Conference Preview – LKC East

<strong>5 Players to Watch:</strong> (schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153400" first="Trinity" last="Bancroft"]</strong>, 5-5, 2022, Gilmer County <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153404" first="Josie" last="Montgomery"]</strong>, 5-9, 2022, Calhoun County <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153421" first="Sydney" last="Baird"]</strong>, 5-6, 2023, Webster County <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="154947" first="Taylor" last="McHenry"]</strong>, 5-6, 2022, Gilmer County <strong>Savannah Cunningham</strong>, 5-7, 2022, Calhoun County <strong>4 Sleepers to Watch</strong> <strong>Abby McDonough</strong>, 5-8, 2023, Doddridge County <strong>Faith Mason</strong>, 5-10, 2023, Roane County <strong>Natalie Snyder</strong>, 5-7, 2022, Webster County <strong>Laurel McCombs</strong>, 5-10, 2021, Doddridge County <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> [caption id="attachment_194083" align="alignleft" width="165"]<img class=" wp-image-194083" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/08/Josie-Montgomery2-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="165" height="246" /> [player_tooltip player_id="153404" first="Josie" last="Montgomery"]<br />Calhoun County[/caption]Gilmer County is one of only three in-state teams to defeat Huntington St. Joseph’s since the 2015-2016 season when the Titans won the 2016 state title against the Fighting Irish. The other two were Wheeling Central in the 2018 Class A title game and Wyoming East in an overtime thriller during the 2016-17 regular season. The Titans return four starters, led by Bancroft, and figure to be the favorite to win the Class A title. Braxton County will see a lot of new faces in its lineup as the Eagles graduated their top five leading scorers from last season, including 6-2 second-team all-state captain [player_tooltip player_id="153297" first="Jocelyn" last="Abraham"] and her 22.4 points per game. The leading returning scorer is junior guard Lainey Hunt. Hunt averaged 3.7 as a sophomore with a season-high 13 coming against Webster County. Calhoun County’s 16-8 record a season ago was the program’s first back-to-back [caption id="attachment_245689" align="alignright" width="180"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-245689" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Savannah-Cunningham-180x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="300" /> Savannah Cunningham<br />Calhoun County[/caption] winning seasons. The Red Devils haven’t reached Charleston since the 1990s, but with Montgomery and Cunningham leading the charge, the faithful in Mt. Zion are thinking big. Calhoun and Gilmer share the same section, with the loser of the sectional finale likely going on the road to face Tug Valley in the regional. Behind 19 points from McDonough, then a freshman, Doddridge County nearly ended Tucker County’s 16-year streak of making the state tournament last season. The score was tied in the 4^th at 48 and after a Tucker run, Doddridge managed to cut the lead to one with under 2 minutes to play before falling 64-58. <strong>3 Big Games:</strong> (Updated schedule dates not available as season restart just announced. Matchups on the previous schedule considered) Gilmer County at Calhoun County Webster County at Doddridge County Charleston Catholic at Roane County <strong>2 Fun Facts:</strong> The bad news is Roane County had only one player average in double figures last season. The good news is she returns. Mason, a 5-10 point guard, averaged 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Raiders during her rookie season. The other good news is Roane had zero seniors last season and the entire unit returns to improve upon its 6-18 finish. Webster’s Baird averaged 22.6 points as a freshman last season while hitting 53 3-pointers at a near 40-percent clip (53 of 139). She also shoots 48 percent from the field and 75 at the line. <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Gilmer County