But the Lady Spartans were more than willing to share in that misery.
East held Sissonville to 28 percent (15-of-53) shooting and 20 turnovers hanging on for a 56-51 win over the Indians in the Class AAA quarterfinals in the Charleston Coliseum.
The win, the program’s first in the state tournament since beating Huntington in 2019, sends the Spartans back to Class AAA semis where they’ll face the winner of No. 2 Wayne and No. 7 Keyser on Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Ava Workman, who led the Spartans with 21 points and four steals, provided the necessary firepower to pull ahead early while East fended off a comeback attempt. Sixteen of her 21 points came in the opening half which ended with the Lady Spartans ahead 38-26.
“We came out with a lot of energy and that gave us a good start,” Workman said. “They started catching up so we knew we had to play really hard.”
On pace for a shootout early after a combination of five 3-pointers in the first three minutes, the offense slowed with Workman taking over. She attacked the rim, getting to the free throw line four times and getting a layup to fall. It was part of an East onslaught that saw the Lady Spartans outscore Sissonville 24-6 in the paint.
The strategy worked two-fold as Workman drew Sissonville’s top player in Kynna Britton.
“I knew that (Britton) liked to play with their chest a lot, so if I took it to her – and that showed,” Workman said. “She had four fouls, I think, so I just kept taking it to her.”
She again provided a spark at another pivotal point.
Ahead just 29-26 with two minutes remaining in the first half, Kennedy Stewart nailed a pair of free throws to kick off a 9-0 run over the final 1:15 of the first half. Workman provided a 3 and a layup while Hannah Fuller netted a put-back layup just before the buzzer to build a cushion.
The buffer proved necessary with an offensive lapse giving it all back.
Following a Workman jumper that put East up 40-26 at the 6:27 mark of the third, the Lady Spartans went frigid, missing their next eight shot attempts during a scoreless drought that spanned 5:50. With Britton on the bench in foul trouble, Sissonville still managed to take advantage.
Makaela Ullman and Ava Hillabold led a 9-0 run to pull the Indians back in it at 40-35. But they left meat on the bone, going 2-of-11 from the free throw line in the frame.
“When you’re not making shots and you’re turning the ball over and you’re missing free throws, we were fortunate to still be in that game,” Sissonville head coach Chad McClanahan said.
East finally broke its cold spell with 33 seconds to go in the third quarter when Mackenna McClure scored on a layup but the spurt provided Sissonville with life and each time the Lady Spartans tried to pull away, the Indians kept pace.
Ahead 52-42 with 90 seconds left after a pair of Stewart free throws, East seemed safe before a trio of free throws and 3 from Raegan Elmore slashed the deficit to 52-48 with 52 seconds to play. But the Spartans weren’t plagued by the same free throw troubles as their counterparts, connecting on 4-of-5 attempts from the charity stripe to cement the game.
“I think the experience from last year kind of helped a little bit with nerves, so we had a little chip on our shoulder,” Stewart said.
Workman added nine rebounds to go with hr game-high 21 points. Stewart added 12 despite a 2-of-15 showing, making it up with a 7-of-10 showing from the free throw line.
Britton led Sissonville with 12 points in the loss.
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