GREENLAND -- It could have spelled trouble for Greenland's girls when Kim Crown picked up her third foul early in the third quarter, but coach Alan Barton chose to let his senior standout play.
The move was a rewarding one Tuesday night as Crown responded with 18 of her game-high 22 points, and the Lady Pirates remained unbeaten in 3A-1 West Conference play with a 50-34 victory over Elkins in Dee Lee Gymnasium.
Girls
Greenland 50, Elkins 34
Elkins^11^9^6^8^—^34
Greenland^12^10^10^18^—^50
Elkins (7-7, 3-2): Barnett 8, Pitts 7, Kestner 6, Diaville 4, Miller 4, Brink 3, Boaz 2.
Greenland (12-5, 5-0): Crown 22, Wright 8, Redmond 8, Arnold 5, Bohannan 3, Boone 2, Stout 2.
Boys
Greenland 60, Elkins 48
Elkins^10^12^15^11^—^48
Greenland^12^11^19^18^—^60
Elkins (5-11, 1-4): Casebolt 22, Shackelford 7, Shumate 6, Skaggs 4, Camp 3, Vaught 2, Evans 2, Lewis 2.
Greenland (8-9, 4-1): Z. Wolfe 18, Self 16, Lyons 15, Clem 4, White 3, Miller 2, D. Wolfe 2.
"Kim has been the constant of our basketball team," Barton said. "She got into foul trouble, and I had to take her out in the first half with two. I believe that makes them a little hungrier, and she come out in the third quarter and asserted herself.
"Even if she was struggling, which she was, it still causes everything to open up. I believe that's what happened."
Crown was whistled for the charging foul with the score tied at 22, but she scored the next five points for Greenland (12-5, 5-0). She wound up with seven in the third quarter, and Allie Arnold added three more to help the Lady Pirates take a 32-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
Elkins (7-7, 3-2) had plenty of opportunities to keep things much closer throughout the second half and actually cut it to four on a pair of occasions in the fourth quarter. The Lady Elks, however, hurt themselves with turnovers and went more than five minutes without a field goal, allowing Greenland to use an 11-0 run to pull away.
"When you're playing a state championship-style team, you can't have back-to-back turnovers," Elkins coach Monica Wells said. "We had a few of those, but I promise it wasn't because of lack of effort.
"We did get off our game plan a little bit. Greenland's going to take advantage of it, and that's what they did. The final score was a 16-point difference, but I felt like it was about a 10-point game and gave ourselves a chance."
Crown was the only player to finish in double figures, while Paigely Barnett led Elkins with eight.
Boys
Greenland 60, Elkins 48
Zac Wolfe scored nine of his 18 points over the final 2 minutes, 9 seconds to help Greenland (8-9, 4-1) pull away from Elkins (5-11, 1-4) and maintain its grip on second place in the 3A-1 West standings.
Elkins had pulled within 49-48 on Hunter Casebolt's free throw with 3:02 remaining, but Elkins couldn't score again. Cole Self hit two free throws before nailed a 3-pointer, two breakaway layups and two free throws to put the Pirates' lead out of reach.
Wolfe led a trio of Greenland players in double figures, followed by Self with 16 and Spencer Lyons with 15. Casebolt led Elkins with 22 points.
Sports on 01/13/2016