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Oak Glen tops Weir in sectional play

Chris Rambo SECTIONAL HOOPS — Oak Glen’s Brittany Giorgini tries to chase down Weir’s Julia Gianni during Saturday’s West Virginia Class AA sectional contest, won by the Golden Bears 55-48.

NEW MANCHESTER — The Oak Glen girls basketball team left the court with a sour taste in its mouth following its 11-point loss to Weir last month.

It was a feeling the Golden Bears were determined not to replicate in Saturday’s Class AA, Region 1 Section 1 opener.

Powered by a big fourth quarter from Maisie Witherow, the fourth-seeded Golden Bears exacted some payback with a 55-48 win over the fifth-seeded Red Riders at Oak Glen High School.

“It’s great that we got another chance at them,” Witherow said. “We wanted to get revenge and move on. Mentally, we really wanted to get it done tonight.”

The Golden Bears (11-11) now encounter their toughest test of the season when they travel to top-seeded Fairmont Senior for a sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Witherow said. “I’m glad we get to move on. We’ll play the best we can and hope for the best.”

In the last matchup against Weir, Witherow fouled out in the second half with the game tied and had to watch from the bench as the Red Riders pulled away in the fourth quarter. This time around, she proved to be a critical factor.

With Weir leading 37-33 entering the fourth, Witherow scored eight of the Golden Bears’ first 10 points of the frame as they roared in front 43-40 with 5:29 left. She finished with a game-high 22 points.

Oak Glen coach John Leary sat Witherow during the last part of the third quarter with three fouls and the strategy worked, as she was able to be much more aggressive down the stretch without the threat of fouling out hanging over her head.

“I didn’t want her to pick up that fourth foul and have her play handcuffed the whole fourth quarter,” Leary said. “She showed what kind of a leader she is. When we needed someone to get to the rim, she did.”

Witherow got some help from guard Taylor McKay, who effectively ran the point guard position when Maggie Kovalick was in foul trouble and finished with 11 points. Amber Grotefend added nine points.

With Oak Glen clinging to a 47-46 lead and 2:04 remaining, Kovalick hit a tough one-hander to put the Golden Bears up 49-46. Weir’s Bailey Stead answered with a two of her own, but McKay and Witherow helped ice the game by sinking two free throws apiece in the final 25 seconds.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Leary said. “My two post players Amber Grotefend and Dominica Price did a really nice job getting some key rebounds and Taylor did a nice job running the point when Maggie was out. I couldn’t be more pleased with the poise we showed in the last two minutes.”

Weir (2-20) was led by Bailey Stead and Sophia Mikula with 14 points apiece, while Taylor Webster added 12 points.

The Red Riders were primarily done in by a 2-for-18 performance from the free-throw line. By comparison, the Golden Bears went 15-for-24.

“Even if we make just 50 percent of our free throws, we’re ahead. At the end of the day, that killed us,” Weir coach Rick Stead said.

Weir, which started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, surged into the lead with an 8-0 run that spanned the last 4:22 of the fourth quarter, but committed some costly turnovers down the stretch.

“I hate to keep using our youth as an excuse,” Stead said. “But when we move the ball and do what we’re supposed to do, they play as well as anybody we’ve played. We just have a bad habit of trying to force things to happen and missing open people on the floor. That’s been our Achilles heel, especially in games we’ve had a chance to win.”

Third-seeded East Fairmont and second-seeded North Marion will face off in the other sectional semifinal Tuesday. Oak Glen lost to East Fairmont 61-24 last Wednesday. Fairmont Senior beat East Fairmont twice this season by an average of 27 points.

“I haven’t had a chance to see Fairmont Senior in person, but I’ve had a lot of people say to me they’re the best team in the state regardless of class,” Leary said. “I just told the girls at some point in your life you want to be able to say you played against the best. It gives us the chance to step up and see what we got. If you’re a competitive person you ought to relish the opportunity.”

Oak Glen 55, Weir 48

Weir 14 9 14 11 — 48

Oak Glen 18 8 7 22 — 55

WEIR: Webster 5-2-12, Stead 6-0-14, Fuscardo 2-0-4, Gianni 1-0-2, Mikula 7-0-14, Wenner 1-0-2, Vuiller 0-0-0, Evans 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22, 2-18: 48. 3-pointers: Stead 2.

OAK GLEN: Witherow 8-5-22, Price 0-1-1, Grotefend 3-3-9, McKay 4-3-11, Kovalick 2-2-6, Giorgini 1-0-2, Severs 1-0-2, Andrews 0-1-1. TOTALS: 19, 15-24: 55. 3-pointers: Witherow

Dons’ season ends

McMECHEN — The season came to an end for the Madonna girls’ basketball team Saturday night.

In the final girls’ basketball game inside the Bishop Donahue gym, the Bishops defeated the Blue Dons, 62-46, in the West Virginia Class A Region 1, Section 1 tournament.

The teams played earlier in the week and Bishop Donahue held a 29-0 lead after eight minutes thanks to its press.

Madonna trailed just 32-29 at the half Saturday evening.

The Bishops, though, used an 11-5 advantage in the third quarter and a 19-12 fourth period to grab the victory.

Kasey Canei led the Blue Dons with 13 points. Andrea Alimario added 10 and Gia Ricadonna nine. Madonna was 16-for-33 from the free throw line and finished the season at 4-18.

Bishop Donahue 62, Madonna 46

Madonna 10 19 5 12 — 46

Bishop Donahue 16 16 11 19 — 62

MADONNA: Costello 0 1-2 1; Timko 0 0-0 0; Riccadonna 3 0-0 9; Alatis 0 0-0 0; Krynicki 0 1-4 1; Mascio 0 0-0 0; Backel 0 0-0 0; Martin 1 4-7 6; Alimario 2 5-6 10; Burns 2 1-4 6; Canei 4 4-10 13; Totals 12 16-33 46. 3-pointers: Ricadonna 3, Alomario, Burns, Canei.

BISHOP DONAHUE: Martin 2 0-0 5; Nelson 1 0-2 2; Campbell 2 1-1 6; T. Bauer 1 0-0 2; Jo. Purpura 0 5-10 5; Heller 6 0-0 16; Je. Purpura 8 3-3 20; Padlow 2 0-0 4; K. Bauer 1 0-0 2; Dobbs 0 0-0 0; Emery 0 0-0 0; Totals 23 8-16 62. 3-pointers: Heller 4, Je. Purpura 2, Campbell, Martin.

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