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Williamstown cruises into finals with 96-51 win

Williamstown’s Bethany Wager (33) and Bethany Arnold (44) behind Bethany Wager secure a rebound together during the Yellowjackets’ 96-51 Class A Region IV, Section 1 semifinal win Tuesday night over Calhoun County. Photo by Joe Albright.

WILLIAMSTOWN — Williamstown came up four points short of cracking triple-digits, four Yellowjackets threw up double-digit point totals, and the maroon and gold cruised to a 96-51 win over Calhoun County Tuesday night to advance to the Class A, Region IV sectional final.

Ashley Morris and Bethany Wager both hit the 20 point mark with 21 and 20, respectively.

Morris, who broke the WHS career assist record earlier in the week finished one steal short of claiming the school’s top swipes mark. The senior added to her high dimes mark with seven more help tallies in the contest.

Wager connected on four of her five shots from downtown to lead all scorers in 3s made. In addition to her treys, she filled up the stat sheet with a pair of dimes and trio of steals.

Visiting Calhoun County played head coach Fred Sauro’s team tough in the opening minutes of the first period. Two free throw makes by Makayla Smith tied the game at 14 all with 3:23 left in the stanza.

The senior Red Devil finished her career with a double-double effort of 17 points and 10 boards.

Carissa Yoak was the only other Calhoun player to finish with 10 or more points after she hit seven field goals and 4 of 7 from the line for a team-high 18 points.

Williamstown pulled away late with a 12-3 run and ended the opening stanza up 29-17.

Wager’s first 3 of the night with 3:12 remaining started the streak and Brooke Stewart capped the run with a pretty spin move to the basket with time winding down in the quarter.

Williamstown’s lead bulged to 29 points by halftime. Sauro’s squad drained nine buckets, which included five triples, in a 26-point second quarter.

Wager hit her last three triples and Morris connected on two shots from downtown as well.

Coach Adam O’Harrow and his squad couldn’t keep pace and only hit two shots from the field and six free throws. Calhoun put a brief scare into the Yellowjackets with an 8-0 run straight out of the locker room but Williamstown didn’t fold. Jenna Pridemore’s triple with 4:25 left sparked a 20-12 run to set the lead at 30 points heading into the final period of play.

“We went into the third quarter and told the girls they need to come out with a lot of energy,” said Sauro. “And they did the exact opposite I thought. The reason I thought was when we are pressing like that we develop a lot of energy and then you back it off it is a little hard to get it back.”

Sauro emptied his bench three minutes into the final period, but Calhoun couldn’t get any scoring going. The Red Devils were held to five points in the closing period.

Williamstown dominated in almost every aspect of the game. The Yellowjackets won the rebounding battle, 45-24. Bethany Arnold pulled down a team-high 11 caroms to record a double-double after she recorded a baker’s dozen markers.

Maroon and gold ball-handlers turned the ball over just six times compared to 16 for Calhoun County. They also finished with 22 assists for a 3.66-to-1 turnover ratio.

All but one Yellowjacket player scored during the offensively charged evening.

“We don’t care who shoots the ball,” said Morris. “Every shot is a team shot.”

Sauro’s squad now will play host to Ravenswood at 7 p.m. Friday night. The Red Devils knocked off Parkersburg Catholic, 46-43, in the other sectional semifinal.

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