Saturday afternoon inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, the WVU Tech women's basketball team had plenty on its plate.
To go along with senior day activities for Laura Requena, Logan Dudley and Carlie Biehl-Wilson, the Golden Bears had an extremely important River States Conference matchup against Indiana East.
A win by WVU Tech would not only lock up the RSC title, but it would guarantee the Golden Bears a bid to the NAIA Division II national tournament for the second straight year.
Battling a Red Wolves team that was fighting for its own postseason life, WVU Tech weathered the storms and made the key plays down the stretch to defeat the visitors 76-69.
WVU Tech head coach Anna Kowalska was quick to give her players all the credit for the win and the historic season so far.Â
"It is all because of them. They are really buying in to what I want to do and why I am very intense and practice really hard," Kowalska said. "We have really good players and we don't drop (off) when we bring players in off the bench. That way our players don't have to play 40 minutes and score a lot of points. We have really good chemistry and no drama. They come to practice and watch film on their own. You can see it is a special team."
A look down the stat sheet validates Kowalska's statement.
Eleven players scored for Tech, led by Kathylee Pinnock Branford with 18 points, Alexandria Gray with 11 and Brittney Justice with 10. Whittney Justice added nine points, while Requena had seven points and 11 rebounds. ShanEttine Butler and Brianna Ball aded six points apiece.
For Requena, a native of Madrid, Spain, the win was really special for several reasons.
"It means a lot to me not only because we have won the conference, but it is my senior year and it has been tough," Requena said. "I have had a couple of injuries. I was sidelined for four games, then I got injured again and was out for five games. My family came all the way from Spain, so that was some extra motivation today. Coach (Jenna) Everhart was here and officially making it back to nationals, it was a really good win for us today."
Everhart was the WVU Tech women's head coach during Requena's first two seasons.
After easily beating IU East in their first meeting back in December, Saturday's game was far different, with the Golden Bears unable to shake the pesky Red Wolves.
"I have to give credit to IU East. They are fighting for a conference tournament spot," Kowalska said. "We are secure, but they aren't. They are one game away from making the tournament. When you have players coming at you that are really trying hard to get a win, you have to play harder."
Trading jabs back and forth to open the first quarter, WVU Tech looked as if it might pull away early for that easy win.
Trailing 13-11, the Golden Bears ran off nine straight points and when Butler hit a jumper to open the second period, Tech led 22-13 and appeared to be rolling.
The Red Wolves went to the offensive glass to spark a rally. Reagan Hume scored six of her 19 points thanks to three consecutive offensive boards, before Addie Brown drilled a 3 to tie the game at 22 apiece.
"When you see how they rebounded, you could