John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WEST PORTSMOUTH — No matter how the offense plays, the West Senators’ defense never rests.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
By forcing 20 turnovers and holding Minford to less than 10 points in every quarter, the Senators (9-1, 7-1 SOC II) picked up a huge Southern Ohio Conference win on Monday night by a 37-27 tally.
“The job isn’t done,” Deaver said. “We have a long season ahead of us. But I think if we keep working hard in practice, which is intense every day, I feel pretty good. I think we can be pretty good this season.”
With Minford coming to the West Side with no losses in SOC II play behind outstanding post play, the Senators had to up their game to move into first place after the first round of conference play.
Levi Deaver got the Senators on the board early with a drive and score before the Falcons’ Lindsee Williams answered with a basket on the interior.
Deaver found Sydney McDermott in the corner for a triple and a lead that the Senators would hold throughout most of the first half. Minford’s interior play of Williams and Marlee Pendleton chipped away at the Senators’ lead, but with all five starters scoring for West, it led 11-8 after a quarter of play.
“Being one of the main scorers on our team, that’s what I needed to do [early] to get my team pumped up,” Deaver said. “They all feed off that energy and we all feed off high energy. So I felt like me driving to the paint got us going. It was a team effort.”
The Senators continued to play outstanding defense throughout the rest of the half,with Deaver, Emma Sayre and Charlie Jo Howard combining to keep the Falcons’ backcourt scoreless through 16 minutes of play. Williams and Pendleton scored all 14 points for the Falcons in the first half, keeping them in the game while the backcourt attempted to break through.
After the Falcons (7-2, 6-1 SOC II) took a 14-13 lead late in the half, Deaver finished the quarter on a personal 5-0 run to give the Senators an 18-14 lead at the break.
To start the second half, West began to do everything they could to keep the ball out of Williams’ hands.
Maelynn Howell did an outstanding job of individually guarding Williams, but also had excellent help with the backside rotations of the Senators’ defense and with some breaks in the form of Kate Rollins off the bench.
“This was a really big game for our bigs,” Deaver said. “It was a great opportunity on defense. They really worked, they really boxed out and you could tell that they were all in. They did their job. I’m proud of them.”
West extended its lead with the 3-ball, thanks to triples from McDermott, Howard and Elisha Andre. With the offense going strong for the first time on the night, the Senators’ guard trio continued to play lockdown defense en route to a 31-19 lead after three quarters.
Minford was not done, however, as it started the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run with baskets from Williams, Maggie Risner and Lexi Conkel. On the defensive end, Pendleton took two charges to help the Falcons gain some traction.
Minford had multiple possessions with a chance to cut the Senators’ lead below six, but would turn it over on each.
Finally, a drive and a bucket from Sayre put West up by eight before she was joined by Rollins and Howard to salt the game away at the free throw line. While Williams and Pendleton combined for 23 points for the Falcons, the backcourt of West outscored Minford by a count of 20-4, ultimately making the difference.
“We have a lot of experience,” Sayre said. “Us guards have been on a varsity court since our freshman year. So we know what to do. We know what passes to make and what shots to take. I just feel like that experience really helps us cool down and makes us less nervous when we have to run the clock out.”
With the win, the Senators are guaranteed at least a share of the SOC II lead after the first round of play.
Deaver, McDermott and Sayre all led the Senators with eight points while Deaver led the way in rebounding with five.
Williams led the Falcons with 15 points and eight rebounds while Pendleton added eight points and eight rebounds. Ava Cronin led both teams with a game-high four assists.
West will now enjoy a break for the remainder of 2022 before jumping back into action on Jan. 2 when it travels to Vinton County. The Falcons will host Wheelersburg to finish the opening round on Thursday.
“Obviously, this is a tough league to play in,” Sayre said. “You have to show up every night. Anybody can knock you off. We got knocked off last week. But it felt nice to come back and get a good win over a great team.”
BOX SCORE
Minford: 8-6-5-8 — 37
West: 11-7-13-6 — 27
West: 8-24 FG, 0-1 FT, 4-7 3pt., 24 rebounds, 20 turnovers, 7 assists.
Minford: 8-24 FG, 17-22 FT, 4-7 3pt., 15 rebounds, 16 turnovers, 4 assists.
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