Princeton – Nearing the end of a challenging regular season gauntlet, standing in No. 1 Greenbrier East’s way of a 21-0 record on the year was regional foe No. 6 Princeton.
So, 21-0 it is.
Greenbrier East scored the first 16 points of the contest Wednesday, suffocating the Tigers 67-37 in Princeton.
While the threat of first team all-staters Kennedy Stewart and Ava Workman was present throughout, the two combined for just 10 points in the opening half.
The two weren’t hesitant to get their teammates involved and they answered the bell with Mackenna McClure and Hannah Fuller combining for 17 points before the break.
“It’s what you got to see,” East head coach and W.Va Senator Jim Justice said. “Losing Sandy (Banton) is a gigantic blow because Sandy was the glue. She had the sense to be strong and play good defense. She rebounded the ball well. She had a real pretty shot, she was really dependable from the foul line.
“All of that’s hard to get from a Kayla (Waller). Kayla’s a good shooter but she’s not that strong player that Sandy was from the standpoint of rebounding and everything else. You can’t get all of that with one player and we’re trying to facilitate it and bring it to the table with three or four players and let them play with their role and that’s what’s so important and they’re doing that.”
The Tigers struggled from the jump yielding a quick six points to the Spartans, not attempting their second shot until they were down 11-0. Much of that was attributed to Fuller, the 6-foot-4 center patrolling the paint, making a large part of Princeton’s offense inaccessible.
The hosts finished 1-of-12 from the field in the opening frame with their one field goal coming from beyond the arc. The quarter proved emblematic of the game as a whole with the Tigers hitting on just 29 percent (14-of-49) of their field goal attempts.
East by comparison shot 48 percent (26-for-54) including 64 percent (16-for-25) from inside the arc.
“It was 10-0 before we caught a pass cleanly, just call it what it is,” Princeton head coach Matt Smith said. “That’s the truth. I think the size did bother us. We’re not big. We’re never big and we know that and instead of attacking her we shied away and now we’re allowing her to guard bigger space because we’re afraid to make her do something. And she played her role well. Protect the rim, keep us pout of the paint, roll, shoot layups. She did a great job and we didn’t have the answer for it.”
The duo of McClure and Fuller excelled from the jump with the former opening the scoring before Workman stole a pass, delivered a ball fake and converted on a layup for a 4-0 advantage.
Fuller got in on the action off an assist from Stewart following another Princeton turnover and McClure followed with a 3 for a 9-0 advantage. Two Fuller free throws, a Stewart 3 and another McClure layup created that 16-0 advantage. Tylar Burks eventually snapped it with a 3 but Workman had the answer, netting a long ball that capped a 19-4 opening frame for the visitors.
East went scoreless in the first three minutes of the opening frame, missing its first four shots but held Princeton to a stalemate, forcing six Tiger misses. The Spartans pushed their advantage out to 34-14 at the break but the sleeping giants didn’t stay that way for long.
Ahead 43-21, Workman and Stewart combined to nail four consecutive long balls – two each – pushing the lead out to 32 at 55-23, effectively ending all hopes of a comeback.
The two stars combined to score 18 points in the second half.
“If you’re not within arms reach of either of those kids they’re deadly,” Smith said. “They’re scorers so we gave them just enough space for them to get comfortable and then shew… it feels like I’ve seen a Stewart do this for years. Coming off of a screen, if you’re not there immediately the shot’s going up, right? Then when she doesn’t have the ball you have Ava who’s a capable shooter – also can penetrate and do things. So yeah, we kind of played back a little bit and they made us pay for it. Credit goes to them. We just got our butt kicked. Plain and simple.”
Workman, who went 5-of-8 from long range, led all scorers with 17 points while Fuller netted 16. Stewart finished with 11 points and eight assists.
Addy McCabe led Princeton with seven points in the loss.
Greenbrier East
Workman 17, Stewart 11, Waller 7, Totten 2, Baker 5, McClure 9, Fuller 16
Princeton
Addy McCabe 7, Kylee Jackson 6, Natalie Rose 5, Tylar Burks 5, Brystal Winfrey 4, Maeaan Stroupe 3, Gia Twitty 3, Eden Basile 4
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