East Hardy sent the Lady Pirates sailing into the abyss after securing a 57-28 victory in the Class A Region II Section 2 Girls Basketball quarterfinal playoff game held in Baker on Tuesday night.
Paw Paw hit rough waters in the first period as the Lady Cougars shook the ship with a 15-5 lead before ushering a wave of points giving East Hardy a 33-8 halftime advantage with a flood of water battering the deck.
“We went out here and played. We tried to work on some fundamental things and did what we needed to do to be better in showing our younger kids what they need to learn for next year,” East Hardy Coach Bridget Billmeyer stated.
“We have to win the next game to continue on, so we have to come ready to play ball on Thursday night.”
The Lady Cougars (11-10) splashed the hardwood with a 10-0 run to begin the playoff contest with all those points coming from senior captain Julia Hahn.
In the final home game of her career, Hahn scored a game-high 18 points to give the East Hardy a night to remember as the Lady Cougars depart for the semifinals in Moorefield on Thursday.
East Hardy senior captain Brooke Miller observed the opening tip from the bench which gave Hannah Fogel an opportunity to start and Hahn took the tip-off spot.
Paw Paw (2-19) managed to collect the tip-off, but East Hardy senior Emma Baker created a turnover and grabbed an offensive rebound.
Two more attempts hit the rim with rebounds by Hahn and Fogel, then Hahn netted a jumper at the 7:07 mark.
East Hardy senior Lexi Strawderman collected a defensive board, then passed to Baker, who walked.
Hahn stole the ball back and the ensuing shot went off the rim and deflected out of bounds after hitting a Lady Pirates defender.
Hahn netted a jumper after receiving the inbounds pass from Basye at 6:26.
A jump ball forced by Strawderman gave the Lady Cougars possession, then Strawderman and Baker made rebounds prior to an assist from Baker to Hahn for a basket.
Baker defended closely forcing the Lady Pirates to fumble the ball out of bounds.
Hahn didn’t make a putback, then Paw Paw’s Marissa Moreland snatched a defensive rebound.
The Lady Pirates drew iron and Strawderman grabbed the carom with an assist to Hahn going in for a layup.
Hahn swiped the ball and scored her tenth point for the 10-0 edge at the 4:50 mark.
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Moreland was fouled and netted one of two free throws for Paw Paw on the ensuing possession.
Strawderman and fellow senior Leanna Basye made offensive rebounds moments before Basye was fouled and hit one of two free throws.
Strawderman notched a steal and zipped inside for a layup to go up 13-1 with 3:51 left in the first period.
Over the next minute, Paw Paw missed twice and both teams had a turnover and a jump ball before Basye garnered a jumper off an assist from Tera Jones.
After a handful of missed shots, the Lady Pirates knocked down a shot coming from Courtney Moreland at the 1:45 mark for a 15-3 score.
Baker snatched a rebound and the ball was partially blocked and collected by Paw Paw’s Maristy Crosco, then Elizabeth Henderson nailed a jumper with under a minute remaining in the frame.
The Lady Cougars missed the first attempt of the second period, then Hahn appeared to play soccer for a moment making a header during defense with the ball ricocheting out of bounds.
Hahn stole the ball, but missed the layup and Paw Paw’s Elizabeth Henderson collected the board and stepped out of bounds.
Basye drilled a long range jumper to give East Hardy a 17-5 lead at 7:21.
Hahn swiped the ball again and the Lady Cougars hit the rim with Henderson finding the rebound and scoring on a putback during the next possession.
Hahn dished to Baker for a jumper in the paint in response which was the start of a 16-1 run to close the first half.
Baker made a steal and Courtney Moreland made a partial block out of bounds, then hauled in a defensive rebound.
Basye snatched the ensuing board in Lady Pirates territory, then found Chelsea Keller for a basket at 5:37 extending the lead to 21-7.
Paw Paw lost the ball out of bounds after a timeout, then Strawderman scored for the Lady Cougars.
Strawderman created a steal and garnered an offensive rebound with a deflection by the Lady Pirates sending the ball beyond the baseline moments before Hahn hit a jumper.
Hahn and Baker made steals over the next minute and change without a basket and there were eight combined missed opportunities prior to a putback by Keller at 2:42.
After an East Hardy foul by Basye, Strawderman forced a jump ball situation with the arrow pointing to Paw Paw.
Hahn made a steal and assisted Strawderman on a score in the paint.
