PARKERSBURG - When Parkersburg girls basketball coach Kenny DeMoss first came on board, the Big Reds took their share of lumps against crosstown rival Parkersburg South.
Monday night at Memorial Fieldhouse, the Big Reds returned the favor after defeating the Patriots 64-40.
"Our defense looked stellar tonight," PHS coach Kenny DeMoss said. "That's a great win. It's ironic because when I first started coaching here we were getting drilled by South.
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Photo by Jeff Baughan
Parkersburg's Kailey Cox battles Parkersburg South's Genna Trippett, left, and Keya Bartlett for a rebound Monday. Parkersburg scored a 64-40 win over South.
PHS turned a three-point lead early in the third quarter into a rout after outscoring South 23-2 during a nine-minute span. The Patriots played the Big Reds on even terms for the final five minutes of the game, but the outcome was clearly decided as both teams moved to 6-7 overall.
Precious Ramsey scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds as PHS won for the second straight game. On the other side of the ledger, South lost for the fourth straight time despite a team-high 12 points from Keya Bartlett.
"PHS put a lot of pressure on us with the basketball and we didn't handle it very well," South coach Scott Stephens said.
PHS missed its first five shots from the floor while falling behind 7-2 before ending the quarter with a 12-2 run.
South went five minutes without a field goal until Kasey Williams made a running jumper in the lane to slice the deficit to 14-11 in the opening moments of the second period.
Trailing 16-11, South ripped off seven straight points thanks to a 3-pointer and two assists from Bartlett.
The game then became a see-saw affair as the lead exchanged hands seven times in the final two minutes. Imani Ward's bucket followed by a 3-pointer from reserve Hannah Mueller enabled the Big Reds to take a 29-27 advantage into intermission.
In the second half, PHS maintained a three-point lead at 33-30 when South went cold. The Patriots made just 2-of-17 field-goal attempts in the third quarter and were outscored 16-2 as the period came to a close. Ramsey accounted for eight points during that span.
"We started Precious as a three-guard all year and every time she would score, it would be inside," DeMoss said. "The last couple of games, we slid her down and just rotated the four posts in for each other. It seems to work for us.
"Precious is just a great natural finisher. She has good hands around the bucket, has great moves and did a tremendous job tonight inside the paint."
The game continued to get away from South in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Point guard Megan Morrison made three free throws and handed out one of her six assists as the Big Reds extended the gap to 56-32.
"We didn't shoot the ball worth a hoot," Stephens said. "We had some open looks and we didn't finish layups. PHS played a good second half, and we played sloppier in the second half than we did in the first half."
In the second half, PHS made 73 percent (11-of-15) of his field-goal opportunities.
"It was like you were at the remote control, and the kids were doing everything you wanted them to do at that point in time," DeMoss said.
Three PHS players scored in double figures, including Ward and Kennedy Walker with 10 points apiece. The Big Reds bench outscored South's reserves 24-9.
"I hope the girls realize this feeling that we're having the last few games is all because they are playing as a team," DeMoss said.
