Madonna pulls off major upset, takes back city championship
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WEIRTON -- The Cory Wingett era for the Madonna girls basketball team began on March 4 with an ugly 30-point defeat to Weir High on its home court.
It was a tough pill for the Blue Dons to swallow, but Wingett is a very positive person. Even after that contest, he knew that was not the type of team he was coaching.
Enter Friday night's contest for the city championship, Madonna was a big underdog who still has not defeated a school above the Class A level at that point.
Everything changed when it took its first lead with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter. The Red Riders later bounced back to tie it again, but Jazzy Melnyk and company had too much momentum on their side and pulled off a 34-32 upset victory for the city championship.
"We knew it would not be like that again because we had first-game jitters. We were just terrible that game," Melnyk said. "But, we've been improving, and it just all clicked (Friday). Everyone had each others' backs, and our chemistry was amazing."
Marianna Martinez hit a close-range shot at the 4:36 mark to give the Blue Dons (4-6) their first lead of the night, 27-25. The next basket would not occur until 2:08 remained when Sophia Aperfine collected an offensive board following two missed free throws by Leah Maley, tossed it to her sister and Isabella Aperfine finished did the rest.
Melnyk quickly drove the ball to the lane, drained a tough layup and then completed the and-1 opportunity, giving Madonna a 30-27 advantage with 1:44 left. Seconds later, she blocked a Sophia Aperfine shot attempt.
"We're one team, but Jazzy Melnyk is one of the best players in the state in my opinion," Wingett said. "She's one of the hardest-working players. She deserved everything that came to her (Friday). Everything she has done in her basketball life has led up to this game."
Weir High (5-4) got a huge break when Melnyk was called for stepping out of bounds with 1:12 showing on the clock. However, the Blue Dons stuffed their rivals and did not allow a bucket.
Madonna will not blow anybody away with how many points they score per contest. So, to counter that, they must play nearly-perfect defense.
"We wanted to play an old-school, defensive style type of game," Wingett said. "We've gone to more of a Syracuse style where we're trying to hold players under a certain percentage shooting. We're also trying to slow the game down."
Following a few fouls, Melnyk went to the line in single bonus with 20 seconds remaining.
"I just tried to stay calm and forget everything that was around me. Right now is what matters," she said.
The senior hit both attempts, giving her squad a five-point advantage.
In desperation mode, Isabella Aperfine raced full court and swished a 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds remaining before the Red Riders called their final timeout.
On the following inbound, Melnyk was double teamed. Vanessa Alatis found Anna Backel, who gave it back to Alatis and was fouled with eight seconds remaining.
All Alatis did was put the game on ice with the two biggest free throws of her young career.
"Vanessa is our leading free-throw shooter on the season with close to a 70 percent line," Wingett said. "I have all of the confidence in the world getting the ball to her. That's why we have her inbounding; flick it out to Jazzy or Anna and get it back to Vanessa. I knew she would sink those two free throws."
Out of any hope for a comeback, Isabella Aperfine made a running 2-pointer with a few seconds left before the clock ran down, officially ending one of the lowest-scoring city championships in Weirton history.
"They managed to slow us down, which hurts us. Defensively, they were just in a 2-3 zone. They were a little bit extended, kind of gave you an offset look," Weir High head coach Rick Stead said. "But, at the end of the day, we didn't do the things we needed to do. We made bad decisions and forced some things. Defensively, we let some things get away from us. We just didn't come ready to play, and I don't know if we were mentally prepared enough.
"I told them at halftime if you let teams hang around and don't put them away early, come fourth quarter, freakish things happen. I don't want to take anything away from (Madonna) because they came ready to play."
The Blue Dons finished 8 of 14 from the foul line overall but 5 for 6 in the second half and a perfect 4 for 4 in the fourth. The Red Riders were 7 for 12 but just 1 for 3 in the second half.
Weir High, who led 16-10 at halftime, had its largest lead at 23-16 with a few minutes left in the third. Madonna cut it to 23-20 to start the fourth and, when Martinez hit that shot midway through, that capped an 11-2 scoring run.
