CHARMCO – When the girls’ basketball state tournament tips off this week, an interesting first round matchup between the sixth seeded Greenbrier West Cavaliers and the third seeded Tucker County Mountain Lions will tip-off Thursday morning in the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center. Greenbrier West, 12-10, earned their second tournament appearance in the last three seasons with regional wins over Richwood (73-25) and Greater Beckley Christian (85-24). Tucker County, 16-6, earned their 21st consecutive trip to the capital city with victories over Harman (76-8) and East Hardy (59-30). The Mountain Lions own the state’s longest active streak of state tournament appearances while Greenbrier West is making the school’s sixth overall tourney.
The Lady Cavaliers ended a 36-year state tournament drought in 2023, dropping a 55-34 decision to Webster County in the quarterfinal round. The loss was bittersweet. While West was happy to finally return to Charleston, they had beaten the Highlanders in the sectional championship as well as the ‘23 regular season so expectations were high. Head coach Mark Agee’s team learned that you can’t take anything for granted, though. Returning much of his young roster in 2024, the Cavaliers rolled into the Region III Co-final only to be derailed 95-92 by River View in the highest scoring game in Cavalier basketball history. The 2024-25 season has been one of redemption. With a core group of seniors that were integral parts of the ‘23 tournament run; this squad has been on a mission.
The Mountain Lions have written a decidedly different postseason story. Tucker County has been in every girl’s state tournament since the 2005 season. Nine times in that span, the Mountain Lions lost in the first round. Nine more losses have come in the state semi-finals, and Tucker County simply lost an opportunity to even hit the court in 2020 when the entire tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak across the state. Only once in the previous 20 seasons did the Mountain Lions reach the title game, but that appearance came in 2023. In the title tilt, a furious rally from a 19-point deficit reduced Cameron’s lead over Tucker County to three points with just over two minutes remaining before the Dragons pulled away to repeat as Class A champions.
The major difference in the two teams is the returning cast. All five West starters were members of the 2023 team and three of those were starters. The Lady Cavaliers are led by 2024 Class A All-Stater Preslee Treadway. Treadway is the school’s all-time scoring leader and is averaging a team-high 24 points per game. Treadway is also West’s leading rebounder, averaging 16.7 boards. Maddie Fields is scoring at a 16.3 points-per-game clip and pulls down 7.9 rebounds per contest. Junior point guard Brilee Redden leads the team in three-pointers with 32 and has doled out 57 assists. Redden has scored double digits in six of West’s last eleven games. The starting five is rounded out with Haylee Ward and Lacey Critchley. Ward put up a season-high 12 points in January against Independence and had her best game of the season in the regional win over Greater Beckley with 10 points and eight rebounds. Critchley collected her season-high of 13 points in the win over Indy and had arguably her best performance with eight points and seven rebounds against the Crusaders in the Region III co-final.
The Mountain Lions’ starters from 2023 have long-since gone, but the cupboard was far from bare in Hambleton. Kadie Colebank and crew handed the baton to Raven Matthews, Mayah Gross, and Makenna Evans. Matthews led Tucker’s ‘24 semi-final tournament run and had a respectable eight-point, 13-rebound, 4-block effort in a 49-41 loss to eventual state champion Gilmer County. Much like Treadway for Greenbrier West, the 6’ senior Matthews leads the Mountain Lions in scoring (16.2) and rebounds (11.2). Gross puts up 11.7 points per game while fellow junior guard Evans averages 9.1. Tucker County is also under the stewardship of a new head coach Alisha Lycliter. Dave Helmick had guided the Mt. Lions the previous ten seasons.
The tale of the tape might not tell the story here. Then again, how many games are really won on paper? Greenbrier West is averaging 59.5 points per game while the Mountain Lions allow only 41.1. Tucker County scores at a clip of 55 points per game while the Cavaliers surrender 48.6. West has defeated Class A tournament participant Webster County and has faced Class AA tournament qualifier James Monroe as well as Class AAA #3 Greenbrier East in tough, competitive games. Tucker County has a split with Class A tourney participant Pendleton County and is 0-1 against #1 seed Gilmer County. The Mountain Lions also have a close loss to Class AA Charleston Catholic.
Pressure is often the intangible thing that affects players in tournament play. Greenbrier West will rely on the fact their top three scorers have experience in both the state basketball and state softball tournaments. Treadway also helped Greenbrier West win the Class A volleyball state championship in December for the school’s first-ever state title in any girl’s sport. Tucker will counter with a seasoned group of starters that made a semi-final run just last season. The matchup should be one of the best the tournament has to offer.
Tip-off is at 9:30 A.M. on Thursday, March 13. Tickets can be purchased at the coliseum ticket booths. Fans unable to attend the event can stream the game for a fee at www.nfhsnetwork.com. You can listen to the WV MetroNews radio broadcast of the game locally on Oldies 93.
