Greenland Girls Begin Defense Of State Titles

Greenland enters the Class 3A Region I Tournament as the two-time defending state champion, but Lady Pirates coach Alan Barton is only focused on the opener against Mansfield at Elkins.

Barton said the math is pretty simple regarding the 4 p.m. Wednesday game.

Class 3A Region 1

At Elkins

Girls

First Round

Wednesday

Greenland (1st 1W) vs. Mansfield (4th 4), 4 p.m.

Lamar (1st 4) vs. West Fork (4th 1W), 7 p.m.

Thursday

Paris (2nd 4) vs. Elkins (3rd 1W), 4 p.m.

Cedarville (2nd 1W) vs. Danville (3rd 4), 7 p.m.

Boys

First Round

Wednesday

Cedarville (1st 1W) vs. Paris (4th 4), 5:30 p.m.

Charleston (1st 4) vs. Green Forest (4th 1W), 8:30 p.m.

Thursday

Lamar (2nd 4) vs. West Fork (3rd 1W), 5:30 p.m.

Elkins (2nd 1W) vs. Two Rivers (3rd 4), 8:30p.m.

"If you don't win, your season is over," he said. "It's on the line. The Lady Pirates started working on Sunday on how we are going to stop Mansfield. We know we are a No. 1 seed, and they are a No. 4 seed. But anything can happen in a tournament. Hopefully, we will know what they are doing."

Mansfield was the No. 6 seed at the 3A-4 Conference Tournament, but it upset Charleston 49-36 last week to earn a trip to the regionals.

"They come from a school where there are a lot of good track and volleyball players," Barton said. "They are successful in those sports, so you are dealing with a lot of girls that are real athletic. Mansfield is really hot right now. They beat Charleston which is known for girls basketball."

Greenland has had balanced scoring all year, and that showed in the conference championship game as four Lady Pirates finished in double figures. Kelsey Vaughn led the way with 19 points while Kimberly Crown contributed 17. Anna Rogers had 14, Lainey Boone 12.

"We also gave up 65 points, and this time of year you have to be a defensive team," Barton said. "We didn't have it, but we were fortunate to outscore them. We have to keep teams around the 40s."

No. 4 seed West Fork and No. 1 Lamar will play in the other girls game Wednesday, while No. 3 seed Elkins plays Thursday. For the boys, No. 3 West Fork will play No. 2 Lamar, and No. 2 Elkins will face No. 3 Two Rivers in first round games Thursday.

All the first round winners will advance to the Class 3A State Tournament next week.

Sports on 02/25/2014

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