Aiyana Kachmarek was selected for the “A” All Tournament Team on Saturday March 14th
CHARLESTON – The #3 seeded Lady Mt. Lions faced #6 seeded St. Marys in the first round of the WV Girls’ State Basketball Tournament on Wednesday March 11th. The Tucker County Girls’ trailed by 4 points at the half, but the Lady Mt. Lions fought back to pull away for a 60-50 win.
Tucker County Girls’ celebrate after the win over St. Marys Wednesday March 11th
Tucker County got off to a great start as they built an early 9-1 lead with 4:16 left in the first quarter. St. Marys fought back and finished the quarter on a 12-2 run to take the lead after the first quarter 13-11. Both teams battled in the second quarter and the Lady Devils with 3:17 left in the second quarter took a 7 point lead over Tucker County. The Lady Mt. Lions charged back to within 1 point with 7 seconds left in the first half, but St. Marys hit a 40 ft. shot at the buzzer to put St. Marys up at the half 29-25.
Tucker County came out focused in the third quarter and chipped away at the 4 point deficit. The Lady Mt. Lions tied the game at 29 with 6:27 left in the third and outscored the Lady Devils 18-4 in the third to take a 43-33 lead after three. In the fourth quarter St. Marys cut the Tucker County lead to 2 points with 5:24 left in the game, but the Lady Mt. Lions responded as they outpaced St. Marys 16-8 the rest of the game to take home the 60-50 quarterfinal win.
Senior Aiyana Kachmarek led Tucker County with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 7 blocks and Sydney Nestor finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals. Elizabeth Nichols added 9 points, 7 rebounds and Madison Mullenax chipped in with 7 points, 7 rebounds in the win for Tucker County.
CHARLESTON – The Tucker County Girls’ faced off against Wheeling Central in the Semi-Finals on Friday March 13th in Charleston. The Lady Knights built a 14 point lead in the first half and held off 2 big runs by Tucker County to get the win over the Lady Mt. Lions 52-40.
Tucker County got off to a slow start as Wheeling Central raced out to a 5-0 lead and led 16-4 after the first quarter. In the second quarter the Lady Mt. Lions continued to struggle on the offensive end and the Lady Knights led by 14 with 7:13 left in the second. Tucker County cut the lead to 9 with 4:53 remaining in the first half, but Wheeling Central pushed the lead back to 13 at the half as they led 27-14 at the break.
The Lady Mt. Lions play defense against Wheeling Central in Semi-Finals on Friday March 13th
The Lady Mt. Lions despite foul trouble and 3 starters on the bench made a run in the third quarter to cut the Lady Knights lead to 5 with 3:36 left in the period. Wheeling Central responded with a 10-0 run to end the quarter to lead 39-24 at the end of the third. Tucker County chipped away at the Lady Knights lead in the fourth quarter as the Lady Mt. Lions cut the lead to 5 in the quarter, but they were unable to cut the deficit any lower and Wheeling Central made their foul shots to get the victory over Tucker County 52-40.
Elizabeth Nichols led Tucker County with 11 points, 4 rebounds and Sydney Nestor finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds. Olivia Miller 6 points, 4 steals and Aiyana Kachmarek pulled down 10 rebounds in the loss for Tucker County.
Tucker County finished the season with a 20-3 record with 2 losses coming to Wheeling Central and the other loss coming to “AA” Final Four team Lincoln. Wheeling Central fell to Huntington St. Joe in the Championship game 40-37. Aiyana Kachmarek was selected to the “A” All Tournament Team. For more Tucker County Sports info and news go to www.TuckerCountySports.Com.
