The Yellow Jackets struggled with the radar in Glenville missing early targets in the first half fighting to pull within seven points at the intermission, then Gilmer County Girls Basketball burned the perimeter nets five times in the third period boosting the momentum crushing Moorefield’s state aspirations in a 75-48 victory last Wednesday during the Class A Region II Championship earning a ticket to the state tournament.
“We cut that lead down and battled right back where we wanted to be at the end of the first half and we thought we had some momentum coming into the third quarter, then No. 14 [Grace Wellings] stepped up and hit those threes. They went on that run and it put us down. She was three or four feet behind the line sinking threes. We saw a few shooting on film, but nothing like that. She stepped up big for them with 21 points. We kept battling and were fighting back,” Moorefield Girls Basketball coach Paul Keplinger commented.
“We have been behind in games this season before and came back. You have to give Gilmer County’s defense credit, their pressure got to us and they were aggressive. They were on their home floor and that’s the whole reason I preach all the time that we need to win to have that home court advantage. It showed and they were relentless. I am proud of my girls. They came in and always did what I asked of them to do all the time. This senior group has worked very hard all four years. They have done everything for four years and I am proud of every one of them. They accepted their roles and filled in where they needed to tonight. Gianna [Fair] was more aggressive and really stepped up inside. Madison [McGregor] was hustling all over the floor. Lindsey [Rinker] pushed the ball and got to the basket. It was the little things. Anna [Riggleman] hustled after every loose ball and was always on the floor. They were in three regional championships during their careers and almost a fourth one which was stolen at Union as freshmen. They have nothing to hang their heads about, they had great careers. People will have to look at us now and be prepared next time to play Moorefield. My girls have nothing to hang their heads about, they played with heart and the sun will always come out tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Running spurts in the first period enabled the Titans to commandeer an 18-7 lead with the help of six free throws.
Gilmer County had four players scoring four points apiece in the opening frame pacing the charge against the Yellow Jackets: Grace Wellings, Trinity Bennett, Malaysia Morgan and Taylor McHenry.
Moorefield countered with five points by Lexi Gilhuys and Remington Hinkle added two points in the first stanza.
Moorefield started to find a groove in the second period with a pair of field goals in the paint by Gianna Fair plus a 3-pointer by Lindsey Rinker and Sterling Kump, meanwhile thwarting some of the Titans attacks.
Wellings hit a jumper with just under two minutes remaining in the second period to put Gilmer County (20-5) ahead 26-17.
A 3-pointer by Madison McGregor enabled the Yellow Jackets (12-14) to cut the deficit to 26-20 with 1:38 left in the first half.
Gilmer County answered with a layup by Trinity Bennett on the ensuing possession.
Kump drew a foul and didn’t connect on the line, then the Titans committed a lane violation on offense.
After a walk by Moorefield, Gilmer County’s Malaysia Morgan snatched an offensive rebound and her shot appeared to be blocked by Fair only to have a foul assessed before adding one free throw.
Moorefield’s Lindsey Rinker collected the rebound off the missed free throw, but the next field goal attempt went awry and Fair collected the rebound prior to the Yellow Jackets losing the ball out of play.
The Titans missed a free throw with seven seconds left, then Rinker dashed down the court arching a shot over a defender near the paint scoring at the buzzer to close the gap 29-22 at halftime.
Gilmer County netted 3-pointers thrice in the first minute and change of the third period to rip ahead 38-22.
The second half started with an offensive rebound collected by McGregor moments before a double dribble was called, then Bennett drilled a trey at 7:25.
After fumbling the ball out of bounds, Moorefield’s Anna Riggleman stole the ball and the next shot went awry with Bennett hauling in the board.
Wellings sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a screen infraction in a span of 17 seconds giving the Titans the 38-22 advantage at 6:31.
Riggleman grabbed an offensive board, but the ball was stolen by Gilmer County’s Emma Taylor.
Hinkle collected a defensive rebound, then Wellings blocked the ensuing shot attempt.
Rinker drew a foul and made [private]one free throw at the 5:13 mark with Riggleman snatching the carom, but a walk was called.
McGregor swiped the ball and dished to Gilhuys for a layup at the 4:53 mark, 38-25.
Rinker and Morgan made defensive rebounds, then Bennett was whistled for a double dribble and she acted quite surprised.
Wellings stuffed a shot by McGregor, then McGregor made the save on the ricochet along the baseline only to have it intercepted by Taylor.
The Titans hit the rim and Rinker snatched the board and passed to Gilhuys, who drew a foul and added one free throw for Moorefield at the 3:44 mark.
Taylor collected an offensive rebound and assisted Morgan on a jumper on the following series for Gilmer County.
Wellings hauled in a tipped ball off a missed Yellow Jackets field goal try, then nailed a 3-pointer at 2:53 for a 43-26 Titans advantage.
Morgan stole the ball and was fouled, then made one of two free throws.
Gilmer County’s Carrah Fergeson created a turnover and Taylor McHenry kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound and passed to Wellings for a trifecta at 2:18, 47-28.
Moorefield hit the rim and Taylor grabbed the board before an offensive foul was called, then the Yellow Jackets had another shot careen off the iron bouncing over the backboard.
Morgan knocked down a jumper to put the Titans ahead 49-26 with 1:32 remaining in the third period.
McGregor and Wellings hauled in rebounds off errant Moorefield field goals, then Rinker made a steal and drew a foul leading to a pair of free throws at the 1:02 mark, 49-28.
