By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy started out with an 18-0 run and had four players score in double figures to surround and ensnare the Lady Tigers in the Den with a 58-32 victory on Tuesday night.
The Lady Cougars were paced by Brooke Miller with a double-double of 14 points and a dozen rebounds, followed by Leanna Basye and Lexi Strawderman with 12 points apiece and Julia Hahn added 11 markers against Union.
“This was a game where we could get our legs back underneath us after the break,” East Hardy Coach Bridget Billmeyer commented.
“We tried to help them, having only five kids, by not pushing them down the floor too much. We pushed the ball enough to get our legs underneath us and start playing ball the rest of the season. It was helpful to play the bench too.”
Union’s Allison Collette made a steal to begin the game, but the ensuing shot was off the mark and East Hardy’s Leanna Basye grabbed the rebound leading to a pass to Julia Hahn for a 3-pointer at 7:11.
Hahn snatched a defensive rebound and the Lady Tigers deflected a pass out of bounds, but Miller continued the possession with an assist to Basye.
Basye stole the ball after a missed Union basket, then Emma Baker made an offensive board and passed to Miller, who completed an old-fashioned three point play to put the Lady Cougars up 8-nil at 5:52.
Just over a minute later, Hahn stole the ball and received an assist from Basye on a 3-pointer.
Miller collected a defensive rebound and her pass was deflected out by Union’s Kiara Walden.
Lexi Sirk made a defensive board for the Lady Tigers, then East Hardy’s Hannah Fogel grabbed a rebound.
Miller drew a foul and connected on both free throws for a 13-0 advantage at the
3:36 mark.
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Hahn grabbed a long rebound and tossed deep to Strawderman for a layup.
Strawderman created a steal and returned the favor passing to Hahn, who executed a three point play to extend the lead to 18-nil with 2:36 remaining in the first period.
The Lady Tigers finally got on the scoreboard as Chasity Broadwater nailed a 3-pointer at the 2:22 mark, one of three perimeter baskets made for a team-high 13 points.
Broadwater hauled in a defensive carom for Union, but couldn’t score on the next series.
East Hardy’s Chelsea Keller collected a defensive rebound and passed to Hahn, who found Strawderman for another layup.
Union scattered several free throws over the last minute as the Lady Cougars carried a 20-6 advantage into the second period.
Basye tried to make a save along the Union bench off a missed shot to begin the second period, but stepped out of bounds in the process.
The Lady Tigers quickly found the net as Broadwater drained a 3-pointer at the 7:39 mark, trailing 20-9.
Miller scored on a putback and drew a foul, but couldn’t connect on the extra attempt.
Hahn made a defensive rebound, but the ball was stolen by Walden, who collided with Miller and Hahn swiped the ball back leading to an assist on a jumper by Strawderman.
A minute later, Hahn collected a tipped ball on the defensive end and went the distance scoring a layup, 26-9.
Broadwater scored a jumper after the Lady Cougars missed two free throws.
The Lady Cougars went on an 8-0 run in a span of two minutes with a free throw by Becca Whetzel starting it, Hahn and Jaden Fleshman added jumpers and Miller netted a three point play.
Sirk garnered a basket in the paint at 2:30, then Walden knocked down a 3-pointer off a turnover to cut the deficit to 34-16.
Fogel netted a putback after a jump ball and steal by Keller.
Union’s Broadwater and Alexis Droppleman scored field goals in the closing minute and the Lady Cougars missed two attempts entering the locker room with a 36-20 advantage.
Early in the third period, Hahn made a block and steal only to lose the ball to Walden, who setup Collette for a score.
Sirk and Hahn made defensive rebounds, then Miller collected an offensive board and netted the jumper in the paint to give East Hardy a 38-22 lead.
Walden sank a trey at the 5:22 mark, but the Lady Cougars responded with an outside jumper by Basye, 40-25.
Strawderman made a steal after few missed baskets in both directions and Basye hit two free throws.
Miller, Hahn and Fogel collected rebounds with Fogel being fouled on the latter and connecting on both foul shots, 44-25.
Basye and Miller grabbed rebounds before Miller scored on a putback at 1:51.
Sirk was fouled on a rebound putback attempt, then added one free throw for the Lady Tigers with Basye collecting the board.
Miller assisted Strawderman on a jumper with under a minute left in the third period and neither team would add another point to close the frame with the Lady Cougars protecting the Den with a 48-26 lead.
East Hardy started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run sparked by a steal by Strawderman which led to a free throw.
Miller grabbed the rebound and didn’t make the field goal attempt and collected the next board with a foul to come with both free throws missed.
Walden made the rebound, but Union failed to score and Miller snatched another rebound.
Broadwater stole then all and missed a shot, then East Hardy’s Emma Baker collected the carom.
The Lady Tigers couldn’t take advantage of a steal by Broadwater as Strawderman swiped the ball back and scored at the 7:00 mark, 51-26.
Miller sandwiched two rebounds around a walk with Strawderman receiving the pass from Hahn leading to one foul shot.
Union’s next attempt went off the rim out of bounds, then Miller assisted Baker on a jumper.
Miller stole the ball and passed to Hahn, who found Basye for a layup at 5:10
for a 56-26 advantage.
Droppleman made a basket in the paint for the Lady Tigers.
Basye added a field goal on the next possession after the Lady Tigers lost the ball out of bounds off an errant shot.
The Lady Cougars put the bench on the floor to provide more experience for the non-starters.
East Hardy would miss four baskets and commit two turnovers over the next two minutes with the last steal from Walden creating an old-fashioned three point play, 58-31.
Broadwater made a couple more steals down the stretch and Walden had another swipe, but the Lady Tigers were only able to add one more point by Collette.
East Hardy missed a few baskets and had one steal by Fogel in the closing minutes.
The Lady Cougars improved to 5-2 with the 58-32 victory over Union and used this game to jump start the remainder of the season.
East Hardy visits South Harrison on Friday and will host St. Marys on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day for a matinee showing at 11:00.
Down the hill, EHEMS 7th grade girls basketball team defeated Union Middle 25-14 with Taylor Strawderman leading the Lady Cougars with nine points and Gabby Miller added six points.
Union Middle 8th grade girls basketball squad created a split with a 43-19 win over EHEMS.
Bombay led the Lady Tigers with 14 points, while EHEMS was paced by Mackenzie Blair and Courtney Shank with six points apiece.
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