Red Riders pull away from Madonna, retain City Championship trophy
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WEIRTON -- The trophy is staying at Weir.
The Weir girls basketball team jumped out to a big lead and did not look back en route to defeating city rival Madonna, 74-30, in the annual City Championship Game Saturday afternoon on Ron "Fritz" Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.
"It means a lot," Weir (2-8) head coach Rick Stead about winning the city championship. "We have a longstanding rival here with Madonna. It's the City Championship Game. It means a lot.
"They are all local kids. They all know each other. It gives you bragging rights for the year."
The Blue Dons were once again without the services of senior standout Shea McCoy, who was injured in the first quarter in her team's loss Monday night at Toronto.
"We are a wounded team right now, but the girls who showed up to play gave everything they had for four quarters," Madonna (2-10) head coach Cory Wingett said. "I am extremely proud of them. As much as winning is fancy, the coaches would not trade this team for anybody right now."
The Red Riders raced out to a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
"We wanted to get out and develop the lead and play the game," Stead said. "We got early, and the girls played hard. We changed up our defense. We were able to get into the passing lanes. We were able to force turnovers, and we were able to run out into transition.
"We were able to get the younger girls some varsity time in the second half. We brought them four or six minutes into the third quarter."
The Red Riders extended their advantage to 50-10 at halftime.
Four players produced double digits in points for the girls in white. Individually, Janai Turner netted a game-high 21 points to lead the way. Also, Olivia Baker recorded 18 points, Brayley Lash scored 11 and Rayna Hoover delivered 10.
Julia Wingett tallied a team-high 14 points to lead the way for the girls in blue, while Rosa Cody collected eight.
"You have got to feel bad, Shea got hurt against Toronto," Stead said. "She was not here today. I have got to give Cory and Rocky (Bragg) credit. They have young kids, and they kept them motivated. They continued to play hard. That is important. They did not quit. They kept playing hard. We were a little better today."
The victors led 68-18 entering the fourth.
"Youth is only an excuse for so long," Coach Wingett said. "You can't talk about youth when you get to the midpoint. The girls have gotten a lot of time. They have become varsity players.
"We have girls who are 14-years-old. They are freshmen who are 14-years-old. They are going up against 16, 17 and 18 year-old players.
"The seeds we learned today, and the seeds that were planted in our minds today, we will learn and grow from this, and we will be stronger than ever."
The Blue Dons outscored the Red Riders, 12-6, in the fourth.
"We have a young team," Stead said. "We have no seniors. I said in the improve that we want to improve week by week. Outside of games against some 4A teams – Parkersburg South and John Marshall – the kids have been playing better.
"We lost three games by a total of eight points. We lost games by one point, one point and six points. The kids have improved.
"It was a good night for us. We played good offense. We played good defense.
"We won the city championship, and that should serve as a springboard going into the second half of the season. We are going to take it one game at a time and one week at a time as we prepare to go into sectionals."
The city rivals will play again Jan. 27 as a part of a girls' and boys' doubleheader.
"It is going to be on TV," Stead said. "It's going to be the boys' City Championship Game.
"I hope McCoy will be back for that game. I'm proud of the effort our girls put in tonight. Rocky's and Cory's kids work hard. They didn't quit."
Weir is scheduled to play Toronto in a varsity only game at 6 p.m. Monday night at home.
Madonna is slated to play Cameron in a varsity only game at 7 p.m. Thursday night at home on Joanna Bernabei-McNamee Court inside the Bill Barrett Gymnasium.
Weir 74, Madonna 30
Madonna 8 2 8 12 – 30
Weir 22 28 18 6 – 74
MADONNA (2-10): Long 2 0-2 4, Wingett 5 0-0 14, Littleton 0 0-0 0, Pietranton 1 0-0 2, Birkhimer 1 0-0 2, Harbin 0 0-2 0, Szczerbinbski 0 0-0 0, Braken 0 0-0 0, Sole 0 0-0 0, Cody 3 2-4 8. TOTALS: 12 2-8 30.
WEIR (2-8): Baker 8 1-2 18, I. Kirlangitis 1 0-4 3, Kaufman 1 0-0 2, Turner 7 5-7 21, Lash 4 3-4 11, A. Kirlingitis 0 3-5 3, Hans 0 0-2 0, Cramer 0 0-0 0, Wright 0 0-0 0, Faulks 2 0-0 4, Hoover 4 1-9 10, Utt 0 0-0 0, Spencer 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 28 13-33 74.
3-POINTERS: Madonna 4 (Wingett 4); Weir 5 (Turner 2, Baker, I. Kirlangitis, Hoover)