Four players in double figures. A 44 percent shooting performance (53 percent in the first half). Eighteen assists.

Summers County’s offense was certainly impressive Saturday in a 76-50 victory over Greenbrier East in the finals of the Big Atlantic Classic.

But believe or not, the Bobcats’ defense was even better.

“We really made it hard for East to get good looks at the basket,” coach Wayne Ryan said after his team held the Spartans to 22.6 percent shooting. “When we play that kind of defense, we’re a very good basketball team.”

Class AA No. 1 Summers (15-0) forced the Spartans into 39 turnovers, including 26 from steals.

The Bobcats’ pressing defense was fierce, but what might have hurt East (12-6) the most was some easy missed shots in the opening minutes.

“We missed a lot of little gimmes, and as soon as you do that, you lose your concentration,” coach Jim Justice said. “We went away from our press breaker and had some lane violations. Before you know it, the game’s over.”

East led 7-5 midway through the first period on fast-break buckets from Gabrielle Dugan and LaShé Walker.

Summers answered with a three-pointer by Ashley Brown and then the Bobcats turned a pair of steals into baskets by Hallie Gunnoe to go up 12-7 by the quarter’s end.

Emily Clemons opened the second stanza with a three-pointer for East, but Summers center Hanna Gunnoe ignited a 17-2 run with a drive from the baseline, a 6-foot bank shot and two foul shots.

The 5-foot-11 junior matched her twin sister Hallie with 20 points in the contest. She had six rebounds and three steals and strongly defended 6-3 Spartans center Walker.

“I thought Hanna played very well inside against one of the bigger kids,” Ryan said. “She attacked the basket well and did a good job on the boards.”

Summers extended the lead to 39-20 by halftime. Hallie Gunnoe had 17 of her 20 points and seven of her 11 steals before the break.

“Hallie is everywhere,” Ryan said. “She dominates the game in so many ways.”

The Bobcats’ other sister act, senior point guard Ashley Brown and sophomore post Candace Brown, also had double figures.

Ashley scored 11 points and had five assists, while Candace scored 10 points and contributed eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Christine McClung led East with 15 points. M.K. Curry tallied eight points and Walker had seven along with 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the third quarter.

“In all honesty, to be 12-6 is a heck of an accomplishment for this team,” Justice said. “We’ve got Mary Kellen (Curry), who’s trying hard and is the only kid with any varsity time.

“Shé (a transfer from Virginia) is just a project right now. And all the rest of the kids have never played.

“I believe next year we will be a formidable team. These kids have a lot of potential, but they can’t quite connect it together.”

Both teams return to action Tuesday. Greenbrier East is at George Washington while Summers County plays at James Monroe.

Justice, who is also the tournament director, praised his staff for keeping things together despite the very bad weather this week.

“Mo Ball, Steve Webb, Terry Miller and a whole lot of others worked tirelessly to make this tournament what it is and to fill in all the spots for the games,” he said.

“It would have been easy to have just said, ‘OK, the weather’s bad. We can’t play. The end.’ But they pulled it off. They’ve done magnificently.”

— E-mail: dstillwell@

register-herald.com



Summers County 76,

Greenbrier East 50

Summers County (15-0)

Leslie Mack 2-5 0-0 6, Hallie Gunnoe 9-17 2-5 20, Hanna Gunnoe 6-7 8-10 20, Ashley Brown 5-15 0-0 11, Kelsie Lively 3-5 0-0 6, Candace Brown 3-7 4-6 10, Hayley Shrewsbury 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan Gore 0-2 1-2 1, Tyra Wynes 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Surber 0-1 0-0 0, Keri Hudson 0-1 0-0 0, Brooke Edwards 0-1 2-2 2, Ashleigh Ward 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-63 17-25 76.

Greenbrier East (12-6)

Gabrielle Dugan 1-2 0-0 2, Emily Clemons 1-10 2-4 5, M.K. Curry 2-5 2-4 8, Brittany Parker 1-5 5-9 7, LaShé Walker 1-6 1-2 3, Elizabeth Bradley 1-6 3-6 5, Erica McGuire 0-2 0-0 0, Christine McClung 5-10 5-8 15, Amanda McGuire 5-10 5-8 15, Kayla Whited 0-1 1-2 1, Jessie Ford 0-4 0-0 0, Maddee Carroll 0-1 4-6 4. Totals: 12-53 25-41 50.

SC 12 27 21 16 — 76

GE 7 11 11 21 — 50

Three-point goals: SC: 3 (Mack 2, A. Brown); GE: 3 (Clemons, Curry 2); Fouled out: GE: Walker.