Tucker girls battle Webster tonight
Lady Mountain Lions making 17th straight appearance in state tourney
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The Inter-Mountain photo by Joey Kittle
Tucker County coach Dave Helmick talks with his team during a recent game at Elkins. The Lady Mountain Lions will be making their 17th straight state tournament appearance at 9 p.m. today when they face Webster County in Class A quarterfinal action at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
CHARLESTON -- In a season of changes and adversity, the Tucker County girls basketball team was determined to keep their state tournament streak alive.
The fourth-seeded Lady Mountain Lions (16-4) will be making their 17th straight appearance tonight when they battle fifth-seed Webster County inside the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center in Class A quarterfinal play.
"This week in practice is the most focused we've been all year," Tucker County coach Dave Helmick said. "We hope that continues in Charleston and we play well.
"The memories you make playing in the state tournament are the ones you don't forget."
The Lady Mountain Lions' roster includes just one senior and two juniors.
However, senior forward Gracie Rapp, junior point guard London Hood and sophomore forward Kadie Colebank were starters in last year's quarterfinal loss to Parkersburg Catholic, which was also the final game of either the girls or boys state tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Junior forward Nevaeh Nichols also got valuable minutes off the bench in that game.
Colebank, at 6-foot-1, leads the Lady Mountain Lions in scoring with 17.7 points per game, followed by Hood at 14.2 ppg. Freshman guard Macy Helmick is hitting for 8.2 points per contest, Rapp at 8.1 and sophomore forward Jacey Davis chips in 6.7 ppg.
The Lady Highlanders, making their first state tourney appearance since 2004, are led by sophomore guard Sydney Baird, whose father Ryan is a native of Elkins.
Baird averages 30 points per game for Webster County, which is 14-2 on the season and defeated James Monroe in a co-regional final to advance.
The winner of today's 9 p.m. contest faces either top-seed Tug Valley or No. 8 Pendleton County at 7:15 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
Today begins a busy week of state tournament play as four classifications are in place this season in high school basketball.
All four Class A quarterfinal games are set for today, along with two double-A contests.
Two Class AA quarterfinal games and all four triple-A matchups will be held on Wednesday, while Class AAAA quarterfinal play begins on Thursday.
The semifinal and championship matchups are set for Friday and Saturday.
Other top-seeds in the tournament are Huntington (AAAA), Fairmont Senior (AAA) and Parkersburg Catholic (AA).