Lady Pioneers hold off late surge in 45-37 win
Joel Brewton | Herald-Standard
Waynesburg Central’s Kirsten Garber (23) fights for the loose ball with West Greene’s Emily Courtwright (24) and Alyssa Raber (30) during Friday’s game at Waynesburg Central High School.
Waynesburg Central's Lyndsey Huhn (32) goes in for layup against West Greene during Friday's game at Waynesburg Central High School.
West Greene's Emily Hoag (13) passes the ball over the hands of Waynesburg Central's Jackie Tharp (24) during Friday's game at Waynesburg Central High School.
WAYNESBURG — The West Greene girls basketball squad overcame a late surge from Waynesburg Central to preserved to a 45-37 win Friday night between the two county rivals.
After losing their first game of the season to Frazier on Thursday, the Lady Pioneers (4-1) bounced back and got back to their winning ways with great rebounding and defense.
“When you get to the free throw line, hit your free throws, rebound and play defense, you give yourself a chance to win every night,” West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. “This is our third road game of the week and we knew we would be a little tired. We pushed through, and these girls are strong mentally. We left it all on the court and we wanted it more in the fourth.”
Madison Raber compiled a double-double in West Greene’s victory with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Emily Hoag scored a career-high 12 points and was 9-of-10 from the foul line.
The Lady Pioneers also got solid games from Alyssa Raber (seven points/12 rebounds) and Emily Courtwright (nine points/six rebounds).
Lyndsey Huhn tallied a team-high 15 points for the Lady Raiders (1-6), while Celine Monica added 11 and Kerilyn Wilkins collected seven.
“West Greene is well-coached and they run their system pretty well,” Waynesburg Central coach John VanMeter said. “We fought back in the final eight minutes and had a chance to take the lead late. Even though we lost, I loved the fight of these girls.”
Trailing 4-2 early on in the opening quarter, West Greene scored six straight points to retake the lead and the momentum.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Waynesburg took its first lead of the night, 12-10, after a mid-range jumper by Wilkins. The visitors quickly responded on their next possession, as Hoag nailed a 3-pointer to give the Lady Pioneers a 13-12 lead at the end of one.
Both teams struggled to get any offensive flow in the second quarter Hoag scored six of the eight points for West Greene in the quarter, all of which came from the foul line.
“Foul shooting was outstanding for us,” Watson said. “Emily Hoag shot the ball 90 percent from the foul line and that’s unbelievable because going into the game she was only 2-of-8 from the line. She stepped up for us and gave us that secondary scoring we didn’t have against Frazier.”
The Lady Pioneers held a 21-19 edge at intermission.
After West Greene began the third quarter on a 10-2 run, Waynesburg tallied two baskets from Monica and Huhn to trim the deficit to 31-25 going into the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to pack the inside and let their other shooters beat us,” VanMeter said. “Our goal was to limit their opportunities on the inside and stop the outside shot. The biggest difference in the game was that they shot the ball well from the free throw line.”
Courtwright started the fourth with an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Lady Pioneers a 34-25 advantage, but the Lady Raiders rallied back with an 11-2 run, capped off by a lay-up from Breanna Scott that knotted the game up at 36-36.
“We got into a rhythm in that fourth quarter and played more man-to-man (defense),” VanMeter said. “We are a better ball club when we are in transition and when our defense helps start our offense. We got into a groove and we were able to tie it up.”
Alyssa Raber broke the deadlock with an old-fashioned three-point play and West Greene ended the game on a 9-1 rally.
The Lady Pioneers out-rebounded its county rival by a 36-27 margin, and shot 18-of-26 from the free throw line.
“Waynesburg is a big rival for us and they have a lot of solid shooters,” Watson said. “We got some outside shots to fall and we were able spread the floor in the second half. We were too stagnant in the first half and we didn’t reverse the ball. Our ball movement was excellent and we got the ball into the post easier.”
Non-section
West Greene 13-8-10-14 — 45
Waynesburg Central 12-7-6-12 — 37
West Greene: Madison Raber 15, Emily Hoag 12, Emily Courtwright 9. Waynesburg Central: Lyndsey Huhn 15, Celine Monica 11. Records: West Greene (4-1), Waynesburg Central (1-6).