PARKERSBURG - Breanna Propst flirted with a triple-double Friday night inside Memorial Fieldhouse for St. Albans, but Parkersburg freshman Haley Ackerman scored a career-high 21 points as the Big Reds never trailed in a 59-43 Mountain State Athletic Conference victory.
Megan Morrison's triple, which came after Imani Ward grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out, put St. Albans down just 33 seconds into the game. After that quick make, the two teams couldn't knock down a shot from anywhere as they combined in the first six minutes to miss 17 of 18 attempts and turn over the ball nine times.
PHS, now 4-3 and off until next Wednesday when Winfield visits for the Jack Stephens Tournament, led 8-3 after one quarter and then Ackerman stole the show.
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Photo by Jay W. Bennett
St. Albans’ Torri Wilson tries to drive the ball against the defense of Parkersburg’s Megan Morrison inside Memorial Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Propst, who finished with 18 points, 11 boards and a game-high eight steals, converted a lay-in 20 ticks into the second thanks to an Addison Olives assist to cut the deficit to three. However, Rachel Slone connected from downtown, Ward got a putback and then Ackerman canned the first of her five 3-pointers as PHS pushed ahead 16-5.
Ackerman actually scored 11 straight points for the Big Reds, including two more 3s, and when Brooke Kurucz drained a trifecta with 2:17 left before halftime the Red Dragons (3-3) appeared to be in big trouble, down 27-13.
However, St. Albans used its pressure to force numerous red and white turnovers and reeled off 11 consecutive points, including five from Katelyn Propst. Kennedy Walker, who tallied 12 points and blocked five shots, knocked down a jumper just before the break to push the PHS cushion to 29-14.
Four straight points from Breanna Propst to open the second half sliced the deficit to just one, but the Red Dragons never got any closer. PHS still led by five at 39-34 entering the final eight minutes.
St. Albans, which plays at 5:15 p.m. today versus George Washington in the Hoops Classic, started the fourth by missing the front end of two 1-and-1 chances. Morrison, who chipped in eight points and five boards, hit a trey for a 42-34 advantage with 6:12 to go. St. Albans made its next to last field goal via a Lexie Cooper triple at the 5:34 mark to make it 42-37.
PHS proceeded to put the game away by scoring nine straight points, which included Ackerman's last bomb along with a Ward (11 boards) three-point play.
St. Albans was held to less than 23 percent shooting from the floor and the hosts knocked down 10 of 22 from beyond the arc.
