Hill flirts with triple-double as Tech women end skid

Dec. 1—When Alanis Hill arrived on the WVU Tech campus in the spring 2021 semester, it was too late for her to suit up for the Golden Bears.

The Philadelphia native worked hard to get ready for this season, even staying put through a coaching change.

On Tuesday, she finally got the chance to show what she's made of.

Hill narrowly missed a triple-double and helped lead the Golden Bears to a 96-80 River States Conference victory over Ohio Valley at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

Hill finished the game with 16 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, all season-highs in her ninth game but just her second start.

"I was just thinking about winning, thinking about my teammates, because if it wasn't for them I never would have got half of the points I got or half the assists I got," she said.

Tech (3-7, 3-1 RSC) led 43-41 at halftime, and Hill was big throughout the third quarter as the Golden Bears began to gain separation. She assisted on Whittney Justice's 3-pointer to open the quarter, then came up with a steal and layup to put Tech up by seven.

She had six assists in the third period alone — which was only two off her previous season-high of eight in a win at Carlow — as Tech built a 73-64 lead.

"The first half we weren't defending," Hill said. "Then we got stops (in the second half) and it turned into offense. We got more defensive stops."

"She's just starting to learn the system and she's one of those kids where she's dangerous because she can score at many levels and she's a very good passer," said Tech assistant Ashley Brown, in for first-year head coach Roger Hodge, who was serving a one-game suspension after he received two technical fouls in a 75-66 loss to Union College Sunday at the NAIA Showcase in Kingsport, Tenn.

"It showed how she really is and how she really operates. And what people don't realize is she is a very good defender and very active inside. That helped us tonight."

The Golden Bears were playing without their best inside presence, junior Bri Ball. The 6-foot forward sustained a knee injury in the first game in Kingsport and missed her second straight game. Her status moving forward is unknown as they wait for the swelling to go down for a prognosis.

Ball is averaging 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in eight games. She played through the pain against Reinhardt and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Hill added two steals and a block to her stat line on Tuesday, and eight of her rebounds were on the defensive end. Elle Baker, a 6-4 center who transferred from Hodge's last coaching stop at Coastal Georgia, made her second start in Ball's absence and finished with eight points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes.

Of course, they were not alone. Tech got big nights from the usual suspects.

Senior Brittney Justice, the 2021 RSC Player of the Year, scored a game-high 30 points and tied Hill with nine boards. Twin sister Whittney Justice finished with 24 points that included a 4-of-8 night from 3-point range, two of them from long range at the left wing to interrupt the Fighting Scots' runs in the second quarter.

Jessica Smith and Marina Garcia scored 22 apiece for Ohio Valley (0-3, 0-2). Garcia added eight assists and six rebounds.

Tech, which had been averaging 20.4 turnovers going in, committed just 14 against Ohio Valley. The 96 points set a season-high.

It was a big win for the Golden Bears, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

"It was very important, especially for the girls' confidence," Brown said. "I think we probably went into the game (at Kingsport) a little too confident, and then we lost Bri so it was kind of a struggle. And so it was important for them to see losing doesn't have to be long-term. We can come in every day and we can work and we can get better and we will get back on track."

And Hill was happy to have played such a big part. She says she is meshing well with her new teammates.

"It's a good win," Hill said. "Hopefully it will change the momentum and we start going on a winning streak and playing much better."

Tech will start a five-game road trip Saturday at Ohio Christian. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

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The Tech men had no trouble with the Fighting Scots and ran to an 86-59 win, their sixth in a row.

Andreas Jonnson tied his season-high with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3. Ashton Parker added 13 points and Gunner Short 10, and Andrew Work dished out six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Keondré King added nine points and five rebounds, and Philip Mullins had eight and six.

Tech (9-2, 4-0) shot 53.8 percent from the floor.

Parker Black led Ohio Valley (0-8, 0-3) with 17 points and Ken Martin added 15.

The Tech men will also visit Ohio Christian on Saturday, tipping at 1 p.m.

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @GaryFauber