For the Maroon Knights (5-0), senior point guard Brooke Edge picked up her third personal foul with just over a minute left in the first quarter, and teammate Erin Maxwell would soon join her. Neither played in the second quarter, but role players Mariah Ratcliffe, Maddie Miele and Bella Fitzsimmons filled in admirably during their absence.
Wheeling Central defeated visiting Weir 95-61 inside the Wheeling Central Athletic Complex, with Caitlin Blake scoring a game-best 30 points and the bench scoring 17 points and matching rebounds.
“We expected our bench to do some pretty big things, and it worked out for us. It really did,” Wheeling Central head coach Roberta Olejas said. “We had several key starters on the bench who were in serious foul trouble early on.”
Fitzsimmons grabbed eight rebounds and scored six points off the bench, while Ratcliffe had seven boards.
“Our bench really stepped up and brought in important playing time and important statistics,” Olejas added.
In a back-and-forth battle, the Maroon Knights scored at least 20 points in each quarter, including 28 points in the first quarter, but they only led by nine points. The Red Riders (4-5) trailed to 41-38 late in the second quarter, but ended the first half on an 8-0 run, with Miele hitting a 3 from the left side just before the buzzer to make it 49-38. advantage.
“That was huge for us,” Oleyas said of the buzzer-beating trey.
Weir used back-to-back triples from Janai Turner and Mare Kaufman to get within 49-44 early in the third frame, but a 17-2 spurt for the hosts sealed the deal.
“I really don’t know what happened. At one point late in the first half it was a three-point game, but early in the third we cut it to five,” Weir head coach Rick Stead said. . “Then I don’t know what happened.
Blake scored 10 total goals in the decisive quarter and added seven rebounds. Edge scored 10 points, made several fast breaks with outlet passes, and had 10 assists on his way to 20 points. Post player Haley Severns also recorded a double-double, scoring 19 points with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter.
Miele scored eight points and drew praise from his coach.
“Maddie really stepped in for Brooke and did a good job handling the ball,” Olejas noted.
Addi Payton also received praise for his defensive work.
“Adi really solidified their point guard, especially in the second half,” Olehasz said. “She played full-court defense the entire game.”
Kaufman led Weir with 23 points. Turner and Rayna Huber also reached double figures with 11 each. Olivia Baker had 10 rebounds and Hoover had seven rebounds. Kaufman had six.
Wheeling Central will remain at home and host Frankfort in a varsity-only game Saturday at 1 p.m.