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Magnolia Runs By St. Marys

Eagles to face Tyler for title

Photo by Kyle Lutz Magnolia’s Lara Ann Smith looks for an open teammate while St. Marys Josey Moore defends during Wednesday’s West Virginia Class A Region One, Section Two semifinal matchup.

NEW MARTINSVILLE — Going into sectional play, the Magnolia girls basketball team had not tasted victory since Jan. 28. After dropping five straight to end the regular season, the Blue Eagles took the phrase, ‘game of runs’ to heart Wednesday night as they accounted for the final eight points in the first quarter and 11 in the third en route to a 57-39 victory over St. Marys during a West Virginia Class A Region One Section Two semifinal.

The Blue Eagles will face off against Tyler Consolidated for the Section Two championship at 7 p.m. Friday at Magnolia High School.

The Silver Knights got the best of Ritchie County, 56-46 in the other semifinal game.

“They came out in the second half ready to play,” Magnolia (15-8) coach Meredith Pilant said. “We’ve been in a little bit of a slump, so they started to turn around. They finally got over the edge (Wednesday) and put it all together. In the second half, once the offense opened up and once they got some defensive stops, they just ran away with it.”

Pilant also stated that at the end of the regular season, her squad faced some strong opponents. While Magnolia dropped five straight, Pilant saw a silver lining as they were getting ready for postseason play.

“We went into slumps and we played some good teams,” Pilant said. “We played Fort Frye, Parkersburg South and Indian Creek. There were a couple of games where we were hanging in there and I think it helped us grow to get ready for the postseason. So even though we lost, we were getting ready for the postseason and I think it proved (Wednesday) that they are ready to go.”

It did take almost half of the first quarter to get things going for the Blue Eagles. After an Addie Furr 3-pointer, St. Marys boasted an 8-2 lead with 4:16 left to go in the opening frame.

That’s when Kyndra Pilant and the Blue Eagles went on their first run. Pilant converted on a coventional three-point play that sparked a 13-0 run for the Blue Eagles that transitioned into the second quarter.

Aquera Cabral capped the run with her first 3-pointer of the game to put the score at 15-8.

The Blue Devils (13-11), went on their own run. A small 7-0 spurt tied the game at 15 after a Kylie Wright 3-pointer.

“They got a nice pair of bigs,” St. Marys coach Howard Meeks II said. “All their role players have started taking on more responsibility. We had a nice game plan, and what really hurt us wasn’t the inside game. The difference in the game was the three long rebounds Magnolia tracked down and scored on every possession.”

Those long rebounds came during Magnolia’s second second run. Down 29-25 after a 6-0 St. Marys spurt, the Blue Eagles scored the final 11 points of the third quarter with nine coming from Mady Winters.

Winters scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to conclude the run as the score read 38-29.

“They pride themselves on the defense all year,” Meredith Pilant said. “I think, like I said, once they get those stops, then the offense flows off the defense. We’re very pleased where we are at, we like where we stand right now and they just have to keep working.”

Winters posted a game-high 23 points while Kynrda Pilant netted 11. Cabral also scored in double figures with 10 points.

For St. Marys, Furr supplied 13 points and Wright compiled 11 with three shots coming from behind the arc.

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