Philip Barbour earns title at home
PHILIPPI — Philip Barbour High School’s girls basketball team put on a display of resolve in the second half Friday evening, overtaking Frankfort during a 71-61 Class AA Region I Section 1 championship win on the Colts’ home court.
“I thought we turned the ball over way too many times in the first half, and were out of position at times,” PBHS coach Curtis Bodkins said. “They were all correctable things, and the effort was there tonight. We discussed mental focus at halftime, and it was just a total team effort to get this win.”
Philip Barbour opened the contest up with a 5-0 lead early on, though the visiting Lady Falcons were up 12-9 to begin the second quarter. A 17-14 period for FHS had the visitors ahead, 29-23, at halftime.
Junior forward Kasey Neville marched right into the third quarter to help light a fiery battle cry at the Colts’ Corral. Neville’s spark ultimately helped lead the team toward a net being cut down in celebration of a sectional trophy win.
Starting a 20-4 run by PB in the third, Neville hit a mid-range jumper from the right elbow. She followed up by sinking a three-pointer from about 6 feet deeper than her previous launching spot.
From there, Neville put her All-State track and field discus and shot-put strength on display by continuing to pull down boards, and then quickly finding Chelsea Mayle down court.
Neville finished the game with 10 points total, and led the Colts with 5 assists.
“It is the best game I’ve ever seen her (Neville) play,” Bodkins said. “I believe in her and I know that’s the way she can play all the time. She really put it all together tonight. It was great time for her to put her best effort together during the sectional final. She’s just going to keep improving from here.”
Philip Barbour went ahead by 10 points midway through the third frame. Frankfort didn’t back down though, and had trimmed the deficit to 46-44 by the time the fourth quarter started. However, PB regained the lead. Bodkins used the clock wisely, forcing Frankfort to begin fouling in a last-ditch effort.
“We had four girls in double-digit scoring, and any time you do that, it’s a great night,” Bodkins said. “We just have to keep working hard and get ready for regional play coming up.”
Mayle had a game-high 29 points, making several layups and a pair of treys, and shooting 7-of-13 at the foul line. Adriana Christopher and Shayna Rexrode recorded 14 and 12 in the scoring column, respectively. Both shot 5-for-6 at the charity stripe.
Abby Beeman paced the Lady Falcons by torching the net with 5 three-pointers on her way to 23 points. Katie Beeman made three attempts from behind the arc to get 15 total on the score sheet, while Macie Miller scored 7 points for FHS.
The Colts’ record improved to 14-10 after their seventh consecutive win to date. Next up for Philip Barbour will be a regional matchup against AA No. 4 Big 10 foe North Marion, a team that’s now 20-4 after edging in-county rival Fairmont Senior 70-69 Friday.
The Lady Colts are supposed to host the game on Wednesday, although the Philip Barbour boys team is also slated for a sectional contest that day. Dates and times are not final as of press time as officials continue to figure out the slate for the week ahead at PBHS.