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Park Girls Crush Jefferson, 72-33

Photo by Josh Strope Wheeling Park’s Ne’Vaeh Cook drives to the basket during Friday night’s victory against Jefferson.

WHEELING — These are busy times for the Wheeling Park girls’ basketball team. They are also successful times.

The Patriots played, and won, their third game in five days, trouncing Jefferson, 72-33, on Friday night at the Palace on The Hill. This week’s work is not yet done for Coach Ryan Young’s team as it plays host to a quality Buckhannon-Upshur squad today.

Friday night’s romp was Park’s 10th win in 12 outings. The Eastern Panhandle-based Cougars dipped to 1-6.

As is often the case, Park was fueled by its pressure defense and deadly outside marksmanship. West Virginia’s No. 4-rated Class AAA team forced 21 Cougars turnovers while draining 13 baskets from 3-point range in turning the game into an early blowout.

Park immediately imposed its will on Jefferson, scoring 23 of the game’s first 27 points. The outcome was never threatened thereafter.

“It was a good game for us as we got contributions from everyone,” Young said. “I thought we spread the ball around really well. We were able to get a lot of good looks.

“Our early wide margin may have yielded some mental lapses for us but we were able to recollect ourselves well. Our pressure dictated the outcome early. Thirteen 3s is a good night’s work.”

Junior dynamo Shanley Woods was a thorn in the Cougars’ side early and often.

The 5-foot-5 guard, who recently received a scholarship offer from Wheeling Jesuit University, poured in a game-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers.

Stellar senior point guard Emily Pavlic again came up big, tallying 14 points to go with a handful of assists and five steals. She buried three 3-point goals.

Sophomore Lindsey Garrison knocked down 12 points, all coming on 3s while hard-working junior Abby Snedeker rounded out Park’s double-digit scorers with 10 points to go with her relentless defensive play and board work.

All told, eight Patriots found the scoring column. Junior Kieran Johnson grabbed nine rebounds for the hosts.

“Shanley had a big night. Her teammates did a great job of getting her the ball when she was open. Emily and Lindsey also had good shooting nights,” Young said. “Kieran and Abby are our blue-collar players. They do a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score.”

After Park bolted to a 23-4 lead, Young sprinkled in his reserves liberally the balance of the night. Park owned a 38-14 halftime lead while building a 58-22 cushion after three periods.

Christiana Armstrong was Jefferson’s lone double-digit scorer, netting 14 points, all coming in the second half. Tyjia Stone was next with seven.

“We played a very good team,” Cougars coach Damon Smith said. “We knew Park would be a big test. We just wanted to see how we measured up.

“We love coming here. It is a great facility with great atmosphere. Now we have to regroup and get ready for another good team in John Marshall (today).”

Park committed six turnovers.

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