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ROMNEY, W.Va. — After No. 2 Keyser took round one of the season series with Hampshire 65-46 on Jan. 31, round two was anything but a blowout.
After two overtimes of back-and-forth, physical basketball, the Golden Tornado (16-2) emerged victorious, defeating No. 5 Hampshire 68-64 on Thursday.
"I loved how we battled through adversity," Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said. "We had a double-digit lead in the first half, and we've not been good this year at taking those 10-, 11-point leads and making them 14, 15 and running away. We gave them all the confidence they needed at halftime at their home court in a two-point game."
Blowe said it's Keyser's first double overtime game since 2014. The Tornado beat Lincoln then, 53-51, on a buzzer-beater to send them to the state tournament.
The Trojans (12-7) led 41-37 entering the fourth quarter, but the Tornado kept the margin within two scores.
Keyser took a 42-41 lead with 5:25 to play on a Bibs Felton step back.
Felton scored 14 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime with five steals.
Hampshire kept the score within five points over the final five minutes, setting up the final 30 seconds of regulation.
"I'm just so proud of us," Hampshire head coach Jordan Richardson said. "It was such a good environment, I'm so proud of Hampshire County for showing up to this game. The energy in the gym was electric. Keyser as well, they travel well. They play like a top-three team in the state, but man, we took it to them tonight."
Trailing 53-51 with 12.7 seconds remaining, Hampshire's Bella Mathias hit a pair of free throws to even the score.
After Keyser missed a pair at the line, the teams exchanged turnovers over the final 10 seconds to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, Felton grabbed her own miss and scored on an and-one put back, putting the Tornado ahead 62-60 with 29.2 seconds remaining.
Out of a timeout, Mathias set up Della Knight for a floater to even the score, then a Keyser travel sent the game into double overtime.
"We talked about the old Mike Tyson quote, 'Everybody's got a plan until you get punched in the mouth,'" Richardson said. "Keyser's punched us in the mouth the last two to three years. I think they surprised some big-time teams with their physicality. We prepped for that, we knew it was coming."
Knight led the Trojans with 16 points, adding five assists, three steals and a block.
Tied at 64 in double overtime, Hampshire was called for a travel.
Felton hit a pull-up off an assist from Rooney Urice with 29 seconds on the clock to put the Tornado ahead 66-64.
After a steal from Urice, Austyn Healy iced the game with a pair at the line with 2.6 seconds to play.
Healy scored 15 points with three 3-pointers.
Jillian Ault finished with 10 points, all in the second half and added three steals and a block.
"I love the fight in our team," Blowe said. "We could've tucked our tails and ran home, but we didn't. We fought, we traded blow for blow and got the last blow. Credit to our team, great team win. Whether you played every second of this game or you didn't get in at all, it's a great team win for Keyser High School."
Keyser led 25-23 at halftime and for most of the third quarter.
Trailing 34-27 with 4:34 left in the frame, the Trojans went on a 12-3 run and took the lead on a Juelean Dixon triple.
"Both teams just went to their strength," Blowe said. "They've got size, post players. They went to that and then our guard play and perimeter play I thought rose to the top in the second half."
Stewart scored 11 points with three assists, a block and a steal.
Brooklyn Klavuhn averages 4.9 points per game, but scored 10 with three assists and a block for the Trojans.
After four lead changes in the first quarter, the Tornado took a 11-7 lead into the second.
"I think Josh (Blowe) and I were playing a chess match," Richardson said of the change in momentum to end the half. "Subs were very calculated with his personnel, it's very star driven. Ours had to be more of a deeper bench and rely on the depth a little bit."
The biggest lead for either team came with 5:10 before halftime with Keyser in front 21-10.
Hampshire ended the half on a 13-4 run, capped with a last-second steal and layup from Knight to cut the halftime deficit to two points.
"They closed the gap late in that second quarter and felt they had the momentum," Blowe said. "Momentum is a big thing in sports. People don't believe it sometimes, but momentum is huge. When you get it, especially at home, you just magnify that momentum."
Both teams hit the road for their next game.
The Trojans head to Lewis County (12-4) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
"They're a team that two years ago was in the state championship game," Richardson said. "They've still got players from that squad. They're a very seasoned team, very senior heavy. We're going into a team that knows what they're doing. I hope we can answer the call the way we did tonight."
The Golden Tornado face No. 1 Southern (14-5) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
"Southern's tough, their environment's tough," Blowe said. "They get after it defensively. They do a lot of good things and we got a few days to prepare for them. But we're gonna celebrate this one a little bit tonight."
Hampshire won the junior varsity game 36-31 with Claire Kessinger, Hailey Cunningham and Claire Millison each scored nine points.
