No. 5 West Holmes spread out the ball well with eight different scorers and three hitting double figures against No. 13 Morgan, and the Knights crushed it right from the start in a 72-29 win to take the Division II East 2 Sectional title on Feb. 24.
“Everyone contributed to our win,” said Coach Lindsy Belden. “I was proud of the way our kids responded after not playing our best on Wednesday. I thought we executed the game plan well and everyone was mentally bought into what we were asking them to do. Everyone was also very unselfish and got other people shots.”
The Knights were up 4-0 to start the game, and Allie McMillen’s defense kept the momentum for West Holmes with a steal on an inbound pass. Morgan got the ball back, but not for long, as Keegan Uhl poked a ball loose for a steal. West Holmes was up 10-5 and continued to play tenacious defense, with McMillen swatting away a shot. They scored the next four points, and then Zalina Proper got in on the defense with a steal. West Holmes had as 16-7 lead after one quarter.
West Holmes took a 29-10 lead in the second quarter on a three for Greta Rolince. They continued to cruise in the second quarter, with a 15-3 advantage to go up 31-10 at the half. Aveona Yoder had a steal in the quarter, and Briar Cline had a block.
McMillen got things going in the third quarter with a three to put West Holmes up 34-10. Later in the quarter, the Knights went up 46-14 on a three by Chloe Patten. Jewel Brown’s three made it a 49-17 game, and Zalina Proper put the Knights up 52-20 on a three of her own. West Holmes outscored Morgan 23-12 in the third quarter to take a commanding 54-22 lead after three.
In the fourth quarter, West Holmes outscored Morgan 18-7 and the Knights were able to walk away with the easy win to move onto round three of the playoffs.
The Knights shot 50.9% and went 7-for-23 from three, whole holding Morgan to 24.4% and 3-for-12 from deep. They led 43-23 in rebounds (27 being defensive boards), 23-7 in assists, 11-7 in steals and 2-0 in blocks.
“We rebounded the ball on the defensive end exceptionally well on Saturday,” Belden said
Leading the charge was Yoder with 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting. She also had four boards, three steals and an assist. Chloe Patten had 13 points, eight rebounds, two steals and an assist. Cline had 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Proper scored nine points and grabbed six boards, while tallying three assists and a steal. Jewell Brown had eight points, going 3-for-3 and 2-for-2 from the foul line. McMillen had seven points, seven assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block. Nealie Fair had six points and four boards, while Rolince had five points, seven rebounds and a steal.
That’s two playoff games down, and the Knights are looking to keep pushing their way through the playoffs.
“Our focus is one day at a time from here on out and winning each day, whether that be in practice or a game,” Belden said.
On Feb. 28 the Knights face No. 8 Dover at 7 p.m.
