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Williamstown falls in Fenton Shootout

JAY W. BENNETT The Marietta Times Williamstown’s Ashley Morris, right, wrestles Poca’s Aubrey Chandler for the ball during a high school basketball game Friday.

WILLIAMSTOWN — Wheeling Central scored the first 10 points of the game against Clay County in the opening semifinal of Friday’s 22nd annual Donnie Fenton Shootout and Poca also never trailed against host Williamstown as the Maroon Knights and the Dots will square off at approximately 3 p.m. today for the championship.

“Kenny Sayre did a great job of having his kids ready,” said ‘Jacket head coach Fred Sauro, whose club came out on the short end of a 59-48 score. “They execute so well. They passed and blocked out well. The things you can control we didn’t take care of. We took the shots when they were there. We got schooled.

“That was totally on me the fact our press was so aggressive and we were running guys out of the middle of the floor to go contest on the perimeter and left the basket unprotected seven times. That’s our fault. I apologize for that and that will never happen again. Hats off to Poca.”

The fourth-ranked Class A Yellowjackets, who were playing without the services of Bethany Wager and BreeAnn Reynolds, missed 19 of 20 attempts from downtown and finished the evening shooting just 27.3 percent (18 of 66) overall.

Aubrey Chandler’s 3-pointer to open the game was followed by an Autumn Smith deuce as the Dots (3-1) took the lead for good and kept it.

Ashley Morris, who finished with a dozen markers while teammate Samantha Dedrick had a team-high 14 counters, drained the only WHS 3 to beat the first-quarter buzzer. Williamstown (1-1) had three chances to score, two inside, but Morris got a kick-out pass from Courtney Dotson as Poca still led 19-13.

It was still just a six point affair at 21-15 early in the second, but Chandler and Casey Skeens drained two triples apiece in the stanza to help the Dots push ahead 37-20 at the break. It was 37-18 with 1:31 left in the half following Skeens’ second trifecta, but ‘Jacket Bethany Arnold, who had a game-high 12 rebounds, got a putback.

Dedrick scored three consecutive buckets to close out the third and pull the hosts within nine at 45-36. Following a putback by Brooke Stewart and an easy inside hoop by Arnold the hosts cut it back to six at 49-43.

A Morris coast-to-coast lay-in with 3:10 remaining as well as two foul shots by Dedrick with 1:58 to play again cut the lead to six, but Poca got two Taylor Bonnett baskets and one more field goal from Skeens to secure the victory.

Chandler (16), Skeens (15) and Bonnett (14) did the bulk of the scoring for Poca, which also received four points and 11 rebounds from Sarah Fisher.

Clay County, which will play the Yellowjackets at 1 p.m. today in the consolation game, missed 15 of 18 field goals in the opening quarter and never recovered during a 71-48 loss.

Kaylee Reinbeau’s bucket opened the scoring for No. 8 Wheeling Central (2-0) and after two foul shots by Taylor Duplaga, the junior converted a three-point play and then watched Eden Gainer drain a 3 for the quick 10-0 cushion just 1:56 into the tilt.

The Maroon Knights pushed their advantage to 15-1 following another three-point play, this time from Riley Bennington.

Sarah Boggs, who had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, got a putback with 50 seconds to go before intermission to help the Panthers cut the deficit to 36-29, but Central led by eight at the break following a Hannah White foul shot.

Clay County (2-1) made it a two possession game for the final time at 6:07 of the third at 39-33 when Marissa Williams scored, but Duplaga canned a 3 just 12 seconds later. After Reinbeau had a block on Boggs, Gainer scored on a lay-in as the Maroon Knights rolled the rest of the way.

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