WESTON -- After battling a stifling Buckhannon zone for three quarters, Lewis County erupted for 17 fourth quarter points and 50-45 victory in girls basketball action Wednesday night.
"Buckhannon did a nice job with that zone ... It was very active and effective. When I decided to go with the smaller lineup, that is when we started to get some effectiveness," Lewis County coach Gary Stout said.
Lewis (4-2) struggled with the winless Buccaneers throughout. B-U raced to a 17-13 first quarter advantage, and after five lead changes and four ties, the game was deadlocked at 33-33 after three quarters.
Near the end of the quarter, Stout made his move to the smaller lineup, which proved to be the answer. Buckhannon-Upshur had been effective in keeping Lewis inside players Nikki Arbogast and Ericka Kyer away from the basket.
Sophomore Lindsay Casto and freshman Jaime Parker were the catalysts of the fourth quarter surge. Four quick points from Parker followed by four from Casto led to a 41-33 lead. An ensuing bucket from Jill Garrett put the margin at 10. Buckhannon fought back to within one, but late Lewis free throws protected the victory.
"We finally realized that we just needed to run our offense and execute against the zone," Casto said.
Parker looked at the fourth quarter run in simpler terms; "We just needed to relax and keep our heads in the game ... that was all."
Casto and Parker each had 12 points, while Jacki Gum grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
Sarah Wills led Buckhannon-Upshur with 16 points, while teammate Erika Dotson led the Bucs with 11 boards.
