PROSPERITY – Greenbrier West’s dream of a second consecutive state tournament appearance in girls’ basketball ended Wednesday night with a 47-43 loss at Greater Beckley Christian in the Region III Co-Final. The final score doesn’t begin to tell the emotional storyline the Lady Cavaliers experienced. Greenbrier West entered the contest with a 7-15 record but were coming in as winners in five of their last eight games. Included in that late-season surge was a hotly contested Region III quarterfinal win over intercounty rival Meadow Bridge.
The Lady Cavaliers had endured 15 losses throughout the season, and 14 of them were by double digits. One loss, however, stood out as highly competitive, a 38-37 loss to Greater Beckley back on December 31 at the Winter Classic in the Summersville Arena and Conference Center. Bouyed by the confidence they were playing much better to end the season and by the fact they had competed down to the wire with the Lady Crusaders in their first matchup, Greenbrier West rolled into the Helton Family Center ready to upend the hosts and book their return trip to Charleston.
Early returns looked favorable as West jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, aided by a Summer Berry three-pointer. Leah Adkins got the Lady Crusaders on the board with a three of her own, and the back-and-forth battle began. Greenbrier West’s effort was hampered when sophomore standout Gracie Rhodes collected her second foul of the period, forcing her to the bench in a tightly officiated game. Greater Beckley established that their approach would be to fire up three-pointers when the opportunity arose, but the Crusaders hit only one of seven attempts. The two teams would battle to a 9-all tie at the end of the first quarter.
Greater Beckley started to establish a lead in the second quarter. Whitney Bibb would only knock down one field goal, but she was drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. Bibb wet 6-6 from the line in the period and scored eight points to lead all scorers. Cavalier head coach Butch McQuain reinserted Rhodes into his lineup, but a third foul was called on the forward fifteen seconds into her return while battling for a rebound. That would force Rhodes to the bench for the remainder of the first half, dealing West a serious scoring blow. Emmalee Nelson revived the Lady Cavaliers’ dormant offense with a three-pointer from the right wing and tallied five points in the quarter. Berry chipped in with four points, and Greater Beckley led 25-22 at the half.
The Crusaders looked to be in control in the third quarter, focusing more on the inside game via transition baskets and short jumpers. Bibb, Aislinn Pelfry, Destyni Farrish, and Tomilee Milam all got in the scoring column. Adkins hit the Crusaders only three of the quarter, scored seven points, and was briefly acknowledged by the public address announcer for tallying her 1000th career point. The Cavaliers were mired in a shooting slump and were held scoreless until the two-and-a-half-minute mark. By that time, Greater Beckley had built it’s largest lead of the night, a 16-point bulge. Just when it needed it the most, Greenbrier West finished the quarter on a tear. Elliana Dietz scored on a stick back, and Laikyn Tolley took an inbound pass at the top of the key, banked home a three-pointer, and cut the Crusaders’ lead to ten as the third quarter expired.
The cardiac Cavaliers proved that lessons learned in a rebuilding season don’t have to wait a year to be retained. West cranked up the defensive pressure and forced five Greater Beckley turnovers. Slowly and steadily, the Lady Cavaliers chipped away at the Crusader lead. With five and a half minutes remaining, West had trimmed Greater Beckley’s lead to one on Dietz’s putback. The 15-0 run was incredible given West’s shooting woes earlier in the game. At that point, however, the rim suddenly seemed to have a manhole cover over it. West missed seven shots that either hit inside the cup or rimmed out before falling short of scoring. Bibb broke the Crusader scoring drought when she hit the back end of a pair of free throws to make it 41-39 Greater Beckley with 3:16 left in the game.
Rhodes, back in the game after solidly weathering early foul trouble, went coast-to-coast and tied the game with a layup at the 3:11 mark. After a missed shot for the Crusaders and a pair of missed Cavalier baskets, Tolley rebounded her own miss and gave Greenbrier West a 43-41 advantage with with 2:20 remaining. The lead would be agonizingly brief. Pelfrey set up in the left corner, and Adkins found her stationed up waiting for a shot. Pelfrey’s three at the 2:09 mark reclaimed the lead for Greater Beckley. Braelyn Farrish blocked Tolley’s attempt at a pull up jump shot and the Cavaliers were tagged with a foul.
Destyni Farrish extended the Crusader lead to three with a pair of free throws with 1:40 to go. Adkins then deflected Zaleigh Styer’s pass attempt and forced a held ball with the possession arrow in favor of Greater Beckley. With the clock on their side, the Crusaders tried to eat some clock. Farrish had the ball poked away as she tried to split two defenders, giving Rhodes a one-on-one opportunity in the open floor. Rhodes’ layup hit the front of the rim and Greater Beckley secured the rebound. Bibb was trapped on the sideline with the ball, however, and Crusader head coach Lane Acord called a possession-saving timeout with 52.3 remaining.
Greenbrier West got one final opportunity to make something happen after forcing Great Beckley into an over-and-back turnover. With 39 seconds, West inbounded and found Nelson on the right wing. Nelson’s shot wouldn’t fall, and Dietz’s putback attempt was short as well. Styer pulled down the rebound but tipped the ball before it hit out of bounds after an Adkins deflection.
Tolley fouled Bibb with 16.2 on the clock. Bibb missed the first free throw but sealed the win when her second attempt rattled home. The Cavaliers bobbled their next possession out of bounds, and Greater Beckley ran out the clock.
Greenbrier West concluded their season at 7-16. Building for the future, the Lady Cavaliers gave the Charmco faithful a glimpse of what can be heading into the off-season. Greater Beckley advanced to the state tournament for the first time since the 2011 season. As the #7 seed, the Crusaders will face Tug Valley next Tuesday.
