The Palace on the Hill was packed for the 4th meeting between the Patriots and the Mohigans. This one was for the Class AAAA Region 1 Section 1 Championship. Wheeling Park gained victories in the 2 regular season meetings. Morgantown defeated Park for an OVAC Championship. A sectional championship was the prize for this matchup.
As anticipated this 4th meeting did not disappoint. The student sections for both schools were into it from the beginning. Each cheer squad was up to the task as well, performing to the delight of the crowd between timeouts. This kept the student sections engaged even during the timeouts. Outside of the fans that traveled from Morgantown and of course the homestanding Patriots, fans from all over the Valley came to watch this showdown.
The lights over the stands went down and the floor shined from the lights above, a uniqueness to the Palace, the game action was fast right from the tip. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with Morgantown coming out hot to take a 4-0 lead. Not to be outdone the Patriots came back with a couple baskets of their own. Once the ball went through the hoop for Wheeling Park they went to their vaunted full court pressure defense. The quarter ended with the Patriots holding a slim 18-17 lead.
Fast paced action continued into the 2nd stanza. As the quarter wore on the defenses of each team started to shine. Morgantown utilizing a half court man strategy, Wheeling Park stuck to their full court man when they scored. The scoring slowed a bit late as the Mohigans tried to run out the last 45 seconds of the period to get a final shot. An Alexis Bordas (who lead the Patriots with 23) steal and a half-court shot at the buzzer that was just off the mark, left the homestanding Patriots with a 32-30 lead at the break.
Natalie Dougherty, 8 points for the game, started things of right for the Patriots on their first possession of the second half with a 3 pointer to extend the Park lead. Not to be outdone Morgantown’s Kate Hawkins, second for Morgantown with 15 tallies, answered with a 3 for the Mohigans. Wheeling Park’s full court pressure did not lead to many turnovers, but it did allow the Patriots to control the pace of the game. Some missed shots for the Mohigans and some key rebounds and put backs, like LaLa Woods put back from her own miss, put the Patriots up 9 during the 3rd.
Just as it looked like the Patriots may pull away, Hawkins nailed a bonus ball to pull the Mohigans to within 6 at 46-40. Lily Jordan, who led the Mohigans with 16, made a short 2 pointer on the offensive end. With the Mohigans down just 4, Jordan then got a block on the defensive end to give Morgantown a chance to pull within 2. The Patriots got a huge stop and a 2 to take a 50-42 lead going into the final quarter.
The Patriots and Mohigans traded baskets early in the 4th, as the game stood at 54-46 in favor of the Patriots. Woods came up with a big 3 to extend the Park lead to 11. Again, it looked like the Patriots would pull away. With the lead extended to 12 and the Mohigans needing a basket, they turned to OVAC hero Mia Henkins, who hit a 3 to get Morgantown with 9. With Park holding a 59-49 advantage, Sof Wassick hit a couple 2’s for the visitors to get them within 6.
Late in the quarter Hawkins again came up big for the Mohigans to within 5. Then with another basket to cut the Patriot lead to 3 with just 10 seconds to go. Woods (17 on the night) was fouled on the inbounds and stepped the line and calmly added 2 free throws to give the Patriots the 66-61 advantage and what would be the final score. This was a team win for the Patriots. They were unselfish on the offensive end with some key passes and screens to set each other up. On the defensive end they talked and played as a team, something Coach Young has worked on all season.
It was a shame to see this one end. It’s one of the games that you wished would have gone on all night. The Patriots now hold a 3-1 advantage in this series this season. Each team has a championship now, Morgantown OVAC and Wheeling Park a Region 1 Section 1. Hopefully for these two squads we get to see a 5th installment this season, next time to determine a state championship. Good luck to both teams in the regional semifinals next week.
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