WEIRTON -- The Weir girls basketball team built a big lead against Oak Glen, and this time, the Red Riders were not only able to maintain the lead, they were able to extend it as the Red Riders defeated the Golden Bears, 57-35, Thursday night in the annual Coaches Vs. Cancer Game on Ron "Fritz" Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.
Weir led 17-3 at the end of the first quarter, and the hosts built a 24-point advantage in the fourth.
"We wanted to pressure them, and then get back and play zone," Weir (10-11) head coach Rick Stead said. "I knew they have hit a dry spell. They have not shot well in the last couple of games, so we decided to play zone, and we wanted to pressure the guards.
"We wanted to build an early 10-point lead off of our press. We were up 17-3 at the end of the first quarter, and we were able to maintain it There were a couple of moments where we made some bad decisions. We have to settle down.
"When you are up by 15 or 20 points, you have to understand the clock is your friend. You want to move the basketball and get good shots. You want to have good shot selection.
"We had good ball movement. We made the zone move. The girls did an excellent job.
"We wanted to move. We wanted to play good defense. We wanted to get out on the shooters. We wanted to get out on the shooters and get a hand in their face. We wanted to get rebounds.
"We wanted to push the ball and get out in transition. There were a couple of times where I would have liked us to push it even more early on, but we didn't.
"The girls did a great job overall.
"Ryan always does a great job. His kids play hard. They do not quit. They hustle up and down the floor. It's a rivalry game, and we were excited to play in it.
"Now, we will see them again in sectionals."
The visitors played without senior standout Kami Ward, who will miss the rest of the season.
"When you are missing one of the highest stat leaders in the state of West Virginia and a girl who leads us in about every stat, it is tough," Oak Glen (8-11) head coach Ryan Wells said. "Kami is out, and we had to adjust. She's averaging around 20 points per game.
"Kami is out, and we had to adjust. I think it was the shock value.
"I was very impressed with our younger girls. At times, we had two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior out on a varsity court. I liked what I saw out of our younger kids.
"It just came down to making shots. Weir finished early. They hit some open shots. We didn't. Weir jumped us with their press. We had some turnovers to start the game.
"When you are down 15 or 16 points, you can't go back-and-forth with them. You have to get stops and them come down and score. We played with them in the second half, but you can't do that when you are down by 20."
The visitors went nearly six minutes without a point before connecting on a 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining to be played in the first quarter.
The Red-and-Black extended their advantage to 25-6 a couple of minutes into the second before taking a 31-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Weir increased its advantage to 42-20 entering the fourth, and the girls in white led 57-33 late in the game.
"That changes the gameplan," Stead said about Ward not being able to play. "She is an excellent player. She can drive the ball. She's their leader in all the stats. When you lose a player like that, it would be tough for everybody."
Three players produced double digits in points for the victors. Individually, Rayna Hoover recorded a game-high 18 points, Olivia Baker collected 14 and Mea Kaufman finished with 13.
Tia Vick tallied a team-high eight points to lead the way offensively for Oak Glen, while Mattie Carney contributed six.
"Kami is out for the season," Wells said. "It's tough. We are going to have to find people to mesh together, and I thought we did that tonight.
"We're young, but we are not intimidated. We are going to have to continue to grow.
"Weir has that varsity experience. Those girls took their lumps when they were freshmen and sophomores, and now, they are juniors and seniors. Rick does a great job of preparing his kids. They're reaping the rewards now.
"We are going to have to move on without Kami, but she is still going to be with us. She was talking the girls up. We have only had one practice and one game without her. We are going to have to adjust.
"I told the kids in the locker room that it is tough anytime you lose a starter. She is a leader. She's averaging like 20 points per game.
"She is a true leader. She was not in school today, but she was able to come to the game with her mom, so she was able to support the other girls."
The game between the Hancock County rivals had an added significance Thursday night.
"It emphasizes the importance of coming together for a cure," Stead said. "I lost my grandmother to breast cancer. I lost a sister-in-law to breast cancer about 15 years ago. Tonight is about coming together and raising money to help find a cure for cancer. A lot of women have gotten breast cancer."
Last season in the game, the Golden Bears trailed by 18 with 7:07 left in the third quarter before staging a big rally on their way to pulling out a shocking victory.
"That miraculous comeback came with five seniors on the floor," Wells said. "We had five experienced players. That has been our Achilles' heel this season. We lost five senior starters.
"We have only played like six game with our full roster. Reecelyn Craig got hurt early in the season, and she has missed half of the season.
The Red Riders learned a lot from last year's heartbreaking defeat to the Golden Bears.
"Don't think that did not go through my mind," Stead said about last season's game. "Last year, we were ahead, and we did not take care of the clock. This year, we have grown. We have matured. This year, we got the lead, and we not only maintained the lead, but we also increased it.
"Tonight, we controlled the ball, and we controlled the clock. We have grown a lot. We will see them in sectionals, and hopefully, we can advance further. We will see where we end up."
Both teams are scheduled to play Monday. Weir is slated to play Brooke in a varsity-only game at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Oak Glen will hit the road to take on North Marion.
Weir 57, Oak Glen 35
Oak Glen 3 11 6 15 – 35
Weir 17 14 11 15 – 57
OAK GLEN (8-11): N. Ward 1 1-2 3, Everett 2 0-0 5, Balch 2 0-0 5, Clark 0 0-0 0, Six 0 0-0 0, Vick 2 3-3 8, Craig 1 0-0 2, McConnachie 2 0-0 4, Carney 2 0-0 6, H. Stewart 0 0-0 0, E. Stewart 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 13 4-5 35.
WEIR (10-11): Baker 5 3-3 14, Kaufman 4 2-2 13, Turner 3 1-2 7, Lash 0 0-0 0, Faulks 3 2-2 8, Hoover 6 0-2 15, Weber 0 0-0 0, Utt 0 0-0 0, Spencer 0 0-0 0, Baltimore 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 8-11 57.
3-POINTERS: Oak Glen 5 (Carney 2, Everett, Balch, Vick); Weir 7 (Kaufman 3, Hoover 3, Baker)