The Tigers froze East Hardy as the icicles fell from the rim off 46 missed shots and the hardwood was a slippery surface creating 27 turnovers as Union Girls Basketball made a chilly 60-35 victory in Mt. Storm last Tuesday.
“We had a lot of girls playing. We were running our plays and the girls were seeing the open ones and not afraid to shoot. Part of our plan is up-tempo as we have our legs underneath us. Our girls are giving 100 percent and you can’t ask for anything better than that,” Union Girls Basketball coach Alex Stapleton remarked.
The Cougars missed the two opening shots of the game with rebounds by Tera Jones and Union’s Clarissa Chapman.
Victoria Seabolt collected an offensive rebound and was fouled leading to one free throw made for the Tigers at the 7:28 mark.
East Hardy’s Makenzie Blair snatched the board off the free throw line, but the Cougars hit the rim again and Seabolt came away with the carom.
Chapman scored on a putback putting the Tigers up 3-nil at the 6:57 mark.
Both teams missed baskets and Seabolt hauled in both rebounds before Chasity Broadwater was fouled on a block attempt and netted one Union free throw.
After jump ball and two Cougars fouls, Union was on the free two line with Chapman sinking both charity stripe buckets at the 5:13 mark for a 6-0 lead.
Seabolt stole the ball, but the Tigers missed the field goal and East Hardy’s Katee Short collected the rebound.[private]
The Cougars committed a turnover on a walk, then the Tigers hit the rim twice before fouling East Hardy which sent Perry Whetzel to the foul line making a pair of shots at the 4:04 mark, 6-2.
Chapman knocked down a jumper for the Tigers on the ensuing possession.
Chapman stole the ball, but an offensive foul was called on the series and the Tigers got the ball back as East Hardy walked which resulted in a score by Seabolt at 3:03.
East Hardy lost the ball out of bounds as Union’s Bridgette Knapp made a deflection and a diving attempt for a save by Short was to no avail.
Both teams hit the rim with rebounds by East Hardy’s Tera Jones and Taylor Strawderman.
“We can’t shoot the ball,” East Hardy coach Bridget Billmeyer noted.
After a jump ball, Union’s Chasity Broadwater swiped the ball and was fouled.
The Tigers killed more time off the clock before Olivia Bomboy netted a jumper for a 12-2 lead with 1:17 left in the first period.
Knapp blocked a shot, then the Cougars were called for a lane violation.
Jones and Bomboy made back-to-back steals, then the Tigers missed a basket and Jones grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
East Hardy lost the ball out of bounds, but got it back on a steal by Blair.
Bomboy swiped the ball and scored with two seconds left to put Union ahead 14-2 closing the frame.
It took just 11 seconds into the second period for Chapman to net a field goal for the Tigers.
East Hardy responded a dozen seconds later on a basket by Strawderman.
Chapman struck again to give Union an 18-4 advantage at the 7:20 mark.
Knapp stole the ball and assisted Bomboy on the ensuing basket.
A defensive rebound was collected by Knapp, then Hailee Whitacre scored for the Tigers creating a 22-4 lead at the 6:22 mark.
Strawderman grabbed an offensive rebound drawing a foul in the process and netted both free throws for the Cougars at 5:43.
A steal by Strawderman came up empty with two errant attempts bouncing off the rim.
Bomboy grabbed a rebound, but lost the ball diving out of bounds.
Knapp stole the ball and was fouled as East Hardy’s Emma Heishman tried to rip it out of her hands leading to a missed free throw with Jones snatching the board.
In a span of 20 seconds, the Tigers scored six points on baskets by Knapp, Bomboy and Alex Jones with the middle basket coming off a steal by Bomboy and the latter on a putback off a missed free throw.
A minute later, East Hardy’s Taylor Strawderman collected a defensive rebound and netted a jumper to cut the deficit to 28-8 with 3:10 remaining in the first half.
After a Tigers turnover, East Hardy’s Perry Whetzel snatched a rebound and scored at the 1:32 mark.
Union closed the second period on a 7-0 run with field goals by Knapp sandwiching a 3-pointer by Whitacre with all three scores coming off turnovers including two steals by Knapp.
The Tigers carried a 35-10 lead into halftime over East Hardy.
Despite setting two traps to begin the third period, Union still managed to draw fouls by the Cougars.
Union’s Victoria Seabolt hit a jumper at the 7:30 mark.
Chapman hauled in a defensive board and was bumped by East Hardy’s Heishman heading down the court jarring the ball loose ricocheting out of play.
Knapp stole the ball and was fouled, then Strawderman swiped the ball back.
Perry Whetzel notched a putback at the 6:41 mark for the Cougars, 37-12.
Both teams missed shots, then Chapman lost the ball out of bounds and made up for the mistake with a blocked shot.
Seabolt recovered the ball, then Knapp fumbled the ball away falling down.
East Hardy’s Jaden Fleshman garnered a 3-pointer at the 5:20 mark, 37-15.
Chapman hit a jumper and Broadwater stole the ball leading to a free throw by Bomboy bumping the advantage up 40-15 at 4:51.
East Hardy’s Chelsea Keller notched a field goal on the ensuing possession keeping play alive with a rebound.
There was a collision between Knapp and Keller with Knapp sustaining an injury leaving the game.
No scoring occurred over the next three minutes as the Cougars missed four shots and had five turnovers, while the Tigers committed four turnovers and one errant shot.
Union’s Bomboy ended the scoring drought with a free throw at the 1:24 mark.
East Hardy hit the rim several times over the next minute and Union missed the mark and had a turnover.
Seabolt added a free throw for the Tigers with 26 seconds left in the third period.
Katee Short scored a field goal in the paint off an assist from Perry Whetzel as the Cougars cut the deficit to 44-19.
East Hardy’s Emma Heishman assisted Short on a basket just eight second into the final stanza.
Union beat the traps set and missed the field goal attempt, then East Hardy’s Keller blocked a shot and forced a jump ball.
Short scored on the ensuing Cougars possession, but Union answered with a bucket by Whitacre.
After turnovers on both sides, Whetzel corralled a tipped ball and netted a basket.
The Tigers scored the next six points in a span of one minute on shots by Seabolt, Bomboy and Brianna Martin to secure a 52-25 lead with 4:53 left.
East Hardy managed two free throws over the next minute from Jones and Heishman.
Heishman collected a defensive rebound and Jones made a jumper at the 3:46 mark for a 52-29 score.
Whitacre answered with a field goal for the Tigers.
Both teams missed a pair of field goals, then Short garnered a putback for the Cougars and Heishman swiped the ball scoring on a layup five seconds later for a 54-33 score with 2:23 to go.
The Cougars would add one more field goal in under a minute remaining by Short, but still fell short to Union by a score of 60-35.
In the opening game of the night, EHEMS 8th grade team defeated the Tigers 25-9.[/private]