Joe’s Sectional Stars – Part II

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PARKERSBURG - Thirty-two state tournament slots are now up for grabs next week after a lively sectional tournament. Here are a few more of the kids who made things interesting through the Mountain State's four classes: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maddie Fields, Greenbrier West, G, 5-5, So.</strong> - The closing 20 seconds called for a hero. Greenbrier West or Webster County. Whoever stepped up would likely be remembered if there was a One Shining Moment video montage for the Mountain State postseason, or not, either way. In the fracas, Maddie Fields said why not me. 100 times over. She yelled out with a voice that echoed through what has been a great season for the Cavaliers, and that word was game. Adorned in her signature glasses and with a coolness like the other side of the pillow, Fields hoisted a shot that sent the Cavaliers to a home date in a regional final on her trey with 16 seconds left. She never hesitated as she released the ball and then partied a few seconds later. Fields slipped to her spot after catching the inbounds pass and waited patiently. She observed teammate [player_tooltip player_id='570493' first='Ava' last='Barclay'] dribble into the lane, she gathered Barclay's pass and then threw her best wish toward the rim. She watched the ball for just a brief moment before the orange rock cleared the twine. The scoreboard then clicked into the 47-46 position and stayed unmoving during the final seconds of the contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='979253' first='Hadley' last='Horne'], Grafton, G, 5-7, So.</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='979253' first='Hadley' last='Horne'] came up big! Huge, even. On a night where [player_tooltip player_id='385110' first='Kenna' last='Keener'] needed some help, Horne delivered. Never mind the fact Grafton ended up losing the game. Horne really put it all on the line. If anyone wants to doubt that, they may have some trouble. She told her teammate "I got your back." She scored at will, she rebounded with a hustle, she did everything to make sure the Bearcats won the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Laynie Binion, St. Albans, G, 5-7, Jr.</strong> - The Red Dragon said she had something to prove during Friday night's sectional championship game against Parkersburg. She proved something, all right. Perhaps, she even got her point across with a bit of an exclamation point. Mostly, she showed the state that on a team full of kids who have turned some heads this year, she's worthy of attention, too. Binion canned seven 3s on the way to 31 points as the Red Dragons beat PHS, 69-61. Each one of her shots made it that much harder the Big Reds', who have now allowed two players to go wild from 3-point range in two-out-of-four postseason games in the last two years, attempt to climb even. She nailed them from the top of the arc. She nailed them from the side of the arc. She nailed them from the best place to shoot on the floor - all of them were deadly and the Big Reds could never recover from any of them. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='877297' first='Kenzie' last='Clutter'], Cameron, G, 5-6, Jr.</strong> - If anyone had a better sectional championship game than [player_tooltip player_id='877297' first='Kenzie' last='Clutter'], than I must have missed it. Honestly. Not many players if any experienced the night she did. As far as postseason games go, her performance came with a little bit of everything in big spurts. There was a dash of history, sprinkled in with some offense potency, and topped off by a sectional championship. Yes, Clutter certainly made it a memorable night. Maybe just maybe it will even rank up there with the state championship when all is said and done. She threw her hair over her shoulder and simply went to work. Clutter took control of the Dragons offense like few others are capable of doing. Shots, especially 3s flew through the air, early and often. They also flew through the hoop at the same frequency. By the time everything was said done, they were all historic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. At the end of the count, Clutter tallied up 34 points and a new school record for 3-point shots (boys or girls). Beat that one, folks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->