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ATWOOD (February 16) — In a
much-anticipated championship showdown, the
Clarksburg Lady Rockets narrowly defeated a
scrappy and determined West Carroll Lady War
Eagle squad 61-58 to claim the District 13A
title.
Clarksburg 61, West Carroll 58.
Charging from the gates, West Carroll,
utilizing the outside scoring of Ashley
Powell, Misty Garmany, Megan Woodard and
Emily Hall and strong inside scoring of
Jessica Carter and Brittany Luther, battled
to a 16-10 lead over tournament first-seed
Clarksburg.
The Lady Rockets, led by Whitney Walker’s
10-point performance, trimmed West Carroll’s
lead to 20-19 at the 5:01 mark of the second
period.
Paced by Carter’s aggressive inside scoring,
West Carroll led 26-24 at the 2:27 mark. On
the ensuing possession, Clarksburg’s
DeAndrea Jamison drilled a two-pointer to
knot the score at 26-all at the 2:12 mark.
Following Walker’s free throw conversion at
the 1:46 mark, the Lady Rockets’ took their
first lead of the contest, 27-26. Utilizing
a three-pointer by Erin Grant, free throw
and two-pointer by Walker and free throw
conversion by Amanda Renfroe, Clarksburg
increased their lead to 34-28 at the half.
West Carroll, spurred by Jessica Carter’s
eight-point performance, outscored the Lady
Rockets 20-12 to take a narrow 48-46 lead at
the end of the third period.
With the crowd’s intensity rising to
fever-pitch, Lady Rocket Grant converted a
two-pointer at the 6:51 mark to tie the
score at 50-all.
Lady War Eagle Luther, scoring all her
team’s points in the final period, converted
two free throws and a two-pointer in the
paint to give her team a 54-48 advantage at
the 5:51 mark.
Fighting for control of the boards,
Clarksburg’s Cary converted two key baskets
to trim the Lady War Eagle lead to 54-52 at
the 4:48 mark.
Clarksburg, collecting a missed Lady War
Eagle shot on their next possession, passed
the ball to Grant who converted a
three-pointer at 4:23 mark, giving her team
a 55-54 lead.
In bounding the ball, West Carroll
methodically passed the ball around the
perimeter until Carter broke to the basket
and converted a two-pointer at the 3:00
mark, recapturing the lead for her team,
56-55.
Clarksburg responded as Amanda Renfroe
converted a two-pointer to restore the Lady
Rocket lead to 57-56 with 2:34 remaining in
the contest.
Battling beneath the boards, West Carroll’s
Luther converted a crucial two-pointer to
recapture a 58-57 lead for the Lady War
Eagles at the 2:19 mark.
Settling into a defensive struggle, both
teams’ missed crucial scoring opportunities
until Clarksburg’s Grant converted a
two-pointer at the :56 mark to edge her team
into the lead, 59-58.
West Carroll marched the ball across
mid-court and patiently passed the ball for
a final shot attempt. Clarksburg’s Cary,
gathering in a missed Lady War Eagle shot
with 9.8 seconds remaining, was quickly
fouled by West Carroll to stop the clock.
Stepping to the foul line, Cary converted
two free throws to extend the Lady Rocket
lead to 61-58.
Racing down-court, the Lady War Eagle’s
attempted a potential game-tying
three-pointer that bounced off the rim. Lady
Rocket Grant rebounded the ball and was
fouled with 3.5 seconds remaining.
West Carroll, rebounding Grant’s missed free
throw attempt, called their final timeout
with 2.9 seconds remaining on the game
clock.
In bounding the ball, the Lady War Eagle’s
shot and missed a final three-point attempt
at the buzzer as Clarksburg team members and
fans poured onto the court to celebrate
their emotional, hard-fought district
championship victory.
Following the game, members of the
All-District 13A team were honored. They
were: Hollow Rock-Bruceton-Haly Haynes,
Amber Kendall, Jessica Willis;
McKenzie-Morgan Limbaugh; West
Carroll-Jessica Carter, Emily Hall; Big
Sandy-Heather Ray; Huntingdon-Deidra Jordan,
Mikelsey Jordan; Clarksburg-Erin Grant,
Brooke Cary, Whitney Walker and Amanda
Renfroe.
District 13A Girls’ Player of the Year was
awarded to West Carroll’s Brittany Luther.
District 13A Coach of the Year honors was
awarded to Clarksburg’s Jamie Lindsey. |
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