Wheeling Park’s Lala Woods eyes the basket Tuesday night against Morgantown. She scored 15 points in the Patriots’ 59-48 repeat victory over the Mohigans.

CHARLESTON — It might not have been the prettiest win against Cabell Midland on Tuesday, but it’s behind them and the Spring Mills girls basketball team is now focused on upsetting the recently named West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year Alexis Bordas and her top-ranked Wheeling Park teammates.

“I’m not sure if we’ve faced a team that had five kids that could handle the ball (like Wheeling Park),” Spring Mills coach George Gosk said. “In years past, I’d say it’s a challenge for us, but not this year. I think we have five kids, five decent guards, that can match up with them. It’s teams that have bigs that actually hurt us.”

While Cabell Midland was a good test of what’s to come on the interior, the Patriots can stretch the floor at any time. The difference from most of the Patriots’ games? Spring Mills’ defense is, for the most part, unmatched. With that, Gosk believes it’s a pretty good matchup to Park’s efficient offense, citing the Patriots’ loss to University in the regular season where the Hawks controlled the tempo.

“University did a good job of not letting it turn into a run-fest,” Gosk said. “They’d slow it down and make it be a halfcourt game at times and not let it get out of hand because Wheeling Park wants it to be that way. For us, I think we have to be confident and force the pressure on defense, but I think on offense we have to find our moments in transition but also … make them defend us in the halfcourt.”

While the Patriots aren’t super tall on average, they don’t have a traditional big in the starting five. That makes them dangerous, which shows in Gosk’s note that Park likes to play in transition, but it also shows in the Patriots’ ability to hit deep 3s and also make fast cuts in halfcourt sets. Being that’s a similar model to the Cardinals, sophomore guard Olivia Bolduc and freshman forward Reagan Edsell are both excited for the challenge.

“It’s going to be a good competition, they have a lot of good shooters,” Edsell said. “And we haven’t seen that yet. It’ll be something new and something different that will help us, but it’ll be a good game.”

“I agree,” Bolduc said. “We’ve been so used to preparing for how we’re going to play bigs because that’s been our biggest weakness but now we’re matching up with a team that’s similar to us. So that’s going to be super fun.”

Despite her youth, Edsell, standing at 5-foot-9, has been a brick wall on defense, averaging 2.1 blocks and 5.4 steals per game while also being efficient on rebounds with 10.2 per game and with quick buckets, averaging 10.4 points per game. When she’s rolling, she can also get the ball out to the wing, averaging 3.3 assists per game.

Bolduc is one that often reaps the benefits of Edsell getting pressured at the basket, hitting on 43 percent of her 3-point attempts this year. While she’s faced issues from bigs in recent weeks, Bolduc is also one of the best slashers in Class 4A and can pull up on a dime, netting 57 percent of her attempts inside the arc.

Yet, when two high-scoring teams go up against one another, it’s whose defense is more dialed in that, oftentimes, lends to a victory. In that sense, Bolduc said the Cards must maintain their aggressive press but also play smart.

“We don’t want to force them to drive because they can drive well, and we need to have a hand in their face so if they do happen to pull that shot it’ll be contested,” Bolduc said. “Every shot tomorrow is going to be a tough shot; every shot they make is going to be one they fought for. No easy buckets.

“It’s discipline. In games we’re used to in the EPAC, we could jump and double everything, because we knew there would be help or a player couldn’t do (something), so Thursday we have to be very disciplined knowing that these girls are smarter and girls off their bench can play. We can’t trap everything, we can’t get in foul trouble; we have to be disciplined, being in a spot you know you’re supposed to be in, being on help side, being in back, that’s very important for Park. And being aggressive the whole game.”

Edsell agreed. When she found foul trouble Tuesday night against Cabell Midland, it was one of the scary moments for the Cardinal. Still, with the way Park plays, she thinks things should be a little calmer on her end.

“I have to know what I’m doing,” she said. “I don’t think much is going to happen, I feel like they play five-out, so I won’t have to be down low. And most of the fouls I get are on bigs when I try to block them, but we’ll see how it goes.

“Communication is going to be a big key. We haven’t seen a team like this, with girls that are playmakers. We have to focus on that.”

And while there’s a chance Gosk may run sets he’s been holding onto all season, the Cardinals are still going to hold tight to what they know best.

“Are we going to guard them a little closer? Yes. We’re going to make sure we know where they’re at and our hands are in their face,” he said. “They’re going to get shots off and if somebody starts to pop off a little bit too much, we may have to adjust whether we’re going to face guard them or chase them a little bit, but initially we’re not going to do that. We’re going to do what we do, try our press out, try to stop them in transition and play good halfcourt defense.”

Overall, team energy and morale are high.

“I’m super excited,” Bolduc said. “We’ve never played a team with all guards that are all good. The matchups are fun. I’m sure Reagan is excited because she can play a guard tomorrow.”

Laughing at Bolduc’s final note, Edsell agreed.

“Yeah, I’m excited I get to play the perimeter a little bit,” she said, still laughing. “And I’m hoping to have a better game than Tuesday.”

Tip is set for 7:15 p.m. at the Charleston Coliseum.