KEYSER, W.Va. — Keyser started fast and ended well, but Morgantown’s dominance in the middle quarters proved to be the Tornado’s undoing.
Keyser had a dream beginning, opening on an 11-0 run during which time Morgantown was held without a point for more than six minutes. However, the Mohigans outscored the Tornado, 32-18, in the second and third periods, and they pushed their lead to a game-high 12 points up 45-33 early in the fourth.
Keyser used a 9-0 burst to pull within three points with 1:37 to play, but it couldn’t avoid the turnover bug down the stretch to get over the hump, and the second-ranked Golden Tornado fell 50-44 on Friday night.
The difference in the game was Keyser’s struggles against Morgantown’s full-court press, which forced 25 Golden Tornado giveaways.
“We did a great job coming out, setting the tone of the game. I thought the defense really locked in,” Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said.
“The turning point of the game was we had a couple turnovers, and I felt like it kind of sped a couple of our girls up. One turnover led to another, and they got racing in their head a little bit too much. That hasn’t been us for a long, long (time).”
Keyser (9-2), ranked fifth in the Class AAA state coaches poll, saw its three game winning streak come to and end. Morgantown, the No. 4 squad in Class AAAA, improved to 8-2.
Friday’s matchup was reminiscent of Morgantown’s bout with another area squad. The Mohigans trailed Southern by 15 points before a late rally, though the Rams held on for a 55-48 victory on Dec. 18.
Keyser was able to use its own defense during the early and late stages to avoid Morgantown’s full-court press, something the Mohigans were unable to set up because they were missing shots on the offensive end.
That changed when Morgantown, which trailed 13-6 after a quarter, responded to its immediate 11-0 hole with a 17-4 run. The blitz was capped by a Maddie Ancell 3-pointer, which gave the Mohigans their first lead (17-15) at the 3:02 mark of the second quarter.
Ancell, a freshman who finished with 19 points, was one of three underclassmen to start for Morgantown.
The inexperienced Mohigans had difficult shooting early in part due to Keyser’s open gym, which is notoriously difficult for visitors. Once the shots fell and Morgantown could set up its defense, it was a different ballgame.
“We knew that if we could get them to play a little faster, that it would be in our favor because they don’t play as many kids,” Morgantown head coach John Fowkes said.
“We could tell they were getting a little tired there in the second quarter, so our message was, keep pressing, stick with it. He adjusted, putting (Bibs) Felton in the middle of the press, and then we just took our weak-side girl and just shadowed her and it really hurt them a lot with (Maliyah Young).”
Young didn’t start for the Mohigans, but the athletic forward was a difference maker on both ends of the floor.
Young played like a free safety at the back of Morgantown’s press, and she scored 12 points on the other end, one of three Mohigans in double figures along with Ancell and Sydney Deuesenberry (10).
Keyser pulled to within 35-31 late in the third period before another Ancell trey pushed Morgantown’s edge back up to 38-31 going into the fourth.
A deep Ancell 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, followed by a Young putback gave Morgantown a game-high 45-33 margin.
Still, Keyser didn’t give up, and Morgantown took a series of quick, ill-advised shots to give the Golden Tornado an opportunity to get back into it.
A steal and old-fashioned 3-point play by Felton made it a 45-42 game in the final two minutes.
“I thought we did a great job battling,” Blowe said. “We never gave up. … When we took care of the ball we were the better team tonight.”
However, Morgantown hit just enough foul shots down the stretch, making 5 of 10, and its press turned Keyser over after enough misses to stamp out the comeback.
Fowkes was pleased with his team’s defense to hold Felton below her season average. Still, the standout led Keyser with 15 points.
Forward Jillian Ault added 14 to finish second on the team.
“I think they’re a little underrated in AAA,” Fowkes said of Keyser. “Personally, I think they’re better than a couple teams that are up there ahead of them. I told their coach that I think he does a heck of a job, and those kids play hard.”
Keyser’s positioning in state polls has been a topic of conversation over the years. The Golden Tornado have never been seeded higher than fourth at states, a seeding that’s based on a vote by coaches around the state.
While Blowe was pleased with the grit his players showed, he couldn’t help but feel it was a missed opportunity against one of the pillars of high school basketball in West Virginia.
“It’s a chance to make a statement across the state,” he said. “I feel like no matter what happens, that’s a game where you can kind of build a resume off of.
“If you lose by one or you win by one, that two-point swing will be a huge difference. You lost or you won. That’s all it is. It’s not how much you lost by, you just lost.”
Keyser will hope to regroup this weekend before a home matchup against a Potomac Valley Conference rival, No. 5 Petersburg (6-3), on Monday at 7:30 p.m.