“I am so proud of my teammates. The younger ones really stepped up tonight. It is unreal how much they have stepped up to help our team. It is a blessing to play with them and I am going to miss them very much. That was something I will remember forever. I was hoping to go to state, but you can’t win them all. I am known for my hustle and it stands out. I am proud of that and I encourage my teammates to hustle as well. I hope the younger girls take my place in hustling to help their teammates in the future,” Moorefield senior Anna Riggleman noted.
Rinker swiped the ball again and the ensuing pass was deflected with a scramble for the ball by Riggleman and McHenry resulting in a jump ball for the Titans.
Bennett hit a jumper for Gilmer County on the ensuing series, then the Yellow Jackets answered with a basket from Glihuys for a 51-30 score with 31 seconds left in the third frame.
McHenry added one free throw for the Titans and both teams missed a field goal attempt to close out the quarter.
Moorefield wasn’t about to give up, coming into the fourth period with a 3-pointer by Gilhuys at the 7:31 mark, 52-33.
The Yellow Jackets applied pressure with Sterling Kump making a steal, but the ensuing shot hit the rim and the Titans collected the rebound.
Kump deflected a pass and the ricochet was corralled by Rinker for the turnover, but Moorefield gave the ball back with a pass sailing back over mid-court.
After a jump ball, Kump collected rebounds on offense and defense before the ball was stolen by Gilmer County’s Taylor McHenry and the next shot was off the mark with a rebound by McHenry.
Rinker got tangled up with Wellings along the perimeter for a foul.
Sideline pressure by McGregor forced a timeout by the Titans a split second before the infraction would have been called, then Rinker stole the ball.
“We are a family and it a bond like no other I’ve had with any team I played with before. I love them all so much and we put it all out there tonight. I really do love them and I couldn’t ask for better teammates. No. 14 came out and hit those threes in the third period and we just weren’t expecting that. We hadn’t really guarded that a lot this season, so it makes it tough when you go up 12-15 points and 20 or more,” Moorefield senior Madison McGregor said.
Riggleman and McGregor made a dive for a loose ball with a nudge to Rinker for the recovery, then Gilhuys drained a 3-pointer for the Yellow Jackets with 5:31 remaining, 52-36.
Rinker swiped the ball during pressure and drew a foul leading to a pair of free throws added.
McHenry completed an old-fashioned three-point play for the Titans at the 5:15 mark.
Bennett snatched a defensive board, then Rinker forced a jump ball.
Gilmer County’s Bennett and Wellings blocked shots, then Bennett recorded a three-point sequence for a 58-38 lead with 4:39 to go.
Gilhuys and Fergeson traded layups just ten seconds apart, then the Yellow Jackets walked.
Riggleman hauled in a defensive rebound and was trapped, losing the ball falling down as it was corralled by McHenry leading to a 3-pointer by Wellings at 3:48, 63-40.
Kump scored inside the paint for Moorefield on the next series.
The Titans scored six free throws over the next two minutes and change including five by Bennett.
During that stretch, Rinker added two free throws and Moorefield missed three field goals and committed two turnovers with Gilmer County holding a 69-44 had with 2:06 left.
Hinkle netted a layup for the Yellow Jackets with 1:59 to go, then Bennett returned to the foul line for the Titans adding two more points at 1:22.
Hinkle garnered an offensive rebound and scored the putback on the next Moorefield possession at 1:11, 71-48.
Gilmer County notched two more field goals in the last minute to claim the Region II Championship by 75-48 final.
“We just wanted to get after them in the press and trap the ball, having good rotations. We denied the pass. We did that and executed well and their defense was on point. We located their key players and they only got loose a few times. The effort was there tonight. Our senior leader Grace Wellings made some big shots giving us a lift and really put Moorefield on their heels and took some wind out of their sails. We are really proud of Grace, she was a great leader tonight. Trinity played good defensively and made free throws for us. This is good for our program. We miss Charleston and it is good to finally go back. The hard work all year paid off. We won the state title the last time we were there in 2017,” Gilmer County coach Amy Chapman remarked.
Bennett guided the Titans with 23 points, followed by Wellings with 21 points and Morgan added a dozen markers.
Gilhuys paced the Yellow Jackets with 18 points and Rinker contributed 12 points in the season ending loss in Glenville.
“A lot of people are going to look at that score tonight and think what happened to Moorefield. That score didn’t affect this game at all. For the fans who were here, thank you for supporting us. We never gave up. We were down by 22 and came back to make it a seven point game at halftime,” Moorefield senior Lindsey Rinker stated.
“We never gave up even when we were down 22 points in the third quarter going into the fourth. We were pushing the ball and taking shots, but we weren’t making them. We created pressure on them too. Kudos to them for having the whole arena here cheering for them and knocking down shots. We’ve been together since we were in fourth grade and little league, we know how each other will react and respond. We know our strengths and weaknesses. Having them by my side through many accomplishments and as a team it was probably the most family desired and structured team and we had each others backs through everything and that will never disappear. Going to serve in the military is something I have always wanted to do. Having a leadership role and discipline through sports, always having my teammates backs and working as a team is going to push me to do something great in the Air Force.”
Moorefield senior Lindsey Rinker finished her tenure with the all-time career scoring record tallying 1,434 points.
[/private]The Titans advance to the state tournament facing Wheeling Central Catholic in the opening round, while Moorefield’s season came to an end one game shy of that trip to Charleston for a third consecutive year.