SOUTH CHARLESTON — First, the Meadow Bridge girls lost their composure.
Then, they lost their perfect record.
Van surged past the Wildcats in the closing minutes Saturday at the South Charleston Community Center to gain a 42-40 victory in the Division 2 championship game of the West Virginia Hometown Invitational Tournament.
The first loss of the season left Class A No. 7 Meadow Bridge with a 14-1 record, while unranked Van improved to 12-5 after beating a single-A top 10 squad for the second time in three days (they outlasted No. 6 Sherman 63-59 on Feb. 1).
The Wildcats took an early 8-6 lead on a baseline jumper from MaKenzie Judy late in the opening quarter, then Kaylie Persinger's steal and subsequent 3-pointer pushed the lead to 5, 11-6. Meadow Bridge kept up the pressure as the second frame opened, as a Taylor Smith corner jumper, a Judy bucket in transition and a Judy deuce in the lane off a Persinger assist stretched the margin to 11, 17-6, midway through the period.
Van didn't wilt, though. A 5-0 spurt whittled the MB lead to six, 17-11, and the Bulldogs eventually tied it at 19-all on two points off their full-court press. Van then got a free throw from Casey Belcher with 7.0 seconds left to carry a 20-19 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Beginning with a Karlee Smith trifecta and a pair of charity tosses from Persinger, Meadow Bridge regained control in the third stanza. A Shauna Harless putback handed the 'Cats a 29-22 lead with 5:47 left in the third. A Harless foul shot made it 33-23 at the 2:10 mark, but a 5-0 Van run trimmed it to 33-28 at the end of the third quarter.
A Persinger score staked the 'Cats to a 34-29 lead early in the fourth, but Van assumed control from there. Meadow Bridge player foul-outs, a technical foul and a player ejection — as well as a key deuce by Kensley White on an uncontested inbound play — helped the Bulldogs gain the upper hand as the clock wound down. A 3-pointer from Meadow Bridge's Chasity Ballenger trimmed the Van lead to two, 39-37, with 26.6 seconds left, but the Bulldogs' Karlie LaFauci converted a pair of foul shots in the waning seconds to preserve the win.
"Our early foul trouble (Meadow Bridge was whistled for 30 fouls to Van's 11) got us, getting into our bench a little sooner than we thought," said veteran Meadow Bridge head coach Steve Taylor. "We knew they were good; they just beat Sherman the other night. They're a good basketball team.
"In the second half, there's no doubt we lost our composure a little bit. ... They stepped up their pressure."
Van was 12-of-24 from the free throw-line in the fourth period, while Meadow Bridge didn't venture to the stripe in that span. On the night, the 'Cats were 3-of-6 from the line, and Van was 21-of-38 as three Meadow Bridge players fouled out. "I'd just like for it to be a little more even," Taylor said of the disparity.
LaFauci led Van with 22 points.
Judy scored 11 and Persinger nine for the Wildcats.
Taylor was philosophical afterwards.
"We'll just use this as a learning tool," he said. "You feel worse right now, it would hurt worse in a sectional," he said he told his players.
Meadow Bridge visits Mount View at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, then hosts Greater Beckley Christian Thursday at 7 p.m.
In the girls Division I championship game at South Charleston Saturday, Cameron handily beat Greenbrier West 65-26.
In Saturday boys WVHIT action:
Meadow Bridge 92
Paden City 61
In the semifinal round of Division 2 of the boys WVHIT, the Meadow Bridge Wildcats cruised to a 92-61 win over visiting Paden City.
Four Wildcats provided double-digit scoring, paced by Kobe Rozell's 20-point effort. Will Woods chipped in 18, Jared Gladwell tallied 14 and Zack Yates scored 10.
Woods supplied 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals, Gladwell collected 10 boards, seven assists and three steals, Yates claimed nine rebounds and Lukas Stephens had eight assists.
Ethan Cross scored 17 and Trey Slider had 15 for Paden City.
Meadow Bridge shot 54.2 percent (39-of-72) from the field on the afternoon.
The Wildcats (8-6) face a big upcoming week. They will play at Valley on Monday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Midland Trail at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in a makeup game, then they will face Paw Paw for the WVHIT Division 2 championship Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Robert C. Byrd.
— Email: fayettesports@gmail.com or follow on Twitter @gb_scribe
• • •
Van (12-5)
Haleigh Cook 3 2-3 8, M.J. White 0 0-0 0, Leah Grant 1 3-9 5, Karlie LaFauci 4 13-22 22, Casey Belcher 0 1-2 1, Kensley White 2 2-2 6, Abby Sampson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 21-38 42
Meadow Bridge (14-1)
Kaylie Persinger 3 2-2 9, Shauna Harless 1 1-4 3, Taylor Smith 4 0-0 8, Karlee Smith 2 0-0 6, Savannah Mullins 0 0-0 0, MaKenzie Judy 5 0-0 11, Chasity Ballenger 1 0-0 3, Lillian Claypool 0 0-0 0, Karli Jo Pomeroy 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 3-6 40
V: 6 14 8 14 — 42
MB: 11 8 14 7 — 40
3-pointers: V: 1 (LaFauci), MB: 5 (Persinger, K. Smith 2, Judy, Ballenger). Fouled out: V: None. MB: Persinger, Mullins, Judy
• • •
Paden City (4-10)
Ethan Cross 17, Trey Slider 15, Seth Bohrer 11, Nicholas Clark 5, Bryant McCabe 6, Jason Anderson 2, Eugene Smith 5.
Meadow Bridge (8-6)
Zack Yates 10, Will Woods 18, Kobe Rozell 20, Jared Gladwell 14, Lukas Stephens 2, Caleb Richmond 6, Ean Crane 6, Nick White 6, Ayden Redden 2, Evan McCoin 5, Hunter Claypool 3, Darrelle Burdette 0.
PC: 9 16 15 21 — 61
MB: 25 27 25 15 — 92
3-pointers: PC: 10 (Cross 5, Slider 2, McCabe 2, Smith), MB: 8 (Rozell 2, Gladwell, Richmond 2, White, McCoin, Claypool). Fouled out: none.
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