Associated Press
CHARLESTON — Talequia Hamilton scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half to lead Huntington to a 56-43 win over Martinsburg in the girls Class AAA quarterfinals Thursday.
Hamilton also had 14 rebounds. Leah Ching led fourth-seeded Huntington (18-4) with 19 points and Erin Bailes had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Huntington will meet top-seeded North Marion (22-1) in Friday’s semifinals in a rematch of last year’s championship game won by North Marion on a last-second shot. Huntington has lost in the championship game the past three seasons.
Jacqueline Brewer led No. 5 Martinsburg (17-5) with 14 points.
Martinsburg led by as many as seven points in the first quarter. Ching scored seven during a 9-0 run to finish the first half that put Huntington ahead to stay, 23-18.
Brewer’s layup brought Martinsburg within 25-24 early in the third, but she missed eight straight shot attempts after that and Huntington regained control.
Brewer, who averaged nearly 25 points in two tournament games last year, shot 6 of 23 from the floor and Martinsburg finished at 24 percent (16 of 66).
Parkersburg South 56, Wheeling Park 53
Jessie Moore scored 13 points and Parkersburg South nearly blew an eight-point late lead but held on for a win over Wheeling Park in the girls Class AAA quarterfinals.
Kelsi Halbert’s 3-pointer just before halftime put third-seeded Parkersburg South ahead to stay, 26-25. Parkersburg South extended the lead to 42-34 on a tip-in by Mary Seagraves midway through the fourth quarter.
Three-pointers by Haley Robb with 1:25 remaining and Carly Slater with 47 seconds left brought Wheeling Park within 52-51.
Emily Puskarich led sixth-seeded Wheeling Park (18-6) with 20 points.
Parkersburg South (20-3) will play No. 2 South Charleston (24-1) in Friday’s semifinals.
Class A
St. Joseph 82, Meadow Bridge 25
Sara Sang had 13 points, four other St. Joseph players scored in double figures and the Irish set a girls Class A tournament record for margin of victory with a quarterfinal win over Meadow Bridge.
Dusti Chapman and Lakiah Smith added 12 points apiece for defending champion St. Joseph (20-5). Amber Chadwick and Brooke Keeton each had 11 points.
The 57-point margin of victory broke the record of 46 points set by Tygarts Valley against Meadow Bridge in 2003.
Top-seeded St. Joseph had 25 steals, forced 33 turnovers and outrebounded Meadow Bridge 60-41. Eighth-seeded Meadow Bridge (13-10) made just 8 of 47 field goals (17 percent).
Tucker County 46, Trinity 33
Audra Hull scored 21 points and Tucker County never trailed in beating Trinity in the Class A quarterfinals.
Caitlin Maxwell had 15 rebounds for third-seeded Tucker County (15-4), which reached the semifinals for the second straight season.
Tucker County won four Class AA titles in the 1990s and is looking for its first title-game berth since 1998.
Sixth-seeded Trinity (19-4), making its first-ever girls state tournament appearance, got no closer than 11 points in the second half.
St. Marys 51, Wheeling Central 37
Kelsea Fickiesen had 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead St. Marys to a win over Wheeling Central in the girls Class A quarterfinals.
Second-seeded St. Marys (23-1) used a 13-2 first-quarter run to take over. St. Marys shot 64 percent (14 of 22) from the floor in the first half and led 33-17 at halftime.
Seventh-seeded Wheeling Central (12-13) lost in the quarterfinals for the second straight year after winning the 2008 championship.
