WEIRTON — The Madonna girls’ basketball team hung around against Magnolia.

The Blue Eagles ripped off a 9-0 run in the first quarter to build their lead and a 9-1 run in the fourth to secure the victory as they defeated the Blue Dons, 47-38, in a varsity-only game Wednesday night on Joanna Bernabei-McNamee Court inside the Bill Barrett Gymnasium.

The visitors from New Martinsville led by nine early in the second, however, the Dons battled back and pulled to within two points on a 3-pointer by Sophia Brady 30 seconds into the fourth. Unfortunately, that was close as the girls in white got the rest of the way as the girls in blue extended their advantage out to 10 points with 2:58 left to play in the game before winning by eight.

“Both teams were playing good defense, and both teams were playing hard,” first-year Madonna (3-7) head coach Nick Higgins said. “It came down to making shots. They made some shots, and we didn’t. I am super proud of our girls’ defensive effort. They played hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer. I could not be more proud of them.”

Brady’s 3 made the score 34-32 with 7:30 remaining to be played. The hosts had opportunities to pull closer, tie or even take the lead, but they were unable to do so. Magnolia hit 2-of-4 shots from the free-throw line to make the score, 36-32, before the Blue Dons answered with a foul shot of their own to make it a three-point ballgame, however, the Blue Eagles took control from that point.

Three field goals and another split trip from the charity stripe extended Magnolia’s advantage out to 43-33 with just under three minutes left to play. Madonna closed to within 43-36 with 1:53 still showing on the scoreboard clock, however, the visitors added another field goal and foul shot to increase their advantage back up to 10 points to seal the deal.

“basketball is a game of runs,” Higgins said. “They made a run, and we made a run. They just made the last run in the fourth quarter. We went on a run and cut down to two or three, but we were not able to get that final push. I’m super proud of the girls’ effort. Our defense was phenomenal. They played great.”

Adalynn Welsh tallied a team-high 17 points to lead the way offensively for the Blue Dons, while Brady delivered 10.

Kaylee Yost collected a game-high 25 points to lead the way for the Blue Eagles, while Aubrey Warder added 10.

The victors struck first in the first before a 3 by Brady made it 5-2, however, Magnolia scored the next nine points to build an 11-5 lead. The Blue Eagles led, 14-7, at the end of the first quarter.

Magnolia netted the first basket of the second to go up by nine. The Blue Dons converted 4-of-6 shots from the charity stripe to pull within 24-19 at halftime.

It was more of the same in the third as both teams tallied 10 points in the quarter allowing Magnolia to take a 34-29 lead into the fourth.

Both teams struggled to convert from the foul line as the two teams combined to go 20-of-52 from the line.

The victory enabled the girls from Wetzel County to sweep the season series. The Blue Eagles defeated the Blue Dons Dec. 13 at home.

“I think both games were very similar,” Higgins said. “The game down there was a Saturday afternoon game. Tonight, we were at home. That helped a little bit. The girls played similar. They were aggressive in the zone.”

Madonna is scheduled to play St. Clairsville Saturday afternoon on the road. The game is set to start at 12:30 p.m.

Magnolia is slated to play River Monday night at home.

Magnolia 47, Madonna 38

Magnolia 14 10 10 13 – 47

Madonna 7 12 10 9 – 38

MAGNOLIA (4-4): Suter 0 0-0 0, Yost 9 6-17 25, Stockman 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-2 0, Quinet 0 0-0 0, K. Warder 3 0-2 6, A. Warder 4 2-2 10, Quinn 2 0-4 4, Mast 0 0-0 0, Dyer 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 8-27 47.

MADONNA (3-7): Brady 4 0-2 10, G. Birkhimer 0 0-0 0, Littleton 0 2-4 2, Quattrochi 0 1-2 1, Welsh 6 5-11 17, Alatis 0 0-0 0, T. Birkhimer 0 4-6 4, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Cody 2 0-0 4. TOTALS: 12 12-25 38.

3-POINTERS: Magnolia 1 (Yost); Madonna 2 (Brady 2)