WEIRTON — The Weir girls’ basketball team sent its lone senior – Hailey Hans – out with a win.

Freshman Ryann Jeter recorded a game-high 32 points leading Weir to a 60-26 victory against rival Brooke Thursday night on Ron “Fritz” Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.

“It is nice to send her out with a win,” Weir (5-17) head coach Rick Stead said. “Hailey has been an integral part of what we have done the last couple of years. She is a good kid. She is not a starter, but she always comes and does her job. She is a senior leader. I can’t say enough about her. She is an excellent kid.”

The Red Riders led by as many as 37 points on the night.

“You always say it is not how you start, but how you finish,” Stead said. “We have played a lot better the last two or three weeks. We have won four of eight. We should have won more, but that’s not here or there.

“We have improved. Our defense has improved. Our ball movement has gotten better. We started a sophomore and two freshmen. It has just taking time this season for them to figure things out. They have had to adjust to the varsity game. Coming from middle school, it is completely different. Ryann and Giana have had to mature. We have come a long way from the beginning of the year.”

The Red Riders led from start to finish.

Freshman Gianna Siegel, who transferred from Brooke following soccer season, tallied 13 points for the victors, while Lili Ascencio collected nine.

Marionna Dipaolo delivered a team-high 15 points for the Bruins (5-17), while Andrea Bolen added five.

The girls in white netted the first four points of the game on their way to building an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The hosts ended the quarter on a 10-2 run.

Weir went on to double up the girls from Brooke County in the second as they outscored them, 8-4, in the stanza to take a 26-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Red Riders ripped off an 18-2 run in the third to extend their advantage out to 44-15. Weir led 46-18 entering the fourth.

The home team increased their advantage to 58-21 in the fourth before the girls in green scored the next five points. Weir recorded the final basket of the night to account for the final score.

It was a physical game as multiple Brooke girls left the game with injuries.

The two teams are headed into the postseason.

Brooke – the No. 6 seed in West Virginia Class AAA Region 1 – will take on No. 3 seed Grafton at 7 p.m. Thursday night on the road. The winner of the game between the Bruins and the Bearcats will play No. 2 seed Fairmont Senior March 3 with the winner of that game advancing to the state tournament.

Weir – the No. 7 seed in Class AA Region 1 – will play No. 2 seed Wheeling Central at 7 p.m. Friday night on the road.

“We’ll play,” Stead said. “I have never been afraid to play anyone. Back in the day, we would play Fairmont Senior and North Marion when they were passing the state championship back and forth.

“I am proud of our effort tonight. All the girls contributed. All the girls played hard. Ryan was like Michael Jordan on that one. She came from the line to put it back in.”

The winner of the game between the Red Riders and Maroon Knights will play the winner of the game between No. 6 seed Tyler Consolidated and No. 3 seed Doddridge County March 5 with the winner of that game advancing to the state tournament.

“I am glad we have been able to finish strong,” Stead said. “It is nice we were able to win this game. This is something to build off of. We are going to go down there, play the best we can and let the chips fall where they may.”

Weir 60, Brooke 26

Brooke 9 4 5 8 – 26

Weir 18 8 20 14 – 60

BROOKE (5-17): M. Bowman 0 0-2 0, Kosut 0 0-0 0, Provenzano 0 0-2 0, McLaughlin 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Bober 0 1-2 1, Costlow 0 2-2 2, Disher 0 0-0 0, Bolen 2 1-4 5, DiPaolo 5 5-5 15, R. Bowman 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 8 10-19 26.

WEIR (5-17): Ascencio 4 0-2 9, Siegel 6 1-9 13, Clausell 0 0-0 0, Cooley 0 0-2 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Carrilo 0 0-0 0, M. White 1 0-0 2, A. White 1 0-0 2, Weber 1 0-2 2, Jeter 12 6-10 32, Doggett 0 0-0 0, McGraw 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25 7-25 60.

3-POINTERS: Brooke (None); Weir 3 (Jeter 2, Ascencio)