State Tournament: Thursday’s Standouts

PHOTO: Parkersburg Catholic’s Madeline Huffman Madeline Huffman 5'4" | PG Parkersburg Catholic | 2020 State WV (2020) directs traffic during the Crusaderettes’ 85-47 quarterfinal win over Tucker County last Thursday. Huffman set a new Class A, single-game, state-tournament record with 15 assists.    Though the coronavirus shut the state tournament down indefinitely, three final quarterfinals were played on Thursday at the Charleston Coliseum. During that session, we saw some of the best performances yet as teams battled to advance. Here are the best five performances of Thursday’s session. Madeline Huffman Madeline Huffman 5'4" | PG Parkersburg Catholic | 2020 State WV -- Parkersburg Catholic -- 2020 -- PG Parkersburg Catholic may have put together the best four quarters of any team at the state tournament thus far in a lopsided 85-47 conquest of Tucker County. Huffman scored nine points, but dished out 15 assists, which set a new single-game, Class A, state-tournament record, besting a mark set by St. Joseph’s Mychal Johnson in 2013. Johnson went on to play at Notre Dame. Huffman’s distribution led the way as the Crusaderettes racked up 24 helpers against just nine turnovers in picking apart the Mountain Lions. Aaliyah Brunny Aaliyah Brunny 6'1" | PF Parkersburg Catholic | 2021 State WV -- Parkersburg Catholic -- 2021 -- G/F/C Brunny was on the receiving end of a good number of Huffman’s passes as she poured in a game-high 30 points to go with eight rebounds. One of the most multiple players in the state, Brunny’s 6-foot-1 frame paired with significant ballhandling prowess make her a threat at any position on the floor. She’s a matchup nightmare and on Thursday, Tucker County had no answer as Brunny hit an efficient 12 of 18 shots from the floor and 6 of 8 free throws to lead the scoring surge. Trinity Bancroft Trinity Bancroft 5'5" | CG Gilmer County | 2022 State WV -- Gilmer County -- 2022 -- CG Bancroft came up with the highest scoring output on Thursday, dropping 35 points in a 75-63 win over Wheeling Central in a Class A quarterfinal. The Titans are loaded with sophomores including Taylor McHenry Taylor McHenry 5'6" | CG Gilmer County | 2022 State WV , Carrah Ferguson Carrah Ferguson 5'7" | PG Gilmer County | 2022 State WV and Malaysia Morgan Malaysia Morgan 5'8" | SF Gilmer County | 2022 State WV , all in the 2022 class as well. That group of athletic youngsters forced 44 turnovers, which set a new single-game, Class A, state-tournament mark as well. Bancroft had five steals and hit 12 of 24 shots from the floor and 10 of 12 free throws as Gilmer scored 39 points off of turnovers. Ashten Boggs Ashten Boggs 5'11" | SF University | 2020 State WV -- University -- 2020 -- G/F Boggs nearly had a triple double and used her length and athleticism to wear down Cabell Midland in a 56-43 victory for the Hawks. University outscored Midland 23-7 in the fourth quarter, blowing open what had been a nip-and-tuck contest most of the way. Credit Boggs, who scored 24 points to go with 15 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Defensively, Boggs used her 5-11 frame to help keep Midland from penetrating inside as the Hawks held a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint. Leslie Huffman Leslie Huffman 5'9" | CG Parkersburg Catholic | 2022 State WV -- Parkersburg Catholic -- 2022 -- G While Madeline Huffman Madeline Huffman 5'4" | PG Parkersburg Catholic | 2020 State WV was running the show and Aaliyah Brunny Aaliyah Brunny 6'1" | PF Parkersburg Catholic | 2021 State WV was scoring, Leslie Huffman Leslie Huffman 5'9" | CG Parkersburg Catholic | 2022 State WV found plenty of ways to influence the game as well. She scored 23 points and recorded five rebounds, five assists and a team-high six steals as the Crusaderettes forced 27 turnovers from Tucker County. Parkersburg Catholic shot the ball extremely well as a team, hitting 56.3 percent from the floor and Leslie Huffman Leslie Huffman 5'9" | CG Parkersburg Catholic | 2022 State WV was a big part of that, making 10 of her 15 shots and both free throws in the win.