WILLIAMSTOWN - Colleen McCormick poured in a game-high 31 points and her steal in the waning seconds sealed Wheeling Central's 66-65 victory here Saturday afternoon against host Williamstown in the consolation game of the 18th annual Donnie Fenton Shootout.
In a tightly contested affair that witnessed Williamstown's press force 33 Maroon Knight turnovers, Wheeling Central managed to score a lot of easy buckets and finished hitting 54.5 percent of its shots (30 of 55).
The Yellowjackets (1-2) led by as many as seven points at 23-16 early in the second when Kathleen Cornell got a steal and a layup. Wheeling Central didn't take its first lead until a 10-1 spurt capped by Emily Bucon's lay-in from an Ashton Cross assist with 4:21 left in the half made it 26-24.
Lauren Amos' deuce from a Jessie Kerns feed allowed the hosts to even the game 35-all at the break.
Although the Jackets got a three-point play from Cornell, who followed that with a 3-bomb after a Carley Ellison steal and pass ahead to make it 41-37 early in the third, Wheeling Central answered with a 10-2 run. McCormick, who finished with a game-high 14 rebounds to tally the game's only double-double, had two buckets in the run as did teammate Elizabeth Stayduhar.
Lindsey Baker's steal and pass for an easy layup to Regan Blaha allowed the visitors to square things at 57 apiece entering the final eight minutes.
Fact Box
18th annual Donnie Fenton Shootout
CHAMPIONSHIP
Huntington St. Joe 62, Scott 47
Consolation Game
Wheeling Central 66, Williamstown 65
W. Central 16 19 22 9 - 66
Williamstown 19 16 22 8 - 65
WHEELING CENTRAL (2-1)
Maria Olson 0 0-0 0, Colleen McCormick 14 3-3 31, Madison Basinger 2 0-0 4, Emily Bucon 7 2-2 16, Elizabeth Stayduhar 3 0-0 6, Regan Blaha 2 0-2 4, Lindsey Baker 0 0-0 0, Cate Calissie 1 0-0 2, Sydney Bennington 0 0-0 0, MacKenzie Michaels 0 0-0 0, Ashton Cross 0 1-2 1; TOTALS: 30 6-9 66; 3-point goals: None
WILLIAMSTOWN (1-2)
Jessie Kerns 0 2-2 2, Kenzie Smith 3 1-2 8, Carley Ellison 3 3-6 9, Kathleen Cornell 7 1-1 17, Sami Rea 2 2-2 6, Cami Mossor 1 0-0 2, Allie Robinson 0 0-0 0, Brooke Cieslewski 7 0-0 17, Andrea Chidester 0 0-0 0, Lauren Amos 2 0-0 4; TOTALS: 25 9-13 65; 3-point goals: Cieslewski 3, Cornell 2, Smith 1
Shooting: WC 30-55 (54.5%), WT 25-68 (36.8%); 3-pointers: WC 0-3, WT 6-21; Rebounds: WC 45 (McCormick 14, Basinger 8, Bucon 5), WT 26 (Rea 8, Cornell 5); Assists: WC 23 (Bucon 8, Olson 4), WT 14 (Kerns 4); Steals: WC 15 (Bucon 4), WT 23 (4 with 4); Turnovers: WC 33, WT 22
JV score: Wheeling Central 55, Williamstown 36
JV scoring: W. Central - Julianna Ryan 4, Cara Stahl 6, Blaha 12, Lindsey Baker 4, Calissie 2, Delaney Denniston 9, Bennington 8, Michaels 10; Williamstown - Heather Albertson 8, Mossor 8, Laura Petty 2, Shania George 6, Chidester 6, Robinson 6
Next games: Magnolia at Williamstown on Monday; Shadyside at Wheeling Central on Wednesday.
Cate Calissie found Bucon, who finished with 16 points, eight assists, five boards and four steals, open for an 8-foot jumper at 6:27 of the fourth as Wheeling Central (2-1) took the lead for good.
The Maroon Knights opened up their biggest cushion of the contest at 66-61 when Cross hit a foul shot with 1:49 to play for the final Wheeling Central point.
A pair of foul shots by Rea with 1:11 to go cut the deficit to three and Ellison's steal and layup just nine seconds later actually set the final score at 66-65.
The visitors called a timeout with 43.3 remaining and Williamstown finally got the ball back with 14.5 left when the Maroon Knights missed an inside shot, but the Jackets turned the ball over before getting a chance to put up a game-winning shot.
"At this juncture of the season this was a good thing for us. We know we can play with the best in the state," said WHS head coach Fred Sauro, who watched Cornell and Brooke Cieslewski tally 17 points apiece.
"We had them. This is a good barometer. I'm really proud of our intensity. The effort was there."
Williamstown, which welcomes Magnolia to town on Monday, also received nine points from Ellison and eight from Kenzie Smith.
In the finals, four-time defending Class A state champion Huntington St. Joe posted a 62-47 victory against Scott.
Mychal Johnson led the victors with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight steals. HSJ also got 15 points from Asia Petite along with 11 markers by Mychelle Johnson.
