CHARMCO – Greenbrier West came into Saturday’s contest with Wirt County needing a win. The Cavaliers opened the week with a big victory over Region III opponent Webster County, but things soon went south. The Lady Cavaliers suffered back-to back defeats at the hands of Summers County and Shady Spring, both on the road. At 6-8, Coach Mark Agee’s team needed some positive momentum. They got it and then some.
Wirt County also entered Saturday’s contest desperate for a win. The Lady Tigers were trending in the wrong direction after losses to Calhoun County and back-to-back defeats at the hands of Wahama. Jeremy Kerby’s squad got off to a fabulous start, sprinting out to a 7-0 lead. Preslee Treadway broke the ice for the Cavaliers with a free throw at the 4:05 mark, and the Cavaliers eventually battled back to take an 8-7 lead. The lead would change hands two times before West wrestled it away for good. Treadway ended the quarter with nine points and Wirt’s sophomore guard Kylee Ross countered with eight points of her own. Greenbrier West led 15-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The West lead would progressively keep building. Treadway pounded the boards and with each made basket, she cruised toward the Greenbrier West girl’s all-time career scoring milestone. The senior forward needed 18 points entering the contest to surpass Gina Osborne’s total of 1,335 points set over a three-year span from 1985-87. Treadway was focused on winning the basketball game, however, and almost appeared surprised with the quick timeout call following the basket that gave her 1,337 points. A quick photo op and recognition from the crowd was quickly followed by more offense from Treadway. Treadway netted 12 points in the second quarter, giving her 21 points at the halftime break. Brilee Redden knocked down a three and ended the half with seven points.
Wirt struggled to keep pace. Breigyn Dawson drilled a three, but the Tigers could only muster baskets from Kinsley Nicolais and Meadow McCoy. Ross added a pair of free throws, but West had built a 32-20 halftime lead.
The third quarter was even more unkind to the visitors from Wirt. Maddie Fields heated up for West, sprinting past Tiger defenders on runout after runout. Fields tallied eight points and got help from Redden with five and Haylee Ward who knocked down her second three-pointer of the game. Treadway was relatively quiet in the third quarter with a pair of free throws. Wirt County’s offense was virtually non-existent. Ross led the Tigers with three points and Dawson scored a basket, but the Tigers were outscored 18-5 and trailed 50-25 after three quarters.
Just when it looked like Treadway might have taken her foot off the gas, she finished off the Tigers with a barrage of layups and short-range jumpers. Treadway put an exclamation point on her day with 12 fourth quarter points, giving her a season-high 35 points for the game. The game was paused momentarily for Coach Agee to announce to the crowd that Treadway had also passed Noah Midkiff’s boy’s record for all-time scoring. Midkiff set his mark between the 2016-19 seasons.
The Cavaliers weren’t a one-horse show, however, as Fields finished strong with a seven-point quarter herself. Redden added a three as did Lacey Critchley. Wirt county’s Jasmine Williams knocked down a three-pointer and Nicolais added five points. The 75-33 win upped West’s record to 7-8 and gives the Cavaliers some momentum heading into next weeks’ home matchups with James Monroe and Midland Trail.
Field’s 16-point effort puts her on course to eclipse the 1,000-point threshold in the next few games. Fields now sits at 948 points with six games remaining in the regular season. She only needs to average 8.7 points per game to achieve the milestone.
Greenbrier West (7-8) hosts Class AA #6 James Monroe (15-2 pending Saturday’s outcome) on Tuesday at 7:30. Wirt County will be on the road once again Tuesday when they head to Class A #1 Gilmer County.
WC – 11 9 5 8 – 33
GW – 15 17 18 25 – 75
Scoring: (WC) Ross 13, Dawson 8, Nicolais 7, Williams 3, M. McCoy 2.
(GW) Treadway 35, Fields 16, Redden 15, Ward 6, Critchley 3
