Dave Morrison
HINTON – Summers County showed amazing Grace under pressure Tuesday night in a mano-a-mano matchup two of the top three teams in the state.
As in Grace Harvey, the Lady Bobcats outstanding post presence.
Harvey’s turn around basket with 44.6 seconds left off a perfectly placed pass from Liv Meador gave the Class AA No. 3 Lady Bobcats a 29-27 victory against No. 2 Mingo Central Tuesday night in the Class AA Region 3 co-finals before a packed house in at Summer County’s storied gymnasium.
It came after she made two free throws after Gavin Pivont came up with a huge rebound in the corner chasing down her own missed free throw.
All told it puts Summers County into the state tournament as the top seed. The Bobcats face No. 8 seed Frankfort Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
“It was just a great feeling,” Harvey said afterward. “We wanted to go back to states. We had a goal at the beginning (of the season), we had to beat one of two teams, that was Chapmanville or Mingo, and we got Mingo. I just knew and I felt like if I made that shot, we were going to go back.”
Harvey had the game winning three-point play 17 days earlier in a victory over then-No. 1 Mingo Central.
As for her play Tuesday, it started after a perfect push pass from Liv Meador over the outstretched arms of 6-fot-3 Jenna Sparks. Harvey high-pointed the ball, turned and put the shot over 5-11 Madyson Curry.
“I saw it coming at me and I knew I had to go up and get it,” Harvey said. “I was just hoping and praying that it would go in.”
“A year ago, she might have been rattled in that moment,” Summers County coach Chad Meador said of Harvey. “But she is a year older, and she is progressing into a team leader. She handled the moment. That’s why we play hard teams throughout the season, why we put our teams in venues to hopefully at the end of the season when games might mean something like this, they can perform under pressure.”
A basket by Curry gave the Miners a 27-24 lead with just under four minutes remaining.
In a game where points were at a premium, that tied the Miners biggest lead of the night (11-8 at the 3:09 mark of the second quarter), a comebac seemed like a daunting task.
The game swung when Gavin Pivont was fouled on a 3-point shot. She only made one of three, but, she also made a hustle play running the ball down in the far corner and she got it to Harvey inside who was fouled and made both free throws to tie it at 27-27 with 1:25 remaining.
“Not much you can say, it was just a great turn and shoot by Harvey,” Mingo Central coach Kim Davis-Smith said. “In a game this tight, it comes down to being a game of possessions and we fell short on a few of them for sure.”
A five second call on Mingo, they had three on the night, gave the ball back to Summers setting up the game winning scenario.
“How about the pass Liv Meador made to Grace Harvey,” coach Meador said of the closing moments. “That took guts. It was also a tremendous catch. And then you have to turn and score, and you’ve got 6-foot-3 (Sparks) ad 5-11 (Curry) in your face, that’s tough.”
“And the three five-second calls during the course of this basketball game. Listen, that was key.”
Mingo had a couple of opportunities to score in the last 40 seconds but couldn’t connect. The Miners went scoreless in the final four minutes.
“I don’t think the magnitude of this game was bigger than us,” Davis-Smith said. “I think there were some very critical calls at the end of the game that flipped things. Had we made free throws and had we not fouled Pivont in the 3, that was flip. Credit to them. We wish them the best. Our region is tough. It will take me a few days to process losing. But I’m proud of my kids. It’s unfortunate somebody has to go home, and we really felt like we were the ones going to Charleston (after) tonight.”
Mingo led 13-12 at the half and it was tied five times in the second half, at 16, 18, 20 (at the end of the third quarter), 22 and 27. No teams scored in double figures in any quarter.
“It’s the human element,” Meador said of why points were at a premium. “The mind starts working overtime. The heart starts beating out of that chest. We told our team in the locker room they were going to make a run and we had to make the last one in the final seconds of the basketball game.”
Summers County (21-4), which has beaten two No. 1s in the last 17 days in Mingo and Wyoming East, earned the No. 1 seed in the Class AA state tournament and they open play against No. 8 Frankfort Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Bobcats were led by 15 from Harvey. Addie Smith had 15 for Mingo.
Summers County 29, Mingo Central 27
Alysa Davis 0 0-0 0, Madyson Curry 2 0-0 4, Addie Smith 5 2-5 15, Megan Adkins 0 0-0 0, Delaney Grimmitt 1 0-0 2, Jenna Sparks 2 0-0 4, Bella Hall 0 2-2 2. Totals: 10 4-7 27
Summers County
Liv Meador 0 0-0 0, Avery Lilly 1 0-0 3, Grace Harvey 4 7-8 15, Abby Persinger 2 0-0 4, Sullivan Pivont 2 1-3 5, Cheyenne Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 8-11 29.
Mingo Central 4 9 7 7 – 27
Summers County 7 5 8 9 – 29
Three-point field goals – MC: 3 (Smith 3). SC: 1 (Lilly 1). Fouled out – None.
