Logan girls get initial tourney win, face No. 1 Spring Valley tonight
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The bright lights on the state's biggest stage didn't devour Logan's young stars.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The bright lights on the state's biggest stage didn't devour Logan's young stars.
On the contrary, the fifth-seeded Wildcats thrived under the pressure in winning the school's first game at the girls state tournament, a 77-66 victory over No. 4 Princeton in the Class AAA quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Charleston Civic Center.
Logan (16-9) will take on No. 1 Spring Valley (23-3) at 5:30 p.m. today in the semifinals. The Wildcats lost to Spring Valley by 29 points during the regular season but by just by one point in the section championship.
While the Wildcats' boys team has a rich hardwood history with seven state titles, the girls program last reached the state tournament in 2000 and this was just its third trip to Charleston since the Secondary School Activities Commission sanctioned girls basketball in 1976. The sizable Logan County contingent rose to its feet Thursday and applauded the team's effort with about 30 seconds left in the game.
"To be one of the last four standing in the triple-A field where the year before my first year we were 144th in the MetroNews [Power] Index ... I've got [our players] to believe,'' said Logan coach Kevin Gertz. "I've got some phenomenal players and athletes that people now are starting to learn about.''
Logan's youngsters didn't miss a beat under the scrutiny, shooting 56.5 percent overall and 63.2 percent in the second half.
Wildcats 5-foot-11 sophomore point guard Shayna Gore pumped in 36 points on 12-of -21 shooting and contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gore, who is on the ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 Watch List for the Class of 2015, netted 20 points before halftime.
Logan 6-foot-2 freshman center Monica Mitchell turned in 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 17 boards, two blocks and three assists.
Wildcats 5-5 sophomore guard Kyra Cline only scored on a 3-pointer and had two assists, but her air-tight defense on Princeton senior guard McKenzie Akers held the Mountain State Athletic Conference's leading scorer to 17 points on 6-of-30 accuracy, including 1 of 6 from long range.
"It means the world to me and my teammates,'' said Gore. "Not many kids out there get to do this. In the past we haven't gotten to. It's just an honor to be here. We're not going back to Logan.''
In spite of their hot shooting, the Wildcats were locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle with the Tigers in the opening half and the teams ended tied at 34 at halftime. Logan held only a three-point lead (54-51) heading into the final quarter, which started with Gore on the bench after picking up her fourth foul near the end of the third quarter.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The bright lights on the state's biggest stage didn't devour Logan's young stars.
On the contrary, the fifth-seeded Wildcats thrived under the pressure in winning the school's first game at the girls state tournament, a 77-66 victory over No. 4 Princeton in the Class AAA quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Charleston Civic Center.
Logan (16-9) will take on No. 1 Spring Valley (23-3) at 5:30 p.m. today in the semifinals. The Wildcats lost to Spring Valley by 29 points during the regular season but by just by one point in the section championship.
While the Wildcats' boys team has a rich hardwood history with seven state titles, the girls program last reached the state tournament in 2000 and this was just its third trip to Charleston since the Secondary School Activities Commission sanctioned girls basketball in 1976. The sizable Logan County contingent rose to its feet Thursday and applauded the team's effort with about 30 seconds left in the game.
"To be one of the last four standing in the triple-A field where the year before my first year we were 144th in the MetroNews [Power] Index ... I've got [our players] to believe,'' said Logan coach Kevin Gertz. "I've got some phenomenal players and athletes that people now are starting to learn about.''
Logan's youngsters didn't miss a beat under the scrutiny, shooting 56.5 percent overall and 63.2 percent in the second half.
Wildcats 5-foot-11 sophomore point guard Shayna Gore pumped in 36 points on 12-of -21 shooting and contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gore, who is on the ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 Watch List for the Class of 2015, netted 20 points before halftime.
Logan 6-foot-2 freshman center Monica Mitchell turned in 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 17 boards, two blocks and three assists.
Wildcats 5-5 sophomore guard Kyra Cline only scored on a 3-pointer and had two assists, but her air-tight defense on Princeton senior guard McKenzie Akers held the Mountain State Athletic Conference's leading scorer to 17 points on 6-of-30 accuracy, including 1 of 6 from long range.
"It means the world to me and my teammates,'' said Gore. "Not many kids out there get to do this. In the past we haven't gotten to. It's just an honor to be here. We're not going back to Logan.''
In spite of their hot shooting, the Wildcats were locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle with the Tigers in the opening half and the teams ended tied at 34 at halftime. Logan held only a three-point lead (54-51) heading into the final quarter, which started with Gore on the bench after picking up her fourth foul near the end of the third quarter.
That's when senior guard Hannah Tothe's experience shined through as she commanded the point and guided Logan on a 13-3 run that gave the Tigers a 67-54 advantage with 5:02 left in the game.
Tothe drilled a 3 to start the barrage, then knocked down 3 of 4 free-throw attempts while senior center Jenna Kimler sank a pair from the charity stripe, Cline drained a 3 and Mitchell converted a layup.
"There's no doubt in my mind Shayna is a first-team all-stater,'' Gertz said. "And so many people think if Shayna Gore's not in the game [Logan is] beat. Every single time in the [postseason] she's been in foul trouble, and every time we've taken her out Hannah has slowed our team down and we've expanded the lead.''
"I'm like the mother out on the floor,'' added Tothe, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. "Shayna makes a few mistakes then she likes to get her head out of the game because she's down on herself. If you have somebody pick you up all the time then you won't be as down. That's what I try doing for our whole team. If I lose my head then we'll all lose it. I have to be there to pick everybody up.''
Princeton (19-6) made a run and cut its deficit to six points (70-64) on senior guard Jessica Inman's steal and layup with 1:55 to go in the fourth. The Tigers then began fouling and the Wildcats failed to put them away, missing six of 13 foul shots to leave the door cracked. Princeton, which struggled with its shooting all game, missed several 3s and putbacks and couldn't get any closer.
"Sometimes your shots don't drop,'' said Princeton coach Debbie Ball, who saw her team shoot just 28.9 percent. "That happens and [Logan's] did. It was their day. We've had that happen and been able to pull out games.''
"I think we were all kind of overwhelmed with the atmosphere,'' added Akers, a Marshall recruit who finished with 17 points, five rebounds, nine assists and three steals. "We've never been here, but we're thankful we got this far. We got down 13 points and we're a never-say-die team and we wanted to get back in it.''
Princeton senior guard Hannah Preservati added 17 points, including five 3s, with five boards while Inman chipped in 12 points, six caroms, four assists and two steals and senior forward Marissa Mullins donated 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Reach Tommy R. Atkinson tatkin...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4811.
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