Hahn swiped the nugget again and hit her own jumper to extend the advantage to 29-7 with 1:21 to go in the second period.
Baker stole the ball and passed to Strawderman, who was blocked by Courtney Moreland with Baker scooping up the ricochet and shooting for the bucket making it 31-7.
Courtney Moreland added a free throw with 24 seconds on the clock, then Hahn took the rebound and did a give and take passing routine with Strawderman down the floor with Hahn sinking the layup for the halftime score of 33-8 for the Lady Cougars with Paw Paw missing two final attempts and the last rebound going to East Hardy’s Becca Whetzel.
At the beginning of the third period, Paw Paw’s Hannah Hendrickson collected a defensive rebound, but it was stolen by Strawderman with a dish to Basye for the jumper at 7:30.
Strawderman swiped the ball and passed to Basye again, who attempted to pass back and Marissa Moreland deflected it.
Hahn and Moreland made rebounds in Cougars territory, then the Lady Pirates missed and the Hahn tried to corral the rebound with it beginning to roll towards mid-court and leaned over to keep it spinning over to Basye, who wasn’t able to chase it down before it rolled out.
Paw Paw lost the ball out of bounds, then Hahn hit a jumper at 6:10.
Courtney Moreland knocked down a 3-pointer at the 5:48 mark to help the Lady Pirates cut the deficit to 37-11.
“I’m very proud of our team. We had five dress up for the last several games of the year, they hustled well and they worked as a team. The good thing is they are all coming back and one of our middle school girls is coming up to give us some height down low. It is bittersweet for the season to be over, but now they go to track practice,” Paw Paw athletic director and assistant coach Jeff Palmer noted.
Baker assisted Keller on a jumper during the ensuing series for the Lady Cougars.
Paw Paw answered with a layup by Marissa Moreland at 5:04, 39-13.
Keller recorded a steal, then offensive rebounds were collected by Keller, Basye, and Hahn with the latter finally finding the hoop at 4:31.
Baker and Moreland snatched rebounds, then Whetzel grabbed a defensive board.
Hahn collected an offensive rebound and passed to Keller for a basket.
East Hardy sent in reserve players Perry Whetzel, Tera Jones and Jaden Fleshman to garner more experience on the floor.
After a turnover, Becca Whetzel made a rebound and Fleshman was called for a charge.
Perry Whetzel deflected a pass, then Becca Whetzel forced a jump ball.
The Lady Pirates lost the ball out of bounds under pressure from Fleshman and Perry Whetzel, then Becca Whetzel collected an offensive rebound and there was another jump ball.
Paw Paw’s Henderson grabbed a defensive rebound and scored off an assist from Marissa Moreland at the 1:09 mark, 43-15.
Henderson garnered another carom and Tera Jones blocked a shot for the Lady Cougars with Fogel recovering the ball.
There was a scramble after a miss with Fogel and Henderson diving for the ball, then Fleshman stepped in to corral the loose ball.
Fogel scored moments later off a pass from Becca Whetzel for a 45-15 lead.
In the fourth quarter, East Hardy’s Becca Whetzel sandwiched two jumpers around a basket by Paw Paw’s Marissa Moreland for a 49-17 score at 6:20.
Henderson scored on the next Lady Pirates possession, then Marissa Moreland grabbed a defensive rebound and Courtney Moreland netted a field goal at the top of the key.
A minute later at the 4:04 mark, Marissa Moreland hit a jumper to slice the deficit to 49-23.
Becca Whetzel made a rebound and walked, then Fogel hauled in a defensive rebound and was fouled by Courtney Moreland.
Fogel hit a short range jumper for the Lady Cougars at 3:12.
After a pair of missed shots in both directions, Marissa Moreland drilled a 3-pointer for Paw Paw.
Whetzel hit a jumper with two minutes remaining to provide East Hardy with a 53-26 advantage.
Henderson scored for the Lady Pirates, then Fogel and Fleshman netted baskets for the Lady Cougars in the final minute of action to create the 57-28 victory.
After Hahn’s game-high 18 points, Keller contributed a dozen markers, Basye made seven points, then Strawderman and Fogel netted six points apiece.
Paw Paw was paced by Henderson and Courtney Moreland with ten points each, followed by Marissa Moreland with eight markers.
The Lady Pirates were eliminated from the playoffs, while East Hardy advances to play Moorefield in the semifinal round.
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