Boys' Sports
Girls' Sports
For: September 09, 2010
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Lady Bears Finish Strong; Top NC
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BYNICK CAMMUSO TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN
FAIRMONT — It’s often said that a strong finish is better than a fast start.
After Saturday afternoon’s 56-39 victory over visiting Nicholas County, Fairmont Senior’s girls’ basketball team would certainly agree.
The Polar Bears, despite dealing with some heavy foul trouble, outscored the Grizzlies 18-9 in the fourth quarter for their first home win of the year.
“Besides Preston, this is the best fourth quarter we’ve played,” Fairmont Senior coach Ashley Reed said. “We made the extra pass, did what we were supposed to do on defense and finished it up.”
Fairmont Senior (7-4) wrapped things up with three key starters — forward Kaitlinn O’Neal and guards Jenai Stubbs and Brooklyn Little — in foul trouble late. Stubbs and Little each drew their fourth in the third period, while O’Neal tacked on No. 4 mere seconds into the final frame.
But the trio didn’t leave the floor much during that time. Instead, they tried to strike a balance between playing smart and being too aggressive.
“The kind of defensive player I am, I don’t want to back off,” Stubbs said. “You just have to play smart.”
It worked, as each played key roles in the fourth. Little connected on a three-point play, O’Neal dropped in two close-range layups and hit a free throw, and Stubbs scored six of her seven points in the period.
And none was handed a dreaded fifth foul.
“We played hard,” Stubbs said. “That’s the first time that me, Kaitlinn and Brooklyn had four fouls and not went all the way and got the fifth. It just shows that we’ve learned how to play smart.”
The Polar Bears, who led 27-18 at halftime and 38-30 after three, closed the contest on an 11-2 run.
“Nicholas County is a good team and they beat us down there, but we didn’t think we had our best showing,” Reed said. “We wanted to come out and get a win.
“I think (in the fourth quarter) they looked at the scoreboard and realized, all right, this is do or die. We hadn’t won on our home court yet — we were 0-2 — and we wanted to defend our home court.”
The team's bench provided a boost as well. Anna Starkey came up with some key steals in the second half and added eight points. Gabby Tenney and Torriona Horton hit shots late, and Reed credited Katie Nunan for doing a good job of moving the ball around.
“I thought our bench did an excellent job of stepping up. I think we they came in were more mentally focused. Without them, we wouldn’t have won,” Reed said.
Little paced the Polar Bears with a game-best 16 points, including nine in the first half. O’Neal, meanwhile, netted 10 of her 15 points after the break.
Madison Martin led Nicholas County (7-2) with 11 points.
Fairmont Senior hosts Buckhannon-Upshur Monday.
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