CHARLESTON – In the 2023 girl’s state basketball tournament, Greenbrier West’s semi-final hopes wilted in the third quarter. The Lady Cavaliers built a six-point first quarter lead and were narrowly ahead 20-18 at the half. A hot-shooting Webster County team lit up the nets and built a seven-point advantage going into the fourth quarter. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Cavaliers had dropped a 55-34 decision and Sydney Baird stroked the nets for 33 points. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise historical season. The girls had earned the first regional championship since 1987, and they left the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center with a burning desire to return and make amends.
On Thursday morning, Coach Mark Agee’s team proved the tournament stage wasn’t too big for them, and they had grown up the past two seasons. The Cavaliers again built a sizable first quarter lead but this time they added to it and led by 12 at the half. Coming out of the break, West extended the advantage to 17 points before Tucker County began their rally. The third seeded Mountain Lions came charging back in the third quarter, eventually cutting the Cavalier lead to a single digit. The Cavaliers settled, however, and the West lead was five heading into the final frame. Tucker County kept the pressure on and chipped away at the Cavalier advantage until a three-pointer gave the Mountain Lions their first lead of the game with 3:31 left. Tucker would build a modest three-point lead before the season, tournament-tested Cavaliers wrestled it back. When the smoke cleared, Raven Matthews had scored 33 points, but the disappointment belonged to Tucker County in the form of a 74-67 West victory.
Maddie Fields was spectacular in the first quarter, scoring 11 points on slashing layups and sharp, mid-range jumpers. Preslee Treadway was right behind her senior teammate with nine points, mostly in the paint, as the Cavaliers broke open an early 6-6 tie to surge ahead 18-8 on Field’s layup with 1:59 remaining in the quarter. After a pair of Izzy Kitzmiller free throws cut the West lead to ten, Lacey Critchley hit the front end of two free throws with layups from Treadway and Fields. Cortney Shaffer beat the buzzer for two, but the damage was done. The Lady Cavaliers led 23-12 at the end of one.
Matthews tried her best to keep Tucker County in the game and shouldered most of the Mountain Lion scoring load in the second quarter. Fields would have none of it. A Reagan Herron layup opened the Tucker County scoring in the quarter, but Fields answered with a lay in of her own. Matthews knocked down back-to-back baskets, and Addi Moats cut the West advantage down to six with a three-pointer. Fields sank a baseline jumper, and Treadway followed it with a pair of free throws to build the lead back to ten. Matthews scored in the paint, but Fields responded with a pair of baskets. Coming out of a media timeout, Brilee Redden stroked a three-pointer to build the West lead to 15 points.
Once again, the Moutain Lions went to the 6’0 tall leading scorer, and Matthews responded with yet another layup. Treadway answered with a layup for the Cavaliers and Haylee Ward extended the lead to 16 when she nailed the front end of two foul shots. Adversity hit the Cavaliers at this point when Treadway was tagged with her third foul while trying to defend Matthews in the paint. Treadway gave way to freshman Gracie Rodes while Matthews drilled both free throws and attacked the lane on the
subsequent possession to trim West’s lead to 12 points. Rodes, taking advantage of the limited playing time, sank a jumper and was fouled a minute later to send her to the line. Rodes went 1-2 and increased the Cavalier lead to 15 points. A Matthews three-point play ended the first half scoring with West ahead 42-30.
Fields had poured in 19 first-half points to match Matthews’ output. The difference for Greenbrier West was Treadway’s 13 points and three each from Redden, Ward, and Rodes. Matthews supporting cast had scored a combined eleven points. The Cavaliers had also scored 10 fast break points to none for the Mountain Lions.
The second half opened with a Critchley three-pointer and a Fields’ jumper to increase the Greenbrier West lead to 17 points. That’s when Mark Agee began to see his lead dissipate. Tucker’s Mayah Gross and Matthews went on a scoring tear. A Gross jumper was sandwiched by two Matthews layups. Treadway answered with a short-ranger jumper, but Gross promptly put up six points over the next minute of play. A Matthews’ free throw cut the lead to six before Treadway once again nailed a jumper to momentarily quell the comeback. A media timeout ensued before Matthews went to work once more. Seven points by the senior forward sliced the lead to one.
Brilee Redden to the rescue. The junior point guard had bolstered the West attack over the second half of the season, and her three-pointer with 1:27 left in the quarter seemed to extinguish the Mountain Lions’ flurry. Ward closed out the scoring in the third quarter with a pair of free throws to build the Cavalier advantage back to five points at 56-51.
The fourth quarter began with a Treadway layup to extends West’s advantage to seven points. Matthews answered in the paint as the West defenders gave way to her layup so as not to foul. The teams went on an almost two-minute scoring drought before Moats drew the Mountain Lions to within two points with her second three-pointer of the game. Critchley answered for West to take the lead back to four points.
With 4:19 left, Mayah Gross put her final stamp on the game. The junior forward hit a short jumper to draw Tucker County within two points, then gave the Mountain Lions their first lead of the contest with a three-pointer with 3:31 remaining. Up 61-60, Gross scored on a layup to put Tucker County ahead 63-60.
This was the point in 2023 that the Cavaliers admittedly fell apart, pointing fingers and blaming each other. This was the point in 2025 that the Lady Cavaliers showed poise, maturity, and trust. Treadway was fouled but was unable to hit either free throw. A west rebound led to a Fields layup, cutting Tucker’s lead to one. Treadway reclaimed the lead for West with a layup at the 1:56 mark. Makenna Evans put the Mountain Lions back in the lead with 1:32 left with a short jumper.
Ten seconds later, facing a 65-64 deficit, Critchley hit the shot of her career. Critchley fired a three-pointer from the left wing that banked in and gave the Cavaliers a 67-65 advantage. Cue Brilee Redden once again. The Mountain Lions came up short on a long jumper and Redden made them pay with a jumper in the paint, drawing a foul and staking West to a 69-65 lead. Redden calmly sank her free throw for a 70-65 lead. Evans got Tucker County back to within three points with a layup, but it was as close as
they’d come. Redden toed the line four more times in the waning moments and drilled all four free throws. As the clock hit zeroes, a mid-court celebration broke loose as the sixth seed Lady Cavaliers owned a 74-67 win over Tucker County.
The win was Greenbrier West’s first tournament victory since the 1987 Lady Cavaliers defeated Man 56-32 in the Class AA semi-finals. The win was also West’s fifth-ever state tournament victory. Previously, the Cavaliers had defeated University 59-47 in the 1981 Class AA semi-finals, beat West Preston 38-36 in the 1985 Class AA quarterfinals, and bested Oceana 52-37 in the 1987 Class AA quarterfinals before defeating Man. The win evened the Cavaliers all-time state tournament record at 5-5.
Maddie Fields scored 23 points to break Michelle Surbaugh’s school state tournament record of 20 points set on December 12, 1984, vs Magnolia. Gina Osborne tied Surbaugh’s record with 20 points against both West Preston and St. Mary’s in the 1985 tournament. Treadway also surpassed the scoring mark with 21 points. Redden collected her second career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. The junior point guard also doled out seven assists and was 5-5 from the foul line.
Coach Agee was especially proud of the efforts of Critchley and Ward. The senior duo was critical in the Cavaliers’ effort.
