Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WEST PORTSMOUTH — West has never won an SOC II title in the entirety of its girls basketball program’s history.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
However, the Senators are now on the cusp of making school history with five games left after clearing a major hurdle on Thursday.
The Senators (16-1, 12-1 SOC II) started the night on fire and never let their flame be extinguished, earning a 55-46 victory over Wheelersburg to take over sole possession of first place in the SOC II title race.
“There’s such a familiarity between both teams, but these girls were ready to compete and I just had to move out of the way,” West coach Larry Howell said. “We put challenges in front of our kids every day whether it’s in practice or a game, and they answer the bell every single time. This is an experienced group that won 18 games last season, but they wanted this one and took it.”
There’s still work to be done with a one-game lead and three SOC II games left, including a big one next Thursday against Waverly — who handed the Senators their lone loss of the season.
But for now, they’re in the driver’s seat and taking the fight to everyone.
“We’ll enjoy this one, but once we step back on the court for practice, it’s a new challenge ahead,” Howell said. “But these girls are locked in and it’s our job as coaches to just keep feeding them enough to keep them hungry.”
Wasting no time, Emma Sayre and Charlie Jo Howard combined to start the game on a 6-0 run. Wheelersburg (13-2, 10-2 SOC II) answered with a 5-0 run, only for West to turn up the heat behind Maelynn Howell and Lexi Deaver to end the quarter on a 10-0 run for a 16-5 lead.
“That early lead let us relax, but also at the same point, I felt we were a little too energized and wasting energy just by celebrating instead of simply playing,” Larry Howell said. “We wanted to play with a lead and make Wheelersburg chase us. They had a tough time staying in front of our guards and we hit some timely shots.”
The Pirates desperately needed a spark, so Makenna Walker gave them one.
After shooting 2-for-13 in the first quarter as a team, Walker buried back-to-back 3’s as part of a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to 17-15. Sayre and Howell then led the charge on a 9-2 run to create distance, but Wheelersburg’s Madison Whittaker connected on a triple before the buzzer to make it a 26-20 game at the break.
The Pirates had a couple of chances to take the lead early in the third. However, missed free throws and untimely rim outs kept them scrambling.
Whittaker canned a 3, trimming the lead to 32-30, but Howell answered back with the next five points for the Senators to help them take a 37-32 lead into the fourth.
“Maelynn is such a matchup problem and she does such a great job running the floor, protecting the rim and rebounding the ball,” Larry Howell said. “We felt very comfortable with that lead, considering we were one foul away from shooting the bonus and our kids were executing the game plan defensively. We just needed to take care of the ball.”
Deaver opened the fourth with five straight points for the Senators before Howard later drilled a trey to push the lead into double digits at 46-35.
It seemed like the game was well in hand when West took a 48-36 lead, yet Wheelersburg still had a pulse.
Annie Coriell hit two free throws, Lexie Rucker connected on back-to-back buckets, and a Senator turnover turned into a bucket from Whittaker to cap an 8-0 run, bringing the Senators’ lead to 48-44.
However, the hole was just too deep for the Pirates to climb out of as the Senators sank 10-of-14 free throw tries in the final frame to put the finishing touches on a humongous victory.
Maelynn Howell finished with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds, followed by Deaver with 14 points and four boards. Sayre added 13 points and four rebounds to the mix.
For Wheelersburg, Walker and Whittaker each finished with 13 points alongside four rebounds.
West returns to action on Saturday against Mercy McAuley as part of the Eastern Brown Classic, while Wheelersburg also takes part in the classic against Goshen.
“We had an answer back every time Wheelersburg tried to string something together, and that’s what these kids do,” Larry Howell said. “We had our slips every now and then, but nothing that couldn’t bounce back from. We’ve been knocking down our free throws and playing great defense, this was just a great game all around and I couldn’t be happier for the girls.”
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