HINTON — Scorers come and scorers go at Summers County.

But the Bobcats’ swarming, pressure defense remains the same.

They spotted Webster County an early lead, then turned up the heat to win 68-38 in a semifinal game of the Rogers Oil Tournament.

Summers made 25 steals and forced the Highlanders into 39 turnovers to improve to 4-0 and reach tonight’s championship game against Clay County.

“Our pressure-based defense created the tempo we wanted, and put the game in our favor,” coach Wayne Ryan said.

Webster (3-2) scored the first four points and held several two-point leads before fading under the Bobcats’ pressure.

Summers led 16-12 after one period and was up 31-19 by halftime. As the game went along, the Highlanders’ shooting went into the freezer.

“We got off to a good start, but we couldn’t take the physical, aggressive play,” Highlanders coach Sharon Baird said. “We got frustrated. We were beating ourselves.

“Summers is just quick. As soon as we put up a shot, they have two going down the floor in transition. They work the ball good down the floor.”

Summers senior point guard Tyra Wynes keyed the defensive effort with 5 steals, along with 6 rebounds and 8 points.

Junior center Brandy Morrison, who gave up some size to Webster pivot Taylor Anderson, finished with a team-high 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

“Brandy Morrison played really well on the boards and ran the court good,” Ryan said. “She had a good game.”

Anderson, who fouled out, scored 10 points and had 8 boards.

“She got a few fouls early and was a little more standoffish than she should be,” Baird said. “This wasn’t her best game tonight.”

Avery Pivont scored 7 first-half points for Summers and finished with 8. She also had 4 steals.

The Bobcats also utilized their deeper bench, getting sparkplug performances from guards Abby Taylor and Brennah Davis, and forward Emily Smith.

Taylor came off the bench for 6 first-quarter points and finished with 8 and a couple of steals. Davis entered in the third quarter, hit three quick buckets and finished with 12 points and 3 steals. Smith contributed 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

“We had a lot of kids to contribute, and a lot of kids are responsible for the victory,” Ryan said. “We’re playing 10 and 10 are helping us. You got to figure out who will help the most at what time in the game.”

Senior forward Brandi Clevenger led Webster with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Clay County went on a 17-0 run in the second quarter and defeated Pocahontas County 67-30 in the other semifinal.

Brittany Gould scored 17 points and McKinzee Barker had 16 for the Panthers (5-0).

Pocahontas County (3-1) was led by Heather Snead with 10 points and Bobbie McNabb with 9 points and 9 rebounds.

The Warriors will play Webster County at 6 p.m. in the consolation game, followed by the 7:45 p.m. championship between Summers County and Clay County.

— E-mail: dstillwell@register-herald.com



Summers County 68,

Webster County 38

Webster County (3-2)

Samantha Stout 1 0-0 2, Erin Brown 1 0-0 2, Brittany Young 2 1-2 5, Brandi Clevenger 6 2-2 14, Taylor Anderson 5 0-0 10, Meagen Bragg 0 0-0 0, Brooke Davis 0 0-0 0, Stacie Robinson 0 0-0 0, Kendall Riffle 0 0-0 0, Samantha Miller 0 0-0 0, Brooke Davis 0 2-4 2, Haley Wright 0 3-4 3. Totals: 15 8-11 38.

Summers County (4-0)

Hayley Shrewsbury 1 0-2 2, Avery Pivont 3 1-2 8, Tyra Wynes 4 0-0 8, Brandy Morrison 5 4-5 14, Shelby Smith 1 0-0 2, Abby Taylor 3 2-2 8, Audrey Holley 2 0-0 4, Brittany Bonds 0 2-2 2, Emily Smith 4 0-1 8, Brennah Davis. 5 2-3 12, Kaitlyn Thomas 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 11-17 68.

WC    12    7    10    9    —    38

SC    16    15    23    14    —    68

3-point goals — WC: none; SC: 1 (Pivont). Fouled out — WC: Anderson.



Clay County 67,

Pocahontas County 30

Pocahontas County (3-1)

Olivia Workman 2 0-0 4, Katie Friel 0 0-0 0, Heather Snead 3 4-6 10, Allison Jonese 0 0-0 0, Lorena Rose 0 0-0 0, Melissa Murphy 1 0-0 2, Marka Kane 1 0-0 2, Bobbie McNabb 4 0-0 9, Beth Arbogast 0 0-0 0, Tristan Day 1 0-0 3, Olivia Knisely 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 4-6 30.

Clay County (5-0)

Hailey Ramsey 2 1-2 5, Payton Lucas 2 2-2 6, Summer Alley 1 0-0 2, Bethany Young 2 0-0 4, Amber Litton 2 0-0 4, Emily Wynn 1 2-2 5, Brittany Gould 6 5-8 17, McKinzee Barker 5 6-7 16, Katelyn Horrocks 3 0-0 8. Totals: 24 16-21 67.

PC    14    8    2    6    —    30

CC    15    24    12    16    —    67

3-point goals — PC: 2 (McNabb, Day); CC: 3 (Wynn, Horrocks 2).