-7 shots, scored 10 points and snatched six rebounds, helping GEHS (27-0) enter the fourth quarter with a 45-39 lead.
“She went and got the ball. She wanted it,” Stewart said.
Fuller continued to play aggressive and assertive down the stretch, helping her team hold off the Bees with four points and seven boards in the final period. Ten of Fuller’s 17 rebounds came on the offensive end, helping the Spartans hold a commanding 59-24 rebounding advantage that included 30 offensive boards. In turn, Greenbrier East had a 15-2 edge on second-chance points.
“We had a tough time containing [No.] 55 tonight and matching up with her size,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “Those are points of emphasis, but when you’re 5-5 and 5-6 trying to battle 6-foot, it’s a tall task at that.”
There were tense times for GEHS throughout much of the game and down the stretch despite leading 55-45 with 1:02 remaining after Workman made the second of two free throws.
East Fairmont (18-7) answered with Kasey Rogers’ fifth and final three-pointer, and after the Bees forced a jump ball that allowed them to regain possession, Emma Moore connected from long range to make it a four-point game with 30 seconds to play.
“They’re a great team — not kind of good,” Justice said. “They showed that by hanging in there and scared the daylights out of us.”
Workman split two free throws 5 seconds later for a five-point lead, and an East Fairmont turnover on its following possession all but ended any hope.
“Heck of a Triple-A championship game for both sides,” Beckman said. “Extremely proud of the season we had. From start to finish, you couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to be around. From our first practice until now, they fought — and they fought until the very end.”
A solid start went a long way for Greenbrier East, which got seven first-quarter points from Stewart and an additional five from guard Kala Waller to build a 17-10 lead after 8 minutes.
But the Bees were better in the second period and got two threes from Rogers and one from Moore for nine of their 14 points in the frame, while cutting their deficit to 29-24 at halftime.
Stewart entered the intermission with a game-high 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting with three triples. She added a fourth three in the third quarter for her only points of the second half and it came at a pivotal time as part of a 7-0 spurt after EFHS had gotten to within 31-29.
Greenbrier East ultimately settled for a 45-39 lead through three and was able to withstand a game effort from the Bees.
The result gives the Spartans their third state championship and first since 2012.
Fuller’s strong showing came on 5-for-8 shooting and she made 6-of-8 free throws.
“Not many big kids can pass the ball well and shoot foul shots, but she can and has a great touch with it,” Justice said. “Nothing makes me more proud.”
Stewart scored 18 and Workman added nine, while gearing much of her attention to defense, where she helped hold East Fairmont guard Kailee Haymond to two points on 0-for-5 shooting.
“My role today was to not let her score,” Workman said. “She wasn’t allowed to score today when I was guarding her.”
“We went into the game knowing she was going to guard me like that. They had to go to that last time,” Haymond said. “She did a great job on me. We knew we had to get it to other girls and other girls had to step up.”
Rogers led all players with 21 points and made 5 of 9 from long range.
“She shot the ball extremely well today, but we knew they were going to shade to Kailee,” Beckman said. “That’s what they did on February 13 [when Greenbrier East topped East Fairmont, 55-48.] Ava Workman was all over Kailee. Kasey was able to step up in a magnitude of this game.”
Moore was the Bees’ second-leading scorer with 10.
Class AAA all-tournament team
Riley Felton, Keyser
Karson Jones, Nitro
Kasey Rogers, East Fairmont
Mackenna McClure, Greenbrier East
Kailee Haymond, East Fairmont
Ava Workman, Greenbrier East
Emma Moore, East Fairmont
MVP: Kennedy Stewart, Greenbrier East