“Our goal from day one is to get a ring, that’s been what’s on the board in the locker room,” Wheeling Central head coach Roberta Olejasz said. “That’s all they want is a ring. We feel like we left one on the table last year, So now they’ve got an opportunity to go back and get it.”

Wheeling Central’s lead floated around 10 consistently throughout the night– the Knights led 17-7 after the first quarter, 39-29 at halftime, and 50-40 after three quarters– but Doddridge County roared back into the game in the fourth, coming to within five points, 50-45, after a pullup jumpshot by the Bulldogs’ Payton Trent with 5:15 in the game.

After that though, Wheeling Central decided to play ball control. Their next possession lasted almost exactly two minutes, and ended with a Seneca Heller assist to Erin Maxwell for a layup inside. Heller and Addie Payton did well to evade an increasingly aggressive Doddridge defense throughout the possession from a two-guard set.

Though Doddridge County responded with a quick score, the Maroon once again sat on the ball– this time for just under one minute– and again, Heller found a teammate inside, assisting Haley Severns on a score to put Central up by seven, 54-47 with 2:35 to play.

The Bulldogs couldn’t find points fast enough, and after a few rounds of intentional fouling, Wheeling Central was back up by their more-familiar margin as the clock struck zero.

“We decided at our last timeout that all we wanted to take was layups,” Olejasz said. “So we’d spread them out and get a wide open layup, and if we made it, great, if we missed it, it’s okay, but at least we were getting the shot that we wanted.”

The Maroon Knights were led by Bella Fitzsimmon’s 21 points, 18 of which came in the first half, a much-needed boost for Central in a game that saw both teams fight for every point.

“Offensively and defensively, Bella Fitzsimmons was tremendous for us,” Olejasz said. “Seneca, of course; Addie, Erin, Haley rebounded the ball. I mean, they all contributed to this huge win.”

Heller finished with 16 points while Erin Maxwell scored 10 for Central.

Trent, Aleigh Cheeseman, and Brooke Dehaven each had 10 for Doddridge County.

The girls basketball is slated for March 10-14, with Wheeling Central due for a first-round meeting against Wayne on March 11 at 11:15 a.m. inside the Charleston Coliseum. Central is seeded No. 3 in the tournament.

“I thought Doddridge played a really good game,” Olejasz said. “She [Lisa Cheeseman]’s a good coach and I thought they came out to knock us off and they played really well. They hit a lot of shots. We missed some shots tonight, but at the end of the day it’s all about surviving and advancing. Our girls did just enough to survive and advance and we’re headed to Charleston again.”