Shorthanded Lewis County survives Fairmont Senior, 59-53

The Polar Bears kept it close largely due to the efforts of Maliya Young, who was effective inside early in transition, in the post, and on the offensive glass.

Bryn Hunt, playing in her first game at the Hope Gas Gym after a long illness, hit a step back 3 to a big ovation from the crowd to move the score to 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.

The Minutemaids extended the lead to 23-14 when Payten Goodwin converted on two free throws with just under five minutes in the half before Young reeled off six consecutive points to cut the lead to three.

The ‘Maids answered back before the half with a Kyra Vinson 3-pointer and more free throws for Goodwin as the home team took a 29-23 lead at the half.

The Polar Bears once again kept the game from getting out of hand with a mid-quarter run in the third, once again riding Young, this time at the free-throw line as they cut the lead to just one score at 40-38 with two to go in the quarter.

Addie Curry and Lexi Piggie then stepped up big for the ‘Maids with Curry hitting on a 3 and a bucket in transition while picking up two big blocks and a nice assist on a Piggie 3-point play to end the quarter with a 50-39 lead.

Lewis County coach Joe Nichols talked about that key stretch and the efforts of Piggie and Curry.

“That’s great for them. We never want injuries or illness, but it’s given some players more minutes and forcing others to step up other parts of their game. We saw that tonight from several players, and I just hope that continues to build confidence,” Nichols said.

The Polar Bears were able to cut that lead to five, but that’s as close as they would get as Goodwin would answer with an old-fashioned 3-point play, and the ‘Maids would ice the victory with the help of the ballhandling of Piggie, who put on a clinic late in the game as the ‘Maids took a 59-53 victory.

The old basketball cliché of free throws proving key in close games played out in the game as the ‘Maids hit on an impressive 12 out of 15 attempts from the stripe while Fairmont Senior struggled, shooting 9 for 19 in the game.

Payten Goodwin, who led Lewis County with 18, hit on 8 of 10 free throws in the game. Piggie finished with 13 in the game while Vinson had nine and Curry 8.

Young led all scorers with 21-points and was joined in double figures by Reneica King who had 10 and Kaelin Hamilton had 8 in the loss for the Polar Bears.

Lewis County (6-3), currently ranked at No. 6 in Class AAA, will face a tough test on Friday night at the East Fairmont Classic when they take on Spring Mills at 9 p.m.

Fairmont Senior falls to 4-7 with the loss and they will look to get back in the win column when they host Preston on Jan. 22.