Charleston – Two years ago a fourth-quarter meltdown cost Williamstown the Class AA crown.
James Monroe made sure the Yellowjackets were out of the game by the time the final stanza arrived.
The top-seeded Mavericks held No. 2 Williamstown to 19 percent shooting, firing at a 46 percent clip themselves to rout the Yellowjackets 50-26 in the Class AA state championship game Saturday afternoon in the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
The win marks James Monroe’s first state championship since 2002 when it won the second of back-to-back victories with James Monroe head coach Shari Helvey starring as a player on those squads.
“It’s a feeling of relief!” Helvey said. “To Williamstown, a great matchup. I can’t say enough about these kids that I thought that game was going to be a way-closer matchup and I know some of you guys know my history as a basketball player up here and I lost a state championship on a last-second shot. I have a trauma book in my pocket that I keep with what to do when we’re down by certain scenarios and I’m going to just throw it out the door because these kids executed so well.
“We made shots today and I’m just so proud to be their coach. I’m definitely proud to be from Monroe County and it’s been 25 years since I first cut down those nets and there are people that aren’t here with us now and it is just a real full-circle moment for me.”
Locked in from the jump, the Maverick offense rebounded from its abysmal 31 percent shooting performance in the Class AA semifinals against Wyoming East, a game that it still won by 19.
The result was a fast start and early lead that never seemed traversable for Williamstown. Junior all-stater and Class AA tournament MVP Mya Dunlap was the catalyst, netting five 3s in the game including two in the opening frame.
“Really that first 3 was it for me,” Dunlap smiled. “After I hit that one I was like, ‘Alright, it’s game. We got it in the bag.’ Really this whole team is great. We didn’t look ahead. We went quarter by quarter and we did great and executed just how we wanted.”
The win capped a dominant-three game stay in Charleston that saw the Lady Mavs hold their opponents to a combined 24 percent shooting from the field (32-130), 3-for-33 from 3 while forcing 64 turnovers. All of that led to an average margin of victory of 26 points.
“The defensive effort, I can’t say enough,” James Monroe head coach first year head coach Shari Helvey said. “Last year when we played there was a lot of zone, there wasn’t really any man and if there was it wasn’t like we play it and that was my big goal this season when I got this job and I cannot say it enough how locked in these kids were all year to learn how to really play man-to-man well.
“It helps, it really does to have quickness, speed, athleticism, length – yes I’m blessed I know. To understand how to learn and teach man-to-man and for them to execute it like that today, it’s just so great.”
Those advantages helped against what was largely an undersized team in comparison to the Mavericks.
Freshman Lydia Dunlap drew first blood with a short jumper before Mya followed with the 3 that set her day in motion. Williamstown sophomore Quinn Bunch drew blood for her squad with a layup but a pair of Lydia Dunlap free throws and a driving layup from Kendall Long pushed the advantage to 9-2.
A Yellowjacket 3 trimmed the deficit once more but a 9-0 run that saw the Lady Mavericks net five consecutive field goal attempts eclipsed Williamstown’s hopes. When the dust settled an eight point quarter from Mya put the Mavs ahead 18-5 after the first horn.
The lead ballooned to 15 halfway through the second when Mya netted another trey at 25-10 but Williamstown held serve in the frame by holding the Mavs scoreless in the final 3:39 of the first half.
“We felt like we could play them man and I felt like we did a pretty good job for the most part,” Williamstown head coach Danny Bunch said. “We lost a few of them there. They hit some shots. They shot the ball really well. They were like 7-for-8 or 8-for-9 in the first quarter and I felt like after that we sort of settled in.”
Up 13 at the break, the Lady Mavs loaded up on their usual halftime snack of oranges and mustered a knockout blow. Mya connected on a 3 and Lydia followed with another short jumper to make it a 30-12 contest.
Williamstown responded by cutting it the deficit to 14 but one more third quarter run, this one 6-0, put the game out of reach. Kendall Long capped it with a steal and layup, just seconds after Mya made a layup.
For good measure the elder Dunlap stamped the victory with her final 3 to open the fourth quarter, a frame that highlighted the Mavericks’ defensive dominance as they held Williamstown to just two points over the first seven minutes of it.
“It came down to – and I talked about this yesterday – defensive execution and offensive execution,” Helvey said. “These kids did that today. They were passing the ball, they were crisp with it. I’m not sure what our turnovers were but it had to be less than what we’re averaging on the year. I was very proud of that.”
James Monroe finishes with a program-best 25-1 record and will return all 11 varsity players from this year’s team, eight of which are underclassmen.
Mya Dunlap’s 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting led all players while Lydia registered her third straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Quinn Bunch led Williamstown with six points on 3-of-17 shooting.
In addition to earning Tournament MVP honors, Mya Dunlap was named to the all-tournament team. She was joined by teammates Lydia Dunlap and Kendall Long as well as Erin Maxwell (Wheeling Central), Arissa Burt (Williamstown), Quinn Bunch (Williamstown), Gracie Montgomery (Williamstown) and Kyndal Lusk (Wyoming East).
About the Author
