CHARLESTON - George Washington's Alexa Peoples had been waiting for a moment such as Friday night all season.
The 6-0 junior center scored a game-high 21 points to help the host Patriots hold off Parkersburg 72-51 in the championship game of the Class AAA Region 3 Section 1 tournament.
The Patriots (17-7), who finished tied for seventh in the final Associated Press poll, will play host to the No. 5 Greenbrier East-No. 7 Nicholas County loser at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a Region 3 contest while the Big Reds (14-10) will visit the Greenbrier East-Nicholas loser at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The regional winners advance to the state tournament set for March 9-12 at the Civic Center.
Article Photos
Photo by Kenny Kemp
George Washington’s Alexa Peoples, center, shoots while being guarded by Parkersburg’s Imani Ward. left, and Precious Ramsey.
Peoples didn't become academically eligible until Jan. 25, which coincided with GW's 60-36 victory at Parkersburg in the teams' only meeting during the regular season. Since her return the Patriots have posted a 9-3 record.
"It feels wonderful,'' said Peoples, who hit 10-of-15 shots and contributed nine rebounds. "I'm glad to be back. I got good support from my teammates and it helped me a lot. I've done a lot to get back to where I was.''
Whenever the Patriots needed a run to stave off a Big Reds rally Friday, Peoples was right in the thick of it.
Fact Box
George Washington 72, Parkersburg 51
Parkersburg 17 18 12 4 - 51
George Washington 18 25 16 13- 72
PARKERSBURG (14-10)
Taylor Fordyce 1 0-0 3, Dakota Hefner 0 0-2 0, Lauren Williams 0 0-0 0, Stacy Blake 1 0-0 3, Imani Ward 7 3-4 17, Hannah Mueller 0 0-0 0, Tori Wilson 3 0-0 8, Paige Warner 3 2-4 8, Precious Ramsey 2 0-0 4, Megan Morrison 2 3-3 8, Megan Carroll 0 0-0 0, Whitnie Pinkston 0 0-0 0, Brittany Sellers 0 0-0 0, Kailey Cox 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Walker 0 0-0 0, TOTALS 19 8-13 51. 3-Point Goals: Wilson 2, Morrison 1, Blake 1, Fordyce 1.
GEORGE WASHINGTON (17-7)
Kelly Harrison 4 4-8 12, Rachel Ward 5 4-6 17, Dri Nazario 6 7-8 20, Molly Weaver 0 0-0 0, Alexa Peoples 10 1-2 21, Megan Workman 1 0-0 2, TOTALS 26 16-24 72. 3-Point Goals: Ward 3, Nazario 1.
Class AA Region I,
Section 2 Championship
Ravenswood 52, Ritchie County 34
Ritchie 6 7 13 8 - 34
Ravenswood 8 18 15 11 - 52
RITCHIE COUNTY (5-18)
Regan Stout 5 3-6 13, Tristin Toman 5 1-4 11, Amanda Davis 0 0-0 0, Maria Webber 0 0-0 0, Veronica Mueller 0 1-2 1, Sydney Snodgrass 3 1-2 7, Kylie Gump 1 0-0 2, TOTALS: 14 6-14 34.
RAVENSWOOD (20-3)
Emily Rector 4 5-6 13, Nicole Sadecky 1 1-2 3, Melonna Carmichael 0 2-2 2, Hannah Murray 4 6-8 15, Hannah Gurtis 3 2-2 10, Brenna Mahan 0 0-0 0, Makala Settlage 1 0-0 2, Sarah McMillan 3 1-1 7, TOTALS 16 17-21 52. 3-point goals: Murray 1, Gurtis 2.
Next games: Oak Glen at Ravenswood and Ritchie County at Weir on Wednesday
Senior guard Stacy Blake nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Big Reds within one point (18-17) at the end of the first quarter, infusing her team with momentum.
Peoples answered by scoring nine points during an 11-3 run to start the second period, putting the Patriots ahead 29-20. GW would go on to lead at halftime 43-35.
After Parkersburg pulled within seven points (49-42) with 5:48 left in the third quarter, Peoples had consecutive baskets on a putback off a rebound and layup to ignite an 8-0 run that put GW ahead 57-42 with 1:31 remaining in the period.
The Big Reds trailed by 12 points (59-47) going into the fourth quarter and Peoples put the brakes on hopes of a Parkersburg comeback, tallying the first four points of the fourth quarter to hand the Patriots a 63-47 advantage with 7:15 to go in the game and essentially seal the deal.
"She's our beast,'' said GW senior guard Dri Nazario of Peoples. "We have faith in her and we knew she had a mismatch down low so that's where we fed the ball. It's been great having her back. She's just a great person to play with. It's always good to have another threat.''
Nazario finished with 20 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals for the Patriots while sophomore guard Rachel Ward added 17 points, five boards and two steals. GW freshman post Kelli Harrison donated 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"I told them they have a great opportunity to leave their mark on this program,'' said GW coach Jamie LaMaster.
Sophomore Imani Ward netted a team-high 17 points and added seven rebounds and two blocks for Parkersburg while senior guard Tori Wilson had eight points.
