River Sinks Wheeling Central in OVAC 2A Title Game
Mike Hughes Trending
CADIZ -- River broke open a nip-and-tuck game against Wheeling Central with a big run, then hung on in the fourth as the Pilots defeated the Maroon Knights 57-46 on Saturday in the OVAC Class 2A championship.
Pilots head coach Rick Islay received MVP-worthy performances from both junior point guard Kelsey Harlan and senior post Rylee Knight who combined for 40 points.
Harlan, who totaled 19 points and had a number of steals and assists, also did an admirable job defending Wheeling Central's leading scorer Brook Edge, who totaled nine points.
Knight, meanwhile, led all scorers with 21 points while snagging an equal number of rebounds in a dominating effort in the paint.
The pair are peaking at the right time, having each scored 23 points in a semifinal win against Southern Local to reach Saturday's finale at Cadiz.
"Hats off to Kelsey, our point guard," Isaly said. "She can do it all, drive, shoot, play defense, and Rylee was just a beast on the boards."
Edge's lone 3-pointer of the game came with 5:14 left in the second quarter to cut River's lead to one at 21-20. That was the last time Central scored until senior Reagan Olejasz stuck a putback of a Valerie Downing missed triple attempt in the third quarter.
The preceding span saw the Pilots amass a 19-point lead courtesy of the 18-0 run that began with a Hannah Raper triple in the second quarter and ended with a Knight putback, one of eight second-chance points for the senior.
Central had success beating River's press early, resulting in six first quarter points from Keiera Wilkinson, one of the Knights' 6-footers. Wilkinson was able to get position behind the defense and convert easy buckets off the break.
But Wilkinson was forced to sit in the second quarter after picking up her second foul, and things quickly turned south for the designated visitors.
"Not having her inside to help hurt quite a bit (in the second) and that's the quarter they blew up on us," Wheeling Central coach Roberta Olejasz said. "We battled back and got to within six and made it a ball game.
"Kelsey is a heck of a point guard and I hope that (River) goes deep, but I'm also really proud of the way our girls played today."
Robinson admitted while the sting of losing may linger for her Knights, there's still plenty to play for and be proud of, including reaching the finale after not making the OVAC tournament the previous season.
Vogrin and Reagan Olejasz led the second-half resurgence, with Vogrin canning three triples between the third and fourth quarters, and Olejasz scoring all 10 of her points in the half.
With Central's inside game requiring a bit more attention, the Knights' were able to work the ball around and get better looks from the perimeter that weren't there early.
"We decided not to press (in the second half) as we didn't want to give up any transition buckets, but if I had to do it over again, I might go back and press a bit, just to wear them down," Isaly admitted. "They were fresher in the second half and made more of their shots."
Knight noted the Knights' size advantage in the paint, with multiple 6-footers, adding that it made her work far more difficult in grabbing boards.
Prior to tip-off, Central's perimeter game was a concern, but the early success inside necessitated a shift in focus.
"They have good 3-point shooters and we wanted to get out on them a little more, but we got beat on the inside a few times and we needed to close that off," Knight said.
Harlan won the MVP award for the game. Raper backed her and Knight with 12 points, including eight in the first half.
Vogrin led the Knights with 12, followed by Olejasz's 10, Edge's nine, and eight from Downing.