Petersburg thwarts Keyser comeback to win 52-45

Mar. 5—KEYSER, W.Va. — When Keyser opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run, it finally seemed as if the Golden Tornado were on even footing with Petersburg.

The Vikings had led throughout, building a 15-point lead entering the final eight minutes on the road Thursday. Despite the rally, that edge proved too much to overcome — there just wasn't enough time.

A balanced Vikings attack, four starters scored at least nine points, charged Petersburg to a season-opening 52-45 victory over Keyser. The Vikings never trailed.

"It's a little tough to get some of that rhythm back after being almost a year since we played our last game," Petersburg head coach Jon Webster said. "I thought both teams played really hard. I thought, honestly, it was a little sloppy at times."

With a comfortable advantage on the scoreboard, Petersburg opened the fourth quarter with Jenna Burgess and Kayla Lantz — who appeared on last season's Times-News All-Area first and second teams, respectively — on the bench for a breather.

The Golden Tornado took that opportunity and ran with it, trimming the hole to 42-36 early in the fourth before the pair could return to the hardwood.

After the teams scored a pair of baskets apiece, Petersburg put the nail in the coffin. Mickala Taylor, who finished with 10 points on five buckets, made a runner off the glass. Then, Burgess finished with her left to put the Vikings ahead by 10 with two minutes left.

With no shot clock, the remaining minutes were all but a formality.

"We played well (in the fourth), but it was such a big hole it's hard to come back down 15," Golden Tornado head coach Josh Blowe said. "We had the ball back (down six), and we tried to throw it inside and bad angle, turnover, and they went down and made a layup and we never got closer than that."

In addition to Taylor, two other Vikings eclipsed the 10-point threshold. Burgess tallied a team-high 11 points on five field goals. Mackenzie Kitzmiller equaled Taylor's 10-point output.

Kymberly Minnich, meanwhile, ended with nine points on three field goals, shooting 3 for 3 from the charity stripe. Lantz garnered six points on two three-pointers.

Before Keyser's last-ditch comeback attempt in the fourth, the game was essentially won in the third.

Both sides struggled to score in the frame, but it was apparent the Vikings were getting the better of the offensive possessions. Petersburg was missing bunnies at the rim, the Golden Tornado were unable to even pass it into the lane.

Burgess was a brick wall down low, reaching out time and time again to deny entry attempts to standout Keyser forward Kaili Crowl — who still managed to end with a game-high 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Petersburg stayed composed despite its scoring difficulties to end the third on a 9-1 run, capped by a buzzer-beating transition layup by Kennedy Kaposy, to go up by 15. Keyser, meanwhile, was limited to just five points in the frame.

"Whenever we started a transformation four years ago, defense was what we were building on," Webster said. "Trying to be able to put pressure on the ball and force teams to do what they don't want to do, taking away what they want to do. We have a really athletic group that's able to play a lot of styles, and we're fortunate to have a group of girls that's almost entirely juniors and seniors.

"They've had a lot of varsity experience, and in a year like this especially, I feel like that's a really big advantage for us."

The Golden Tornado didn't have another double-digit scorer besides Crowl, though Maddy Broadwater tallied nine points and eight rebounds. Maddie Harvey chipped in six points; Averi Everline tallied five off the bench.

Petersburg led the entirety of the first half, taking a 12-5 lead at the end of the opening quarter after Lantz swished a three-pointer with seconds on the clock. The Vikings went up 16-6 before Keyser started to make some inroads offensively.

Broadwater made a layup in transition on a 2v1, in which the Vikings failed to run back on defense after a missed shot, prompting an infuriated Webster to call a timeout up 26-17. It was a rare stoppage where both head coaches weren't pleased with the effort.

Though the Golden Tornado did get within 28-22 after a Crowl trey late in the second quarter, Kitzmiller responded with one of her own to put Petersburg up 31-22 at the intermission. From that point forward, Keyser didn't threaten again until its fruitless comeback try in the fourth.

By the end of the season, Keyser will likely lament Thursday's contest as a major missed opportunity. There are no moral victories, but to be so close despite relinquishing 23 turnovers and shooting just 12 for 23 from the free-throw line is a positive sign moving forward.

"If you told me that before the game, I'd say we lose by 20 with those stats," Blowe said. "It gives us a little promise, but it's a game I think we'll look back at the end of the year and say, 'Man, we should have had that one.'"

For Petersburg, Thursday was a mixed bag. The Vikings have the talent to get to Charleston, they return nearly all of their production off of a squad that fell to North Marion in the Region I Championship, but the squad must shore up its intensity going forward.

"I feel like we have all the pieces, it's a matter of if we can execute for four quarters. Not just execute but stay mentally focused," Webster said. "Because there were times that I thought we looked really good tonight, and then we had lapses that we can't have if we want to compete at that level.

"I think the potential's there, but time will tell."

The Golden Tornado (0-1) faced Berkeley Spring at home tonight.

The Vikings (1-0) are home Sunday against Moorefield at 2 p.m.

In the junior varsity game, Petersburg won 48-33.

Alex Rychwalski is a sportswriter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.