Class AA State Tournament: 5 Players to Watch in Quarterfinals

All four Class AA quarterfinals will be held on Wednesday at the Charleston Coliseum as the state tournament gets underway. Within those matchups are several big names including North Marion’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153284" first="Taylor" last="Buonamici"]</strong> (2020), Nitro’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153322" first="Baylee" last="Goins"]</strong> (2021) and Fairmont Senior’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153370" first="Marley" last="Washenitz"]</strong> (2022). All three of those and more could have a legitimate chance at winning the Mountain State’s player of the year award (Mary Ostrowski Award), but several other good players are flying a bit under the radar heading into Wednesday. Here is a look at five players that could be difference makers in Wednesday’s matchups. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153294" first="Laken" last="McKinney"] -- PikeView -- F/C -- 2020</strong> At 6-foot-2, McKinney is as physically imposing as any player in the Class AA field and she has been a force on the inside all season long for the Panthers. McKinney enters the state tournament averaging 17.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game and her production will be paramount if No. 6 PikeView hopes to keep pace with No. 3 Fairmont Senior in the tournament’s first game scheduled for 9:30 Wednesday morning. Throughout the season, it was easy to lose track of the Panthers as PikeView’s record was never overwhelming while dealing with a brutal schedule that included six Class AAA opponents. But quietly, PikeView has ripped off seven wins in a row and despite a 14-point loss to Fairmont Senior early in the season, don’t be surprised if PikeView makes Wednesday’s opener interesting behind a big game from its big post player. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153301" first="ZZ" last="Russell"] -- Winfield -- PG -- 2020</strong> It’s been a while, but Russell and the Generals are no strangers to the state tournament. A group that starts four seniors will make its long-awaited return after making a run to the state semifinals three seasons ago as freshmen. Russell was a first-team, All-State selection that year but she and the Generals have been relatively quiet since. But as the tournament’s No. 2 seed, Winfield is in great shape to make a deep run in its final crack and it will likely go as far as Russell leads them. A 5-4 speedster, Russell’s quickness leads an ultra-athletic lineup in a full-court, pressing blitz that produces over 18 team steals a game. Russell has been hot of late as well, averaging 26 points per game over Winfield’s last three contests. A 1 p.m. date on Wednesday with No. 7 Westside awaits, but if Russell continues going like she’s been going, the Generals could have their sights set far beyond the quarters. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153415" first="Gabby" last="Reep"] -- Bridgeport -- G -- 2023</strong> Bridgeport will enter Wednesday in a not-much-to-lose scenario as the tournament’s eighth seed facing a top-seeded North Marion team that defeated it by 47 points in the regular season. But having nothing to lose can make a team very dangerous and we’ve seen plenty of tight matchups in the 8 vs. 1 game before. The Huskies escaped on a buzzer beater just two years ago over Bluefield in the same game. The Indians (13-12) are intriguing, having not won more than three in a row this year and aside from one four-game skid, having not dropped more than two in a row. Reep is especially intriguing as well as a freshman that has generated a ton of buzz from the North-Central part of the state. The rookie is averaging 15.2 points per game and has a golden opportunity to introduce herself on the state’s biggest stage this week. Whether Bridgeport can keep it interesting or not on Wednesday, Reep should be a player no one wants to miss. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153334" first="Victoria" last="Sturm"] -- Lincoln -- F -- 2021</strong> After graduation hit Class AA hard a year ago, many tabbed Lincoln as the team to beat this season with a starting five returning in tact. Though there have been a lot of highlights for the Cougars during the season, there have been some low points as well, including going 0-4 against the three teams seeded above them this week (North Marion, Winfield and Fairmont Senior). Sturm is the team’s leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, but maybe more than her offensive output, how does she lead the Cougars defensively against Nitro and the state’s leading scorer Goins? One of the day’s most anticipated matchups will be watching how a Lincoln team that yielded 50 points or less in 19 out of 24 games decides to attack one of the state’s most explosive scorers. Here’s guessing whatever the strategy is, Sturm will be at the forefront of it. <strong>Riana Kenneda -- Westside -- G -- 2020</strong> Kenneda leads the Renegades in scoring at 14.1 points per game, but just getting within shooting range is going to be the biggest key if seventh-seeded Westside hopes to hang in against Winfield. The Generals bring with them a full-court, full-game press stacked with athletes that can be enough to break even the most steady of ballhandlers and the Renegades will have to figure out how to cope with that. As one of Westside’s primary guards, Kenneda will have to use extreme caution in advancing the ball up the floor and then, must steady herself physically and mentally once the Renegades have half-court opportunities. Make no mistake, despite hanging its hat on defense, Winfield has plenty of scoring power as well and the Renegades must be able to match that and even give themselves easy opportunities by breaking the press and getting out in transition.