The No. 1 ranked Mingo Central Lady Miners split a pair of games against ranked foes this past week as they topped Class A No. 7 Gilmer County 45-32 on Wednesday afternoon and then dropped a tight 37-33 game to No. 3 Summers County on Saturday evening.
The win over Gilmer County came in the annual Par Mar Shootout at the Big House which is played on the campus of WV State University in Institute.
The Lady Miners once again turned in a strong defensive effort as they limited Gilmer to single-digit points for the first three quarters of the game.
MCHS held the Lady Titans to four first quarter points as they took a 9-4 lead into the second quarter where they then outscored Gilmer County 13-6 to take a 22-10 halftime lead.
Coming out of the break, The Lady Miners outpaced Gilmer 10-9 in the third quarter to take a 32-19 lead into the fourth where they would cruise to the 13-point win.
6’3” junior center Jenna Sparks led the way for Mingo Central as she turned in a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots.
Sophomore point guard Addie Smith filled up the stat sheet as she finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.
Bella Hall added seven points to the cause while Alyssa Davis and Dalaney Grimmett added four each and Megan Adkins rounded out the offense with a deuce.
GC: S. Starsick 9, A. Ellyson 9, B. Frashure 6, M. Casteel 4, A. Dobbins 2, L. Frymier 2
MC: J. Sparks 15, A. Smith 13, B. Hall 7, A. Davis 4, D. Grimmett 4, M. Adkins 2, M. Curry 0
SUMMERS COUNTY 37 MINGO CENTRAL 33
The Lady Miners dropped their first game since all the way back on Dec. 22 on Saturday evening at Summers County as they went cold on the offensive end and fell by a final of 37-33.
The top-ranked Lady Miners came out of the gates looking like they were going to roll over the No. 3 ranked Lady Bobcats as they raced out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter.
From that point on Mingo Central went ice cold from the floor as they only managed 16 points for the remainder of the game and Summers came away with the four-point win.
Addie Smith led all scorers with 19 points, and she was the only Lady Miner to score more than four points in the loss.
Jenna Sparks, Madisyn Curry, and Bella Hall each finished with four points while Dalaney Grimmett added a bucket.
The loss to the Lady Miners snapped their 11-game winning streak and dropped their season record to 18-2, with their only other loss coming to Wyoming East. Summers County improved to 17-4 with the win.
Both Summers County and Wyoming East are members of Region 3 Section 1 while Mingo Central is on the other side of Region 3 in Section 2.
The Lady Miners will likely have to defeat either Wyoming East or Summers County in one of the upcoming Region 3 Co-Finals to advance to the Class AA State Tournament at the Charleston Civic Center.
Mingo Central has two more games scheduled in the regular season as they will travel to play Class AAA Lincoln County on Valentine’s Day and then end the season back at home on Friday night against sectional foe Liberty (Raleigh).
MC: A. Smith 19, M. Curry 4, J. Sparks 4, B. Hall 4, D. Grimmett 2
SC: G. Harvey 16, A. Lilly 11, L. Meador 3, S. Pivont 3, C. Smith 2, A. Persinger 2
HD Media reporter Jarrid McCormick covers sports in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
