CHARLESTON — At times in the first half Friday night, West Fork’s girls basketball team couldn’t be stopped on either side of the court.
The Lady Tigers took advantage of every offensive possession, either getting the ball down low or scoring from the perimeter to build an early 17-point lead.
Despite a late Greenland rally, West Fork held on to its lead down the stretch to defeat the Lady Pirates 52-44 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Region 1 Tournament.
West Fork (22-7) will play Green Forest at 6 p.m. today for the regional championship with the chance to earn a top seed for next week’s Class 3A State Tournament. Greenland (17-11) will play Charleston for the consolation title at noon today.
Leading the Lady Tigers on offense was junior Melissa Jones, who scored 19 points and had eight rebounds. Senior guard Sarah Sagely also contributed with 14 points, including two first-half 3-pointers.
“It was a great first half,” West Fork coach Nathan Wells said. “Our pressure bothered (Greenland) and we got some great shots. We knew Greenland would make a run at us late in the game.”
After building a 26-9 lead with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left before halftime, West Fork had trouble sustaining its offensive success in the second half.
Greenland (17-11) got aggressive on defense in the third quarter, holding West Fork to only three points.
The Lady Pirates later cut West Fork’s lead to only four points with 1:24 left in game when Ashley Hipps made two foul shots.
“If we could have played (in the first half) like we did in the second, it would have been a different game,” Greenland coach Alan Barton said. “We’re not a bad basketball team, we’re just really young. It was tough to fall behind that much so early in the game.”
West Fork held onto its lead late in the game by converting at the free-throw line, where it shot 65 percent (23 of 35) overall.
Class 3A Region 1 Tournament
Girls
WEST FORK 52, GREENLAND 44
West Fork 13 17 3 19 — 52
Greenland 5 6 11 22 — 44
West Fork (22-7): Jones 19, Sagely 14, McCorkle 7, S. Franklin 6, Fraley 5, R. Franklin 1.
Greenland (17-11): Hipps 13, Tone 10, Riggles 6, Scott 5, Johnson 5, Brown 3, Craise 2.