CHARLESTON- Everything seemed like it was falling into place for the (5) Greenbrier East Lady Spartans as they drew a state tournament matchup with (4) Morgantown who was missing their top player the last four weeks of the season.
However, even with all the momentum on their side and being 18-1 in their last 19 games, East suffered a 47-31 loss to the defending state champs, Mohigans on Tuesday, March 5 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center in a defensive minded battle.
East had a tough time making shots in the first half, in part due to Morgantown’s ferocious attacking defense, although it started like things would go well.
Ava Workman made a nice move to the rim and converted a wide-open layup for a 2-0 Spartan lead, but Morgantown’s Sadaya Jones and Paige Smith each hit a couple tough shots to give the Mohigans a 5-2 lead just a minute and a half into the contest. Kennedy Stewart then drained a 3 to tie the game at 5-all, but the scoring stopped at that point, at least from the field. Sofia Wassick, who had a good game, made a couple baskets underneath as Morgantown held a 14-6 lead after one.
East came out in the second aggressive, but the offense stayed at a standstill, while they watched Morgantown put the ball in the basket consistently. Kayli Kellogg, a freshman for the Mohigans (17-8), started with a layup, then Luci Hatcher followed with two consecutive scores. Hannah Fuller finally broke the Spartan drought with two made shots from the charity stripe, but Paige Smith got a steal and score for Morgantown off a missed shot, and the Mohigans extended their lead to 23-8 with a couple minutes left in the first half.
Morgantown took a 25-10 lead into the break as the Spartans shot just 2-for-19 in the half, including 0-for-10 in the second quarter.
The Spartans (21-5) came out in the third quarter ready for a fight and looking to get back in the game and that’s what they did. They began the third on a 6-0 run fueled by a Workman layup, a 3 from Jada Waller, and a free throw from Workman that cut the Morgantown lead to 25-16. However, Kellogg took over the next couple of possessions and got a steal and three scores as the Mohigans jumped back up by a score 35-19. Workman and Stewart clawed East back in it with some hoops late in the quarter, but after three, the Spartans trailed 39-27.
A Smith 3 and a Kellogg layup got all the momentum to the Morgantown bench in the fourth. The lead extended to 47-30 with a minute left and the resilient Spartans watched the clock strike zeroes soon after as the Mohigans wrapped up the quarterfinal victory.
Stewart led East with 11 points and was the only Spartan in double figures.
Kellogg, the daughter of WVU women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg, scored a game-high 21 points for the Mohigans.
The Spartans season is over and they will return to the court in the winter of 2024 to attempt another run to the tourney. Morgantown will play the winner of Musselman and George Washington.
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