photo by: Nick Henthorn

John Marshall's Kalyn Reese drives to the basket for a layup vs. Fairmont Senior during the Monarchs' Regional Co-Final vs. the Polar Bears. John Marshall will face Keyser in the first round of the state tournament.

CHARLESTON – For the first time since 1994, the John Marshall girls’ basketball team will compete in the W.Va. state tournament.

The fourth-seeded Monarchs (17-6) are set to face No. 5 Keyser (17-3) in a Class AAA quarterfinal round game tonight at 9, which is a little worrisome for head coach Brock Melko, inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

“The late start time worries me a little bit,” he said late Tuesday afternoon from his motel room in Charleston. “We tried to simulate it (the late start) last Saturday. We were off the entire day until 9 that night when we practiced.”

To get accustomed to the shooting background, John Marshall stopped at West Virginia University’s Hope Coliseum in Morgantown Tuesday on its way south for a brief workout.

“It’s exciting,” Melko allowed. “We got a huge send-off at the school today and stopped in Morgantown to shoot around some. Tonight (Tuesday) we are going over to the arena and watch some of the games just to get a feel for the atmosphere.”

John Marshall punched its ticket to the state tournament with a 47-30 thumping of Fairmont Senior in their lone regional contest. Keyser, meanwhile, defeated Elkins, 58-21, in its regional final.

The Monarchs are led by West Virginia Wesleyan signee Rilee Storm. The 6-foot senior scores 20.5 points a game and became the program’s all-time leading scorer this season. She currently stands at 1,697 career points. She also leads the team in rebounds (9) and steals (2.3). Her 2.2 assists per game is second to classmate Kaylee White’s 3.7, who averages 10.2 points and 4 rebounds.

Kalyn Reese, a 5-10 junior, scores at a 11.2 clip and pulls down seven rebounds a night.

Masyn Inclan, a 5-5 senior, runs the point on offense. She averages 4.6 points and 2.3 assists.

Paislee Babiczuk, a 6-foot sophomore, scores 5 points and yanks down 6.7 rebounds per outing.

White and Inclan were members of the Monarchs 2024 state championship softball team, while Babiczuk won the Class AAA shot put as a freshman.

Lending support off the bench are seniors Nia Miller and Lainee Farmer, as well as junior Nora Shock.

Of John Marshall’s six losses, half of them have come to Steubenville which advanced to the Ohio Division III district finals before bowing out at 23-2. The other setbacks came to University (No. 7 seed in Class AAAA state tournament), Morgantown and Greenbrier East (No. 1 seed in Class AAA. They also own a win over the Hawks, as well as East Fairmont (No. 7 seed in Class AAA).

As for the Golden Tornado, Melko said when describing them you “could be talking about his team.

“They are a lot like us, but not in their style of play,” he said.

Keyser is led in scoring by 5-11 junior Bibs Felton who became her team’s all-time leading scorer this season with more than 1,140 points. She also grabs six rebounds and hands out 4 assists a contest. Senior Kiya Kesner, 5-4, adds 11 points and 4 rebounds, while 5-4 junior Rooney Urice adds 7 points a night.

The Golden Tornado enters the state tournament on a one-game winning streak. However, they have won eight of their last nine and 11 of their last 13. Their three losses are to Morgantown, Southern, Md., and Rye, N.Y.