League Preview – LKC West

<strong>5 Players to Watch:</strong> (schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere) [caption id="attachment_154074" align="alignleft" width="195"]<img class=" wp-image-154074" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/03/Leslie-Huffman-e1584207051768-300x275.jpeg" alt="" width="195" height="179" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153374" first="Leslie" last="Huffman"]</strong><br /><strong>Parkersburg Catholic</strong>[/caption]<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153374" first="Leslie" last="Huffman"]</strong>, 5-8, 2022, Parkersburg Catholic <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153328" first="Aaliyah" last="Brunny"]</strong>, 6-1, 2021, Parkersburg Catholic <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153366" first="Kylie" last="Wright"]</strong>, 5-9, 2021, St. Marys <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153427" first="Rebekah" last="Rupert"]</strong>, 6-0, 2023, Ritchie County <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153332" first="Annie" last="Hunt"]</strong>, 5-9, 2021, Ravenswood &nbsp; <strong>4 Sleepers to Watch</strong> <strong>Zoe Davis</strong>, 5-8, 2023, St. Marys <strong>Calleigh Phillips</strong>, 5-9, 2022, Tyler Consolidated <strong>Emma Wyer</strong>, 6-1, 2021, Wirt County <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153356" first="Jayla" last="Wiseman"]</strong>, 5-9, 2021, Williamstown <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> [caption id="attachment_196776" align="alignleft" width="109"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-196776" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/08/Jayla-Wiseman-109x300.jpg" alt="" width="109" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153356" first="Jayla" last="Wiseman"]</strong><br /><strong>Williamstown</strong>[/caption]Parkersburg Catholic returns four starters from the only unbeaten team in West Virginia last season. A quarterfinal win against Tucker County put the Crusaders at 26-0 and opposite Gilmer County in the semifinals before the tournament was canceled. PC is led by a returning first-team all-stater in Huffman and the second-team captain in Brunny. The lone starter lost was fellow first-team all-stater [player_tooltip player_id="153287" first="Madeline" last="Huffman"]. The Crusaders moved up to Class AA and will be seeking their 10th state championship and first since 2006. While Catholic is the presumptive favorite in AA, St. Marys is definitely in the mix to challenge. The Blue Devils return all five starters off a regional championship team that finished 16-8. Seniors Wright and Lara Fetty lead an experienced outfit that also features Davis, who is primed for a breakout season after a solid freshmen debut and impressive summer. PC has won three straight sectional championships, forced to advance past rival Williamstown. The Yellowjackets [caption id="attachment_245559" align="alignright" width="165"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-245559" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Zoe-Davis-St.-Marys-165x300.jpg" alt="" width="165" height="300" /> <strong>Zoe Davis</strong><br /><strong>St. Marys</strong>[/caption] haven’t reached the state title game since 2017 and haven’t won it since 2003, but the team is always a prominent player in small school basketball. Williamstown did secure some quality wins a season ago, including splitting with St. Marys and playing fellow state-tourney qualifier Gilmer County tough. The ’Jackets return the two of their top three from a season ago, led by Wiseman and point guard Nicole Reynolds. Ritchie County has a budding star and all-around athlete in Rupert. She earned third-team all-state honors as a freshman and recently garnered a first-team all-state position during volleyball season. A true test of how far Rupert’s come this last year will be when Ritchie matches up with Brunny and Parkersburg Catholic. But the LKC isn’t lacking for plenty of 6-footers for Rupert to test her mettle against. <strong>3 Big Games:</strong> (Updated schedule dates not available as season restart just announced. Matchups on the previous schedule considered) Parkersburg Catholic at St. Marys Wheeling Central at Williamstown Wirt County at Ritchie County <strong>2 Fun Facts:</strong> With Huntington St. Joe volunteering to make the jump from Class A to AAA, Parkersburg Catholic is the preseason favorite to win the Class AA championship. In 2018-19, Catholic rode a 24-1 win to the finals before falling to the Fighting Irish 71-46 in the finale. Since the 1991 season, Catholic school teams have won the Class A championship every year but two. Those two public school champions both came from the LKC—Gilmer County in 2016 and Williamstown in 2003. <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Parkersburg Catholic