CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – Last week, four area teams competed in the 2022 State Girls Basketball Tournament.
River View made their second consecutive appearance, while Summers County was making their first appearance since 2020. Both teams lost in the quarterfinals.
Wyoming East defeated Charleston Catholic in the AA quarterfinals, then cruised to a 54-34 victory over St. Mary’s in the semifinals. That win sent the Lady Warriors to their fifth championship game appearance in seven years.
“The atmosphere here is much different than playing on a home court. We know it’s going to be fun, we know it’s going to be loud. We have to talk, we have to listen. You have to play your game,” explained junior Kayley Bane.
In Class AAA, PikeView won their quarterfinal in thrilling fashion. After trailing Nitro for most of the contest, the Lady Panthers ousted the defending state champions in overtime.
But their semifinal contest was a tough matchup against Fairmont Senior. The Lady Panthers fought the entire 32 minutes, ultimately falling to the Polar Bears 58-39.
PikeView Head Coach Tracy Raban said, “It’s obviously not the outcome we wanted, but I don’t think we can question any of our kids’ heart tonight. We were overmatched in every position out there on the court.”
“We didn’t lose by 60, 50 and we didn’t lose by 20. These kids fought to the end and they never gave up.”
Senior Anyah Brown explained, “I think we got PikeView a name in the state because we did something no one else has done except two years ago when COVID shut it down. I think when Hannah went out, a piece of me went with her.”
On Saturday, Wyoming East was seeking their second straight state title. However, the Parkersburg Catholic offense proved to be too potent for the Lady Warriors. They finish as the 2022 Class AA runners-up.
“Really words can’t describe how proud I am of this team this year. I’m so proud of this crew for getting back to this point. I’m so proud of Hannah [Blankenship] for being our only senior. She’s had a lot of ups and downs throughout her career medically, and she hung in there with us and fought hard,” Wyoming East Head Coach Angie Boninsegna said.
Senior Hannah Blankenship reflected, “I’ve been blessed to be on both sides of this. You know, it’s just part of it. There’s more to life than basketball.”
“But outside of ball, it’s more about the relationship I have with the team and Ang. These past four years, I’ve given this program everything I got.”
Kayley Bane, Madison Clark, and Blankenship were named to the all-tournament team, as was PikeView’s Hannah Perdue.
