By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy senior Chloe Miller had a sweet moment setting the program’s career rebounding record on senior night during a 48-34 win over the Warriors on Valentine’s Day.
Miller collected seven rebounds in the first half against Trinity Christian, but had three fouls to contend with for the second half vying to surpass the school record for rebounding.
Miller only needed six more rebounds to surpass Megan (Falser) Dispanet’s career rebounding total of 784 and set the new milestone record of 785 rebounds and counting this season.
There was a special ceremony with a banner to recognize the accomplishment of becoming the new career rebounding record holder for the Cougars program.
Prior to the contest, East Hardy honored the seniors on the team: Addison Armentrout, Aubrey Cowgill, Brooklyn Miller, Chloe Miller and Brooklynn Tinnell.
The Cougars (9-7) started the game with Brooklynn Tinnell shooting two technical foul free throws due a roster infraction by Trinity Christian (6-10), then East Hardy missed a field goal attempt.
Tinnell finished with a game-high 25 points for East Hardy, followed by Chloe Miller with nine points and Addison Armentrout with seven points.
Trinity Christian was led by Kate Williams with 13 points, followed by Kaylin Kurilko with 10 points.
Trinity Christian took the lead on the ensuing possession as Kate Williams hit a 3-pointer at 7:24.
Kurilko stole the ball for the Warriors, then failed to connect and Chloe Miller snatched her first carom before both teams hit the rim again.
Kurilko added one free throw at 6:33, then snatched a defensive rebound and drilled a 3-pointer to put Trinity Christian up 7-2 at 6:17.
Chloe Miller crashed into the paint and took a trip to the line adding one free throw for the Cougars at 6:02.
Miller corralled a defensive rebound, then Trinity Christian’s Sidney Deal swiped the ball.
Tinnell stole the ball and missed the ensuing layup, but Miller was there to collect the rebound and passed back out to Tinnell for a 3-pointer to close the gap to to 7-6 at 4:35.
After a jump ball, Williams swiped the ball and netted a layup for the Warriors at 4:04.
East Hardy answered with a layup by Tinnell, then Addison Armentrout made a steal and scored on a breakaway layup to give the Cougars a 10-9 lead at 3:32.
Trinity Christian hit the rim before a lane violation caused a turnover, then Armentorut notched another layup putting the Cougars up 12-9 with 2:48 left in the first period.
A little over a minute later, Deal knocked down a game-tying perimeter bucket for the Warriors locking the score at 12-all.
The Cougars forced two turnovers in the final minute including a steal by Brooklyn Miller, but failed to convert as the score remained deadlocked entering the second stanza.
East Hardy opened the second period with a 3-pointer drilled by Tinnell at 7:47 to take the lead for good, 15-12.
Tinnell grabbed a defensive rebound, then Williams and Tinnell traded steals.
Chloe Miller hauled in an offensive carom and drew a foul leading to one free throw at 6:37.
Brooklyn Miller made a defensive rebound prior to a turnover.
Williams and Chloe Miller traded field goals for a 20-14 score with five minutes left in the second period.
East Hardy’s Jaiden Gordon collected a defensive rebound, then Chloe Miller recorded an offensive rebound for her fifth of the night before making a putback for a 22-14 edge at 4:14.
Chloe Miller added to the rebounding repertoire on the defensive side during the ensuing sequence.
Tinnell netted two free throws for the Cougars with 3:12 remaining in the first half, 24-14.
Tinnell created two rebounds and Gordon added another before Chloe Miller drew a foul and added one free throw.
Tinnell swiped the ball and netted a layup for a 27-14 lead with 2:24 left.
Armentrout collected a defensive carom, then drew a foul and made one free throw at 2:04.
Armentrout blocked a shot, then corralled two offensive rebounds before a jump ball.
Chloe Miller hauled in her seventh rebound of the night in the first half and was tied up for a jump ball.
Tinnell nailed a jumper to give the Cougars a 30-14 lead with under one minute to go in the half.
Trinity Christian’s Ella Moorehead blocked a shot, but East Hardy’s Jaiden Gordon made the recovery and scored on a jumper with nine seconds to go for a 32-14 halftime advantage.
East Hardy edged the Warriors 11-9 in the third period and maintained the lead with a 9-7 score in the final stanza to create the 48-34 victory.
Chloe Miller garnered the school career rebounding record in the second half to make the senior night win sweeter on Valentine’s Day and felt the love from the fans.
A few of the highlights for the East Hardy seniors include:
Addison Armentrout is a member of the student council, Spanish Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Future Farmers of America, National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society.
Armentrout was a member of the 2024 Class A state volleyball runner-up team and an all-tournament team selection.
Armentrout plans to attend Blue Ridge Community and technical College to become a veterinary technician.
Aubrey Cowgill is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Spanish Club, played basketball for six years and ran track for six years.
Cowgill plans to attend Potomac State College for two years before transferring to West Virginia University to complete a doctorate degree in psychology.
Brooklyn Miller is a member of the NHS, NTHS Spanish Club, FCA, FFA and student council.
Miller has played volleyball for six years including being a member of the 2024 Class A state volleyball runner-up team and played basketball for nine years.
Miller plans to attend college to pursue a degree in exercise science to later become a physical therapist.
Chloe Miller is a member of the NHS, NTHS, FCA, FFA, Spanish Club and Skills USA.
Miller met the 500 career rebounding milestone and set a new school career record with 785 rebounds and counting.
Miller plans to get a cosmetologist license.
Brooklynn Tinnell is a member of the NHS, NTHS, FCA, FFA and Spanish Club.
Tinnell reached the 1,000-point scoring milestone, set the school record for most points in a single season and is close to breaking the school career points record, was a a member of the All-Potomac Valley Conference and All-State basketball teams.
Tinnell plans to pursue a degree in biology and later become a dentist.
The Cougars have a talented group of seniors to complete this year’s journey on the basketball team before embarking on future endeavors.
