MORGANTOWN – For the second consecutive season, the University High School girls basketball team will travel south on I-79 to Charleston for the state tournament.
Wednesday night’s 54-46 victory over Hedgesville sent the Hawks to the state quarterfinals for the 13th time in program history where they will battle No. 2 Parkersburg on Thursday, March 12, at 1:00 p.m.
Senior Brianna Fox scored a game-high 26 points, converting 10 of her 16 shot attempts and 6 of her 9 free throws. She added five steals, three assists, and a pair of boards as well.
“Tonight just came down to our defense,” UHS first-year head coach Sammy Lusk said. “Some teams would fold in the situation we faced tonight after letting the lead go but we came back and this team fought. I couldn’t be more proud of them in that situation.”
The Hawks led by seven at halftime (32-25) before going ice cold offensively in the third quarter, scoring only one point on a free throw six minutes into the frame.
Hedgesville (10-12) fired off a 9-1 run in that same timeframe, eventually stealing a 34-33 lead on a triple by senior Maggie Boyer.
But UHS clamped down defensively and finally found its rhythm on the offensive end, scoring 10 points in the final 90 seconds of the third, capped by a pair of threes by juniors Whitney Cox and Cheyanne Bishoff.
“We have a lot of players that came into the season without any varsity experience, and in that situation, most would fold,” Lusk said. “But we didn’t. We came back and hit a huge shot, pushed the lead back to two possessions with our defense, and relaxed. That’s what I told them in the huddle before Whitney hit that three, just relax and don’t force anything.”
Cox provided a massive spark for UHS (14-7) with five 3-pointers in the contest, including three in the second quarter and her fourth at the end of the third frame.
“We’ve battled the mental aspect of the game all year,” Lusk said. “I try to continue to tell them to control what they can control and just play the next play. You can’t dwell on what happened, good or bad, on the previous play and be ready for the next one. The only play that matters is the next play.”
UHS opened the fourth quarter strong, stretching a six point lead to 11, 51-39.
Neither team would score for the next four minutes of the game, as the Hawks slowed their pace down on offense and worked the clock.
The Eagles eventually ran out of time as UHS knocked down free throws down the stretch to hold on for a massive victory.
“It’s always everyone’s goal to get to Charleston,” Lusk said. “Most programs don’t get to experience that, and if you look at our banner in the gym here, we’ve only been there 12 times in the history of the school, so it’s a huge accomplishment. Now let’s go down and try to make some noise.”
BOX SCORE
No. 3 University 54, No. 6 Hedgesville 46
HEDG 13 12 12 9 – 46
UNIV 11 21 11 11 – 54
Hedgesville (10-12) – Bodkins 5 0-0 11 Boyer 4 0-0 10 Brown 4 0-1 10 Graham 4 0-0 8 Plaugher 1 0-3 2 Jackson 1 0-0 3 TOTALS 19 0-4 46
University (14-7) – Fox 10 6-9 26 Cox 6 1-3 17 Campbell 2 1-3 5 Hall 1 0-0 2 Bishoff 1 0-2 3 TOTALS 20 8-17 54
3pt goals made – University 6 (Cox 5 Bishoff 1); Hedgesville 6 (Brown 2 Boyer 2 Bodkins 1 Jackson 1).
