Lumberjills Defeat Wildcats

Paden City’s Hannah Loy’s layup was blocked by the Lumberjills’ Sophie Palmer
The Valley Lumberjills wasted little time, racing out to a 22-1 first quarter lead in their season opener against Paden City inside Bob Burton Gymnasium Dec. 2 and never looked back in handing Paden City a 55-18 loss.
Valley took a 37-6 lead at the break, with Sophie Palmer and Caitlyn Underwood leading the way with nine and seven points, respectively, with seven different players scoring points. Hannah Loy sank a three-ball to lead the way offensively for the Wildcats.
The Lady ‘Cats scored 11 points in the second half, but the ‘Jills tacked on 18 in the second half, led by Palmer’s eight markers and Underwoods four points.
Palmer paced the Lumber’s attack with a game-high 17 points, that included a pair of baskets from beyond the arch. She also contributed six assists, three steals and three blocks, while Melanie Thomas followed with nine points, five rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots. Jenna Dallison provided eight points, four rebounds and a block, while Rachel Baker garnered six points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
In addition, Underwood provided six points, two steals and pulled down a pair of rebounds. Cassidy West scored two markers, and added a game-high seven assists and three steals. McKenzie Melott sank a deuce, to end the Lumberjills statistics.
The ‘Cats top scorer was senior Chelsea Baker with six, while Ali Suter scored five. Hannah Loy hit for three, while Ashlyn Moses and Delaney Lantz each tallied a deuce for Paden City. The Wildcats shot 12 foul shots compared to Valley’s four, but the Lumberjills connected a trio of three, while the ‘Cats were limited to one triple.
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Wildcats drop home opener to Trinity
After defeating Hundred in the season opener on Tuesday, the Wildcats returned home the next night to play host to Morgantown Trinity.
The Cat’s opened up with a 6-5 early lead at the end of the first period, but it wasn’t enough as they were outscored in each of the next three quarters and fell 35-18 to the visitors.
Sophomore Hannah Loy and Senior Chelsea Baker led the scoring for Paden City with six each while also grabbing 18 rebounds with Baker getting 10 and Suter eight. Ashlyn Moses had two points hitting 2-5 from the foul line and Paige Leonard added a basket to round out the Wildcat scoring.
“We played well at the start but I think we wore down a little and their depth hurt us. Trinity has a nice team and we had trouble scoring against their defense,” Wildcats’ Coach Alan Miller. “Our schedule is not easy but we will come to play and these girls will get better with each game.”
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Wildcats Open Season With 46-19 Win Over Hundred
The Paden City defense held the Hundred Hornets to three points in the second half enroute to a 46-19 victory over county rival Hundred Nov. 29 inside the Hornets Nest, opening the 2016-2017 basketball campaign.
Paden City sophomore Ali Suter outscored the Lady Hornets 10 points to five in helping the Wildcats grab a 13-5 advantage after one period of play.
Meanwhile, the Lady Hornets’ Madeline Goff and Valerie Soles heated up in the second stanza, scoring six and four points, respectively, to help Hundred close the gap to 22-16. Ashlyn Moses sank a triple, while Loy sank a pair of two point shots to lead the Wildcats.
It was all Paden City in the second half as Soles scored the only three markers for the Hornets, while Paige Leonard netted a team-high four points in the third period, while Loy sank four deuces in the fourth.
Loy led all scorers with 14 points, while Suter added a dozen to pace the ‘Cats. Moses scored six markers, while Chelsea Baker and Leonard each netted four points. Abbie Stackpole and Bre Henthorn each sank a two-pointer.
Goff and Katherine Henderson each tallied six points to pace the Hornets, while Soles netted five, and Hailey Eastham a deuce.
“I’m proud of the way the girls performed on defense in the second half,” said Paden City Head Coach Alan Miller.
“We are a very young team, and we will get better each practice and every game we play. I understand with a young team, we will make mistakes, but as long as we can correct it and learn from it, we will be a better team in the future.”