Lindside – With one more challenge in what’s been a gauntlet of a regular season, James Monroe passed its final test.
Trailing 23-21 at halftime, Class AA No. 1 James Monroe outscored Class AAAA No. 6 Beckley 19-8 in the third quarter, rolling to a 53-39 victory over the Flying Eagles in Lindside.
The win caps a 20-1 regular season for the Lady Mavs, positioning them for the No. 1 overall seed in the state tournament should they advance past the regional round.
With freshman standout Lydia Dunlap battling foul trouble throughout much of the first half, her older sister and first team all-stater Mya Dunlap picked up the slack, scoring 19 points and hitting 1,000 for her career. The final seven to reach that mark were part of a personal 7-2 run that put the hosts ahead 49-32 and the game out of reach for Beckley.
“They told me that I needed 19 the other day to get to 1,000,” Mya said. “There was a little bit of pressure to get to 1,000 in the last game but I don’t really care that much to get to 1,000 in my career as long as I have a good career, ya know? But it’s exciting to get to 1,000.”
Points were hard to come by for the Mavericks who fired 20 more shots (35-15) than the Flying Eagles in the first half but shot just 23 percent (8-for-35) from the field in the first 16 minutes. The struggles were drastic from beyond the arc where the Mavs were 1-of-16 in the first half.
“I think I took a timeout to give a little bit of rest and just remind them that those are high quality shots that I want,” James Monroe head coach Shari Helvey said. “I don’t want them to ever feel like their confidence or anything – I’m the last person to tell anyone not to shoot. I shot 1,000 3s all the time but the movement of the ball was my biggest takeaway from that.
“It was all pass-pass-pass-pass and reversals. If it’s just not going down, it’s just not going down. We have to keep working with that ball movement and keep doing what we know to do. That was the takeaway at halftime. Eventually something’s going to fall and you’re going to get some momentum and we did in that third quarter.”
The Mavs made up for their struggles from the field by generating extra shots, grabbing 32 total rebounds, 20 on the offensive glass. That advantage alongside 23 Beckley turnovers allowed them 36 more shot attempts (66-30) than the Flying Eagles.
“In our zones I thought we did a good job in our zones – our 1-3-1 defense,” Beckley head coach Brian Nabors said. “I thought we played good defense, we just couldn’t get the rebounds. No excuses, but I’ll say this – we’ve some girls play the last few games that haven’t had varsity experience. They play hard, play with heart and just didn’t get the job done. I’m hoping that that experience helps us get ready for the regional game.”
James Monroe’s shooting struggles were present from the jump with the Mavericks shooting just 20 percent (3-for-15) from the field. It allowed Beckley to stay in the game exclusively on the strength of its free throw shooting as the Flying Eagles went perfect from the charity stripe in the opening frame, scoring all eight of their points there.
Trailing 12-8 in the second quarter they made their first shot when freshman Lainee Hardy hit on one inside to arc to make it a 12-10 game.
A 3 from Zoey Williams followed and the Flying Eagles regained the lead on a jumper from Emma Meadows. James Monroe’s Peighton Griffith later knotted the game at 17 with her team’s lone 3 of the half but a pair of free throws from Hardy were enough to give the visitors a 23-21 edge at the break.
Lydia Dunlap, upon her return in the second half, eradicated the advantage with a pair of free throws before Mya’s 3-pointer gave the hosts the lead for good. A 3 from Kendall Long, another jumper from Griffith and one from Mya pushed the advantage to 39-29. Griffith added a 3 to cap the third quarter onslaught.
It was consistent with how the season has gone for the Mavs with big third quarters against Princeton, Wyoming East and Charleston Catholic propelling them to signature victories. For Helvey the secret sauce seems to be oranges, the halftime snack of choice for the team.
“I think it’s the adjustments and they settle in,” Helvey said. “The oranges are a huge part. It was our success story in 2001. We ate some oranges and we come back out. But anything to get them going and now its juts the psyche. It’s really Mike’s secret stuff.”
Before the game the Mavericks honored and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Class AA state championship team of which Walker was a part of.
“I’m such a big proponent of those older girls being guides to our younger girls,” Helvey said. “We’ve done that for the past five years. Myself, even before I was a coach, we’ve played pickup with them in the summer and spring. Us, the older group who played college and all of that, help in learning how to screen and how to play man to man because you’ve been through it and you’re a little bit higher IQ. Being able to come out here and I think lots of our older alumni are really excited about this team.”
Mya Dunlap was the only Maverick in double figures with 19 points while Williams led Beckley with 13 in the loss.
Beckley
Shiloh Mack 5, Hardy 8, Williams 13, Maggie Ringwald 2, Karsyn Gunter 10
James Monroe
Mya Dunlap 19, Kendall Long 8, Peighton Griffith 8, Monaka Moore 2, Lydia Dunlap 7, Lizzy Smith 2, Trinity Hill 1, Chylin Eggleston 6
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