
By: Adam Freeman
The Tucker County Lady Mt. Lions punched their ticket for a chance to play in Charleston next week in the girls’ state basketball tournament. This is the 21st consecutive trip to the state tournament for the Lady Mt. Lions, however, it is the first time in school history it has been done with a female head coach with Coach Alicia at the helm.
Tucker would face East Hardy in the regional co-finals in what was the third matchup of the season with Tucker winning the previous two. After one quarter the Mt. Lions and Cougars were tied at 10 points apiece in a tight contest. The girls in black and gold would turn up the wick in the second, going on a 16-0 run and out scoring East Hardy 19-3, to take a 29-13 advantage into the break.
Tucker would continue to stay in the driver’s seat through the third quarter and held a 22-point lead going into the final quarter with a score of 45-23. The Mt. Lions put this one in the books through the final period and swept East Hardy on the season with a final of 59-30. The dominant win would gain Tucker the 3 seed in this week’s State Tournament with a matchup with Greenbrier West on Thursday morning at 9:30am.
Matthews 22 pts, 17 reb, FT 6-7; Gross 12 pts, 15 reb, FT 1-2; Evans 8 pts, 6 reb, FT 2-3; Kitzmiller 7 pts, 2 reb, FT 1-2; Moats 2 pts; Herron 2 pts; Shaffer 2 pts; Cross 2 pts; Pase 2 pts
3 Point Field Goals 3-18: Kitzmiller (2) Gross (1)