By Chris George
TuckerCountySports.Com
GRAFTON – The Lady Mt. Lions Basketball team traveled to “AAA” Grafton on Monday February 5th for a contest with the Lady Bearcats. Tucker County led throughout the contest and the Lady Mt. Lions held off the Grafton comeback to win the contest by the final score of 52-46.
Tucker County controlled the first quarter as they led after one quarter 13-6. Both teams played the second quarter even as the Lady Mt. Lions won the second quarter slightly 9-8 to put the halftime score at 22-14 Tucker County.
Grafton came out firing in the third quarter as they fought back with a 19-12 advantage in the period to cut the Lady Mt. Lions lead to 34-33 at the start of the fourth quarter. Tucker County then responded in the final quarter as they outscored the Lady Bobcats 18-13 to get the road victory by the score of 52-46.
Raven Matthews led Tucker County in scoring with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks on the night. Addie Hicks added 9 points for the Lady Mt. Lions and Katie Hicks had 8 points, 5 steals. Brylee Wetzel and Macy Helmick chipped in with 7 points each and Ericka Zirk added 6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 blocks for Tucker County. Helmick also dished out 6 assists on the night. The Lady Mt. Lions JV team also got the win 42-22.
GLENVILLE – The Tucker County Girls’ Basketball team traveled to #2 Gilmer County on Wednesday February 7th for a JV and Varsity contest. Gilmer County would pull away late for a close win in a classic back and forth game 56-51.
The game started as expected close and competitive by both teams with the Lady Titans leading after one quarter 17-13. The visiting Lady Mt. Lions fought back in the second quarter as they outscored the home team Gilmer County 13-10 to cut the halftime lead to 27-26 Lady Titans.
The third quarter was also close as Tucker County slightly edged Gilmer County in scoring 13-12 to tie the contest 39-39 as the fourth quarter started. The final quarter did not disappoint as both teams continued to battle back and forth throughout. The Lady Titans built a 53-50 lead late in the game, but Tucker County could not get the score any closer as Gilmer County held on for the 56-51 victory.
Tucker County was led in scoring by Raven Matthews with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and Macy Helmick added 9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals. Brylee Wetzel had 9 points and Katie Hicks had 4 steals, 4 assists in the loss for the Lady Mt. Lions. The Tucker County JV team got the win in the first game 46-40.
HAMBLETON – The Lady Mt. Lions would then host Petersburg for Senior Night on Friday February 9th. Tucker County struggled to get their offense going the whole game, but the home team tied the game late in the fourth. The Lady Mt. Lions then won the game in the final seconds by the score of 51-49.
Tucker County started the game strong with a 7-2 lead early in the first quarter, but the Lady Vikings battled back to lead after one quarter 18-11. The Lady Mt. Lions then battled back slightly in the second quarter as they outpaced Petersburg 14-11 in the quarter to make the halftime score 29-25 Lady Vikings.
The third quarter was controlled by Petersburg as they built on their lead as they had a 14-11 advantage in the third to give the visiting Lady Vikings the 43-36 lead after three quarters of play. The Lady Mt. Lions then clamped down on defense to get back into the game. Tucker County fought back to tie the game at 49-49 with 1 minute remaining in the game. The Lady Mt. Lions defense then held Petersburg scoreless on their final possession to give Tucker County the ball back with 14 seconds left in the game. The home team then raced the ball down the floor and missed the shot attempt. The rebound was secured by Tucker County’s Ericka Zirk who made the layup and was fouled with 3.7 seconds left. This gave the Lady Mt. Lions the 51-49 lead. Zirk missed the foul shot and Petersburg was unable to get a shot off as time expired to give Tucker County the exciting 51-49 victory.
Brylee Wetzel led Tucker County in scoring with 15 points and Ericka Zirk added 12 points, 12 rebounds, 9 blocks. Makenna Evans chipped in with 8 points and 7 rebounds in the win for Tucker County. The Lady Mt. Lions also won by the score of 46-33. Senior players and support staff were honored before the varsity game. The Seniors were: Jacob Lower, Macy Helmick, Katie Hicks, Addie Hicks, Avery Colebank, Brylee Wetzel and Ericka Zirk.
Tucker County(15-5) will return to action Thursday February 15th at Moorefield for the last game of the regular season. The Lady Mt. Lions JV team will then play a JV only game at Petersburg against Hampshire at 12 noon. The Tucker County Girls’ will start the Postseason on February 22nd at Keyser for the Sectional Championship at 7pm against the winner of Union / East Hardy. For more info go to TuckerCountySports.Com.