From Staff Reports
Cumberland Times-News
UPPER GLADE RUN, W.Va. — Frankfort played its way into the West Virginia Class AA State Tournament by playing unselfish, high intensity ball in a 47-44 win over Wester County Thursday evening in the Class AA Region 2 Championship.
The leading scorer for Frankfort, Katie Bush, managed to score just 11 points and the Falcons shot 7-for-16 from the foul line, but a strong defensive effort limited Webster to only five players being able to score. Bush and Courtney Dolly were credited with taking away Webster’s size advantage on the inside, and had five rebounds each.
Savannah Hose added 10 points to Frankfort’s total, while Mikala Miller added seven. Saydi Whiteman also had five rebounds to go with four points.
Webster received a game-high 16 points from Angel Boggess, and Jessi Vucich added 15. Bethany Young finished by contributing eight points.
The Falcons (8-12) battled with the Highlanders for the first two quarters, and led 24-22 at halftime. After pulling away, Frankfort opened a 9-point lead by the end of the third.
“We came out with a lot of intensity, which was exactly what I wanted and was worried we wouldn’t do after the four-hour bus ride,” said Frankfort coach Erin McKenzie. “The girls played great in the third, but we changed our game plan slightly to milk the clock during the fourth and it came back at us as Webster chipped away. The girls reacted well, though, and made the shots when we needed to.”
Hose and Madison Shambaugh each made a pair of critical foul shots down the stretch.
Frankfort will begin play in the state tournament on Wednesday, but must wait until a meeting on Sunday to see where it will be seeded, and when it will play.
The Falcons last trip to the state tournament was during the 2005-06 season when they were eliminated 60-59 by Magnolia in the quarterfinal round.
