Top 10 high school girls’ basketball moments of 2022

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10 Ashlynn Van Tassell shatters Alexis Hornbuckle's mark</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='153432' first='Kadie' last='Colebank'] set a new Class A rebounding record in a state tournament opening win over Tug Valley - only to hold the mark for about three hours. Enter Ashlynn Van Tassell. Unaware of Colebank's record and in less than 48 minutes, the Cameron center broke the mark. When the ball was coming off the rim, she grabbed it. When the ball was going out of bounds, she grabbed it. Basically, if the ball was anywhere in the air, she grabbed it. She finished with 31 rebounds or the highest single-game total in state tournament history against River View. Twenty of those boards came on the defensive end. But, she was just getting started. With the record in her back pocket, she only added to her totals over the Dragons' next two games, eventually finishing the tournament having pulled down more rebounds than anyone in state tournament history, including the previous record holder Alexis Hornbuckle - talk about quite the feat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9 [player_tooltip player_id='379507' first='Gracie' last='Shamblin'] shocks the Big Reds in sectional championship</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='379507' first='Gracie' last='Shamblin']'s season coming into a Class AAAA Region IV sectional championship game against Parkersburg could best be described as rocky. Seriously. Ankle injuries forced her to ride the constant line of wondering where she would be in the starting lineup or on the bench. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fortunately for the Patriots, she didn't let the up-and-down status affect her against the Big Reds. In a 3-point shooting performance that hadn't been seen inside Memorial Fieldhouse since Bre Wilson returned from an ACL injury, Shamblin lit up the scoreboard with eight treys, including the game-winner with 35.3 seconds remaining. Her heroics helped Parkersburg South overcome a desperate comeback attempt by the Big Reds who trailed by 13 points entering the final period of play. In a way, it was appropriate. Shamblin had already carried the Patriots through much of a blistering first quarter when she nailed 4 treys and scored 16 points as South built a 23-18 lead. The outburst alone signaled she meant business. She then gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the game later in the second period off a downcourt pass from Mo Akita. The bucket proved a treasure as PHS managed just one field goal in the period and South entered halftime up, 36-27. All of that lead would be erased in the third period, thanks to the Big Reds' pressure and hot shooting. Yet, the dye had been cast and Shamblin entered the fourth quarter confident and in command as she lead the Patriots down the stretch and to the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8 A Viking loses her voice, raises her game</strong> - She could barely speak, but she sure could still shoot. Her voice just wouldn't work, but her leadership was on point. She commanded her team at a first-team all-state level, especially given the circumstances. Even in the midst of a respiratory illness, [player_tooltip player_id='375427' first='Sophie' last='Nichols'] piloted Ripley to the program's first sectional championship. Every time you thought her next shot couldn't possibly go in, it went in. She tallied 34 points as the Vikings avenged their loss to Winfield in the same game from one year earlier. No General kept her down. Not one player stopped her momentum. Not one rained on her parade. Oh, they tried. They tried a lot. They threw everything at her. Zone, man-to-man, rough defense, none of it affected her. Quite simply, this was a one-sophomore show. It was a career night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7 Hundred plays for a regional championship</strong> - The tiny school made a defiant run. Oh yes. Against all odds and a school population size not much bigger than Huntington St. Joe, the Hundred Hornets made it all the way to a regional championship game. [player_tooltip player_id='877313' first='Roxie' last='Huggins'] and company shot, rebounded, and refused to believe the unlikely would remain unlikely. They met Doddridge County on the court of battle, and while they fell, they showed that you can never, ever underestimate the smallest schools. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6 Cameron's crazy championship close</strong> - Everything was in place for Gilmer County to claim the program's second state title in the last five years. The Titans were in the lead. The Dragons weren't scoring much. And time, well time was on the Titans' side. And then the last five seconds of the Class A state championship game happened, boom. Just like that, the Titans hopes and dreams fell by the wayside. They came crashing down in a flurry of action that can only be described as chaotic. Trailing by two points, Cameron's Ashlynn Van Tassell stepped to the free thrown line with her team trailing by two. If she sunk just one, the Dragons would need a steal and bucket, but sink both and the game was tied. Naturally, the 6-foot-3 center hit both shots to set the scene. With the game tied, Gilmer's Emma Taylor tried to inbound the ball, only for it to be tipped by Emilee Dobbs right to open teammate [player_tooltip player_id='410475' first='Maci' last='Neely']. She then, with her eyes closed, hoisted a prayer as the horn sounded. The shot found nothing but net, and gave the Dragons their first state title in program history. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5 Fore sends GW to the state tournament</strong> - Her teammate kept them in the game early before No. 4 took over late. On a cold night in Lewisburg, when [player_tooltip player_id='379495' first='Finley' last='Lohan'] couldn't find her shot after a hot first half, [player_tooltip player_id='153431' first='Kiersten' last='Fore'] came to the rescue. She happily piloted the Patriots' offense through the perils of a tough Jim Justice defense - her connections always having meaning. The Spartans' Dasha Summers' hit a lay up to inch closer, and Fore answered right back with a 3-point bucket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4 Logan pulls off a stunner in Class AAA state title game</strong> - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This outcome wasn't supposed to happen. Fairmont Senior had two Division I players and a starting lineup full of seniors, how could anything but the worst possibly occur. Marley Washenitz, Meredith Maier, and Corey Hines' team had been unstoppable most of the year, until they weren't. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eventual Class AAA first-team all-state captain Peyton Ilderton hit a conventional three-point play, and the Wildcats made the one-point lead holdup in the last 80 seconds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3 Dionna Gray wins Gatorade Player of the Year</strong> - Gatorade easily could have named Marley Washenitz as its 2022 West Virginia Player of the Year - if not for Dionna Gray. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2 Marley Washenitz overcomes terrible tragedy, repeats as Mary O winner</strong> - The divorce rocked the town of Fairmont. Yet, Marley Washenitz came out smiling and competitive on the basketball court. Over and over, she led the Polar Bears night in and night out. Whether it was points, assists, rebounds or steals, she always performed, especially in the third quarter of the state championship game. With her team in dire need of relief from Logan's stifling defense, Washenitz, while playing in foul trouble, took control. Over the course of eight minutes, she finally figured out Logan head coach Kevin Gertz defensive attack. She shook off defender [player_tooltip player_id='570275' first='Natalie' last='Blankenship'], and repeatedly found a way to the hoop. By the time the quarter was over, she had scored eight points and kept her team in range of the Wildcats. Though the effort went for not, she scored her 2,000th point in the game and put a nearly perfect exclamation point on what could have been one bummer of a season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1 Parkersburg Catholic claims perfection</strong> - The better team won the first matchup, and the same followed suit in the second one. Catholic coach Marty Vierheller finally won an undefeated state championship of his own after his group fell to Wyoming East one year earlier. Gone are the days of him being known as only an assistant on a state championship winning team. Gone are the days of people questioning his methods. Gone are the days of him having to talk about wanting to win that state championship. Without Aaliyah Brunny and Madeline Huffman, the doubts all disappeared as Leslie Huffman and Lainie Ross led his group to the program's tenth state title. The Warriors simply found no answers for the duo and the team they patiently helped build over the last three seasons. The score was 14-6 after the first quarter, ballooned to 33-13 by halftime, and finished at 67-35. The Crusaderettes shot better than 53% from the field, with Huffman scoring a game-high 19 points and finishing with 71 for the entire tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->