Pictured above are members of the All-Wetzel County Girls’ Basketball Team. Seated in the front row from left are Lesta Kocher, Raven McDiffitt, Padyn Ludewig, Jordyn Gorby, and Brittany Guthrie; Second row, Tincy Haught, Aly Weber, Nancy Cumberledge, and Corinne Murdock; and back row, Larry Weekley.

This is the first year in many years that the Wetzel Chronicle has listed the top scorers in the county and named a boys’ and girls’ Wetzel County All-Star Team.

Earning top honors on the girls’ First Team is Alli Bertozzi of Paden City; Lesta Kocher and Brittany Guthrie of Valley; Raven McDiffitt and Jordyn Gorby of Hundred; and Padyn Ludewig of Magnolia.

Honorable Mentions are: Nancy Cumberledge of Hundred; Aly Weber of Valley; Tincy Haught and Corinne Murdock from Magnolia; and Shauna Durant and Courtney Conaway from Paden City.

Girls Player of The Year was Bertozzi of Paden City and girls Coach of the Year was Larry Weekley of Valley High School.

Bertozzi was Miss Everything for the Paden City Wildcats, while Weekley guided his team to its second straight trip to the OVAC tournament where the ‘Jills finished third.

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Underclassmen topped the 2008-09 girls basketball scoring department in Wetzel County. Gorby, Bertozzi, and Ludewig finished first, second, and third this season.

Taking top honors is Hundred’s Gorby, who missed a good portion of last season due to a knee injury and worked hard over the summer to get back where she was – on fire.

She led the Lady Hornets in points, averaging more than 14 points a game before her injury, only to come back to score 351 points this season for a 15 point per game average. She also nailed 22 baskets from beyond the arc and made 68 steals, while grabbing 85 rebounds from her guard position.

Bertozzi was the heart and soul of Paden City Ladycats, making 130 foul shots and 270 field goals while scoring 335 points for an average of 14.5 points a game. She was normally double and sometimes triple teamed, so making these many shots and grabbing those many rebounds is a testament to how well she really played.

She also hauled in a girls’ state-high 369 rebounds – the second consecutive year she has done so. When she wasn’t scoring and rebounding, Bertozzi was playing defense swiping 68 balls and blocking 33 shots.

Ludewig, just a sophomore, was the catylst for the Magnolia Lady Eagles. She finished third in county scoring with 299 points and was tops in the county in assists and steals, with 144 and 105, respectively. While bringing the ball down the court to set up the offense, she netted 30 points the hard way.

Murdock, the only senior in the top five county scorers, put up 255 points for fourth place. She was a pure shooter that was deadly when left open.

She nailed 45-68 charity tosses. Murdock was also second on the Eagle team with 70 assists. She also tallied 10 three pointers for Magnolia this season.

Holding down the fifth spot in the scoring race is Hornet forward McDiffitt, who landed 234 points for an average of 10 ppg. When she wasn’t scoring, she was rebounding, blocking shots, stealing, and dishing off assists to her teammates, while most often going one-on-one defensively with the opponent’s best offensive player.

McDiffitt hauled in 214 rebounds and led the county in blocked shots with 43; steals with 85; and assists with 53.

Holding the sixth spot in county scoring was Magnolia senior Tincy Haught. Haught scored 179 points and made 25-45 shots for a 55 percent average. In addition, she grabbed a team-high 178 rebounds in 22 games.

Seventh, eighth, and ninth in scoring all came from the Valley Lumberjills. In the number seven spot was Lesta Kocher. She tallied 201 points for a 9.1 ppg average. She was scoring over 12 points a game before injuring her back, but still managed to finish the season as the top scorer for the Lumberjills. Kocher was at the free throw line 108 times, making 58 for 54 percent. She was second on her team in rebounding with 112 boards, 27 assists, and 45 steals.

Eighth in scoring was Aly Weber. She knocked in 55-110 two pointers, 6-28 three pointers, and made 55-92 free throws. Better known as “Weeb” to her friends, Weber was Miss Consistent in everything. She played, variously, as guard, center, or forward for the Lumberjills, pulling down 126 off the glass, hijacking 27 basketballs, and dishing off 18 assists.

Ninth in scoring is Wetzel County’s top sophomore, Lumberjill Brittany Guthrie. Guthrie, who was slowed down late in the season with an ankle injury, but only missed two games and played half in a couple of contests. But, when she was on the court, she was a scoring threat from anywhere. Guthrie tallied 182 points and was second on the team with a 8.7 ppg scoring average. She was 23-68 baskets from beyond the arc for 43 percent, while shooting a little under 77 percent from the free throw line, making 33-43. Guthrie was tops in ‘Jill assists and steals, with 34 and 60, respectively.

Hundred’s Nancy Cumberledge and Chelsea Kuhn scored 168 and 161 points, respectively, finishing in the top 10th and 11th in scoring. Cumberledge, a senior, made 64 goals, including eight three-point buckets and 30 free throws. She pulled down 85 rebounds and dished off 41 assists, while committing grand theft 68 times. She had the only triple-double of the season among all the county’s girl basketball players.

Kuhn, also a senior, scored 50 goals, including 26 baskets from beyond the arc. She added 35 assists, 32 steals, and grabbed 61 rebounds.

Earning All-County recognition was junior Courtney Conaway and senior Shauna Durant from Paden City.

Halfway into the season, Conaway began coming on strong for the Lady ‘Cats with her outside shooting that helped merge her into the starting five.

She scored 134 points to be the second leading scorer for the Paden City girls. She also drained 18 three point baskets, snatched 61 rebounds, and had 32 stolens.

Durant was the Lady ‘Cat point guard, directing the offense while playing the opposing team’s toughest offensive player. Durant scored 131 points and hauled in 77 boards, while adding 35 steals and 48 assists for Paden City.