Melnyk finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists and multiple steals. She only scored one point in the first half -- and she was well-aware of it.
"I just kept telling myself, 'Hey, play great defense. After that, just keep driving because they can't stop me when I go in,'" she said.
"We've been changing (the defense) up recently. Starting in the second half at Clay-Battelle (on Thursday), we implemented a new defense. We realized that's where we're at our best. Defense definitely is helping us out because our offense does struggle. We have games where we have trouble scoring, but defense is key in games like these."
Madonna's Alaina Moore also pulled down nine boards and scored three points. Alatis had five points, two rebounds and two assists. Backel added four points, six boards and three assists.
"I'm unbelievably happy for these young ladies. We're figuring out our personality, and our style," Wingett said. "That team had us by five in the third quarter when we first played them. We had a little bit of a meltdown, then we lose by 30.
"Our girls knew that wasn't the team we had. We're 3-1 against small schools. We needed a key win against a big school, and (Friday) was that win we needed."
For the Red Riders, Isabella Aperfine led with 15 points, five rebounds and one assist. She scored the team's last seven points. Maley had another double-double with 10 points (6 of 9 from the charity stripe) and 11 boards. Taylor Nutter hauled down a dozen rebounds but was limited to two points. Sophia Aperfine added five points, four rebounds and three assists.
"They had nothing to lose, and that makes them dangerous," Stead said. "Sometimes when you have nothing to lose, you can play a little tougher and take some chances. We had everything to lose.
"This is over. We can't change anything. We have to move forward. If we dwell on it, it will affect us moving forward."
SENIOR CELEBRATION
Prior to the contest, Weir High honored its three seniors in Isabella Aperfine, Maley and Nutter.
"I had the pleasure of coaching my two daughters. Coaching these three girls has been just as special," Stead said. "I've watched them develop over the last four years. They have a lot of heart and character.
"I can't say enough about Bella because she comes ready to play every day, and her motor runs. Leah, I mean, this is the best I've ever seen her play. She's dedicated and motivated. Taylor has come a long way since her freshman year. They all bring something to the table."
MIRROR IMAGE
The Red Riders defeated Madonna, 62-32, the first time around during their second game of the season. They were coming off a win against Wheeling Central.
On Friday, Weir High again entered after besting the Maroon Knights, 57-54, on Wednesday. It marked the first time since 1996 that the Red Riders swept the season series over Wheeling Central.
JV ACTION
Weir High won the two-quarter jayvee contest, 14-13. Olivia Baker paced the Red Riders with 10 points, while Shae McCoy had four for Madonna.
UP NEXT
Madonna: Tentatively travels to Magnolia on Monday.
Weir High: Tentatively heads to North Marion today (Saturday) with a 2:30 p.m. JV start.
"I just hope we can come out and play hard," Stead said. "Monday's also important because it's our first game with Oak Glen. I think we rescheduled (a home contest) for April 10, but I don't know when the balloting occurs for the section. We still have a chance to get a home game in the tournament."
Madonna 34, Weir High 32
Madonna 3 7 10 14 -- 34
Weir High 4 12 7 9 -- 32
MADONNA (4-6): Backel 2 0-0 4; Alatis 1 2-2 5; Moore 1 1-3 3; Martinez 2 0-0 4; Melnyk 4 5-7 14; Yacos 0 0-0 0; Wingett 0 0-0 0; McCoy 2 0-2 4; Lenhart 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12, 8-14: 34.
WEIR HIGH (5-4): Hoover 0 0-0 0; I. Aperfine 7 0-0 15; S. Aperfine 2 1-2 5; Maley 2 6-9 10; Nutter 1 0-1 2; Baker 0 0-0 0; Kaufman 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12, 7-12: 32.
3-POINT GOALS: Madonna 2 (Alatis, Melnyk); Weir High 1 (I. Aperfine). REBOUNDS: Madonna 32 (Moore 9, Melnyk 9); Weir High 33 (Nutter 12, Maley 11). ASSISTS: Madonna 8 (Backel 3); Weir High 9 (Hoover 3, S. Aperfine 3). TURNOVERS: Madonna 15; Weir High 14.