Lady Warriors crush Wildcats, 87-29, headed to state tournament

Lady Warrior Heather Snead set the pace for the evening. Only seconds into the game, Snead snatched the ball from the Meadow Bridge Wildcats and scored on this breakaway.
Photo by:

The Lady Warriors are headed to Charleston after a lop-sided victory at home over Meadow Bridge last week.

Lady Warrior Heather Snead set the pace of the game by stealing the ball from the Wildcats and scoring on a breakaway in the opening seconds of the game. The Lady Warriors quickly pulled ahead, leaving the Wildcats trailing 26-5 at the end of the first quarter.

"We hadn't been shooting the ball as well as I liked, prior to this game, but we shot the ball real well against Meadow Bridge," said Lady Warrior coach Tim McClung in an interview after the game. McClung said turnovers were a decisive factor in the showdown.

"They turned the ball over 41 times in the first half," said McClung. "That's a lot of turnovers. It gave us a lot of opportunities to score off, and of course, mentally, it deflates a team."

The Lady Warriors maintained a significant lead throughout the night and entered halftime with a score of 51-14.

Freshman Tristin Day led the team in scoring with 15 points. Day snagged three boards and had three steals. Freshman Bobbie McNabb put up 13 points, nine of them from the three-point line. McNabb had two rebounds and two steals. Senior Chloe Bland scored 10 points, pulled in one rebound, blocked a Wildcat shot and stole the ball three times. Forward Miranda McNabb was five-for-five from the floor with 10 points. McNabb snagged eight rebounds, blocked three shots, and had three steals. Lady Warrior Heather Snead also put 10 points on the scoreboard, had two rebounds and two steals. Guard Erin White scored nine points, grabbed a rebound, and stole the ball four times. Junior Olivia Workman shot one-hundred-percent from the floor, sinking four buckets. Workman led the team in rebounds with nine total, blocked a Meadow Bridge shot, and snatched four steals. Lady Warrior Bethany Arbogast shot one-hundred-percent as well, with six points and two rebounds, both personal records. Sophomore guard Marka Kane sank two buckets, grabbed six rebounds and a steal. Sophomore forward Lorena Rose sank a shot, grabbed two rebounds and stole the ball once. Lady Warrior Maekia Jonese contributed defensively with three rebounds, a blocked shot and four steals. Forward Katie Friel pulled in one rebound and a steal for the Lady Warriors.

The regional championship victory means a trip to Charleston for the squad, where they'll face off against Trinity Christian Thursday, March 8. McClung has been scouting Trinity Christian for several weeks now.

"We got a little bit on them, just trying to pick up things here and there," said McClung. "Tucker beat them right after we beat Tucker. That's their only loss. They have a real good record, they're something like 23-1. We look forward to playing them, we've never played Trinity since I've been here. They're a private school out of Morgantown, single A. They're ranked #4, we're #5."

Despite the pressure of a run in the state tournament, the girls are holding up well, according to McClung.

"They're doing really well. I think we had a good practice yesterday," he said. "It was very loose. We'll go hard Monday and Tuesday, we'll have kind of an easier practice on Wednesday. We'll go down to Charleston Thursday morning and we'll probably have a shoot around down there at the South Charleston Recreation Center. It's a big place, we always try to get in there and have a practice. Then we'll just get ready for Thursday night."

McClung said concerns over Lady Warrior Chloe Bland's recent injury are no longer a factor.

"Chloe's ankle seems to be coming along fine," said McClung. "I think she'll be good to go. She practiced hard last night, no problems. Thursday she should be ready to go."

According to McClung, the squad is ready for Thursday night's showdown.

"We had a good practice, everyone is healthy and we look forward to going down there and opening up against Trinity."