SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va – The South Cardinals turned up their second-half defense, and a pair of Parkersburg Big Reds led a balanced scoring attack against the North Bears in an 80-78 win in the North-South Girls’ Basketball Classic at the South Charleston Community Center.
“Our defense, I thought, really fueled our offense and helped us get a little momentum offensively and hats off to them. They played great defense and then offensively, we had some good inside looks,” South coach Amy Chapman said.
The South trailed for nearly the entire first half but stayed within striking distance even as the North tried to widen the gap. The Bears led by three points at the first media timeout and by two at the end of the first quarter but could not shake the Cardinals.
The back-and-forth continued through the second frame with a flurry of three-pointers from John Marshall’s Rilee Storm, Hampshire’s Della Knight, and East Fairmont’s Emma Moore, keeping the North in front. A triple from Moore gave the Bears the largest lead either team would hold, with a 43-35 advantage with four minutes left in the half.
Trailing by six at the half, the South raised its game on defense and held the North to just three points over the first five minutes of the third quarter. That effort sparked a 12-0 run that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game when Parkersburg’s Kennedy Porter followed a missed free throw by Greenbrier East’s Kennedy Stewart to go ahead 54-53.
Porter’s Big Red teammate Lauren Flanagan kept the momentum rolling in the fourth quarter, scoring five of her 14 points in the last ten minutes. After the North battled back to tie the game at 60, Huntington’s Ava Gallion scored in transition and Flanagan buried another triple to run the lead to five.
“Basketball is just a game of runs and they got the run there in the first half and we just had to calm down, level ourselves out, and a make a run in the second and we came out on top,” Flanagan said.
Storm battled to keep the Bears close down the stretch, scoring inside to cut the deficit to three, and moments later, a three-point play by Grafton’s Kenna Keener made the gap a single point with 47 seconds to play.
After the South surged back ahead by four, Storm converted an and-one of her own, but Gallion split a pair of free throws, and Storm’s three-pointer at the buzzer fell short.
Flanagan earned South Most Valuable Player honors in her final competitive basketball game before attending Ohio University with hopes of becoming a doctor.
“This win, on top of our state title win, is just wonderful. I love these girls and I developed a really good relationship today with all the other girls and it makes it ten times more fun playing together,” she said.
Porter joined her in double figures with 11 as eight South players scored at least five points. Storm was named North MVP with a game-best 20 points.
Knight added 12, and Moore scored 10 in defeat.
In addition to Flanagan, Porter, and Lucie Cline getting another opportunity to play for Parkersburg head coach Chris Murray, Chapman coached her all-state center Ava Dobbins for the final team. She appreciated the opportunity to return to the North-South Classic and coach the best West Virginia has to offer.
“It’s so fun every time I’m a part of these all-star games. They’re so fun. The girls are so fun. They want to have a good time and, wherever they’re from, they’re always well-coached and they always do a nice job,” she said