KEYSER, W.Va. — Keyser opened its season with a 61-31 win over Bishop Walsh on Thursday.
“I’m pleased with the win,” Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said. “Anytime you win by 30, you should be pretty pleased.”
After a bit of a slow start offensively, the Golden Tornado (1-0) began to pull away about six minutes into the first quarter.
“We started out a little rough, we missed a lot of easy shots,” Blowe said. “That was all nerves, we’re a young team.”
Kiya Kesner set up Bibs Felton for a layup to open the scoring. Felton sparked the Keyser offense with eight points in the first quarter, leading the Tornado to a 15-3 run to end the quarter.
“The ball went in the basket, one time,” Blowe said. “It was like, we couldn’t make a shot, we couldn’t make a layup, couldn’t make a jumper. Ball goes in the basket one time, and it was like everything’s going in now.”
The Spartans (2-2) only score of the first quarter came at the 3:28 mark when Katie Kutcher set up Autumn Hoppert for a 3-pointer.
Keyser scored 24 unanswered points and led 28-3 midway through the first quarter. After a steal by Rooney Urice, Abby Del Signore assisted Austyn Reed on a layup to put the Tornado up 25 points.
“We have a lot of girls, we’re deep,” Blowe said. “They play their roles really well. If we keep working on that, the sky’s the limit for this team.”
Brooke Adams set up Lydia Vassiliadi for a layup for Bishop Walsh’s first score of the quarter at the 4:49 mark. It ended about a nine-minute scoring drought for the Spartans.
Keyser led 35-11 at halftime led by Felton who scored 17 points.
Bishop Walsh was held to 3 for 18 from the field in the first half including 1 of 10 from deep.
The Spartans also struggled with turnovers, committing 11 in the first half and 20 overall.
“Our defense led to offense,” Blowe said. “The press was looking good. Our defense translated to great offense.”
In the third quarter, the Tornado outscored the Spartans 10-7. Keyser outscored Bishop Walsh 16-13 in the fourth quarter.
“The way we shared the basketball,” Blowe said of what impressed him the most. “Even on the shots we missed, we shared the basketball. We got open people in great spots. It was nice to see us really put the ball where it needed to be.”
Felton led all scorers with 22 points, adding four steals, three assists and two blocks.
“She’s brought a little bit of everything,” Blowe said. “She can score at all three levels. She’s a great ball handler, she’s a great scorer. Sky’s the limit for her.”
Autumn Kerchner finished with 12 points. Kesner scored nine points with six assists and a steal.
All nine of Keyser’s players scored.
“She’s been working, I love it,” Blowe said of Kesner. “Anytime a girl stays after practice and works on their game, it’s always nice to see it pay off. She’s been in the gym a lot after practice, really working on her shot. It’s awesome when it’s game time, she steps up and knocks down a few big jumpers.”
Hoppert led the Spartans with 21 points including 15 in the second half. In the fourth quarter, she drew four fouls and went 5 of 8 at the free-throw line.
This year’s Golden Tornado team is a young group. Of the nine players available for Thursday’s game, five were underclassmen. Kerchner and Kiara Kesner are the only seniors on the roster.
“When they’re talented, it’s a little easier,” Blowe said of the challenges of a young team. “But still trying to adapt to your game, your style, it’s always harder in the speed of the game. But the more games we play, we’ll adapt pretty easily.”
Both teams play on Tuesday. Bishop Walsh is at Cumberland Valley at 5 p.m. and Keyser hosts Musselman at 7:30.