Bailee Spencer led both teams with 10 points for Keyser.
Continue reading...
After two overtimes of back-and-forth, physical basketball, the Golden Tornado (16-2) emerged victorious, defeating No. 5 Hampshire 68-64 on Thursday.
"I loved how we battled through adversity," Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said. "We had a double-digit lead in the first half, and we've not been good this year at taking those 10-, 11-point leads and making them 14, 15 and running away. We gave them all the confidence they needed at halftime at their home court in a two-point game."
Blowe said it's Keyser's first double overtime game since 2014. The Tornado beat Lincoln then, 53-51, on a buzzer-beater to send them to the state tournament.
The Trojans (12-7) led 41-37 entering the fourth quarter, but the Tornado kept the margin within two scores.
Keyser took a 42-41 lead with 5:25 to play on a Bibs Felton step back.
Felton scored 14 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime with five steals.
Hampshire kept the score within five points over the final five minutes, setting up the final 30 seconds of regulation.
"I'm just so proud of us," Hampshire head coach Jordan Richardson said. "It was such a good environment, I'm so proud of Hampshire County for showing up to this game. The energy in the gym was electric. Keyser as well, they travel well. They play like a top-three team in the state, but man, we took it to them tonight."
Trailing 53-51 with 12.7 seconds remaining, Hampshire's Bella Mathias hit a pair of free throws to even the score.
After Keyser missed a pair at the line, the teams exchanged turnovers over the final 10 seconds to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, Felton grabbed her own miss and scored on an and-one put back, putting the Tornado ahead 62-60 with 29.2 seconds remaining.
Out of a timeout, Mathias set up Della Knight for a floater to even the score, then a Keyser travel sent the game into double overtime.
"We talked about the old Mike Tyson quote, 'Everybody's got a plan until you get punched in the mouth,'" Richardson said. "Keyser's punched us in the mouth the last two to three years. I think they surprised some big-time teams with their physicality. We prepped for that, we knew it was coming."
Knight led the Trojans with 16 points, adding five assists, three steals and a block.
Tied at 64 in double overtime, Hampshire was called for a travel.
Felton hit a pull-up off an assist from Rooney Urice with 29 seconds on the clock to put the Tornado ahead 66-64.
After a steal from Urice, Austyn Healy iced the game with a pair at the line with 2.6 seconds to play.
Healy scored 15 points with three 3-pointers.
Jillian Ault finished with 10 points, all in the second half and added three steals and a block.
"I love the fight in our team," Blowe said. "We could've tucked our tails and ran home, but we didn't. We fought, we traded blow for blow and got the last blow. Credit to our team, great team win. Whether you played every second of this game or you didn't get in at all, it's a great team win for Keyser High School."
Keyser led 25-23 at halftime and for most of the third quarter.
Trailing 34-27 with 4:34 left in the frame, the Trojans went on a 12-3 run and took the lead on a Juelean Dixon triple.
"Both teams just went to their strength," Blowe said. "They've got size, post players. They went to that and then our guard play and perimeter play I thought rose to the top in the second half."
Stewart scored 11 points with three assists, a block and a steal.
Brooklyn Klavuhn averages 4.9 points per game, but scored 10 with three assists and a block for the Trojans.
After four lead changes in the first quarter, the Tornado took a 11-7 lead into the second.
"I think Josh (Blowe) and I were playing a chess match," Richardson said of the change in momentum to end the half. "Subs were very calculated with his personnel, it's very star driven. Ours had to be more of a deeper bench and rely on the depth a little bit."
The biggest lead for either team came with 5:10 before halftime with Keyser in front 21-10.
Hampshire ended the half on a 13-4 run, capped with a last-second steal and layup from Knight to cut the halftime deficit to two points.
"They closed the gap late in that second quarter and felt they had the momentum," Blowe said. "Momentum is a big thing in sports. People don't believe it sometimes, but momentum is huge. When you get it, especially at home, you just magnify that momentum."
Both teams hit the road for their next game.
The Trojans head to Lewis County (12-4) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
"They're a team that two years ago was in the state championship game," Richardson said. "They've still got players from that squad. They're a very seasoned team, very senior heavy. We're going into a team that knows what they're doing. I hope we can answer the call the way we did tonight."
The Golden Tornado face No. 1 Southern (14-5) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
"Southern's tough, their environment's tough," Blowe said. "They get after it defensively. They do a lot of good things and we got a few days to prepare for them. But we're gonna celebrate this one a little bit tonight."
Hampshire won the junior varsity game 36-31 with Claire Kessinger, Hailey Cunningham and Claire Millison each scored nine points.
Bailee Spencer led both teams with 10 points for Keyser.
Continue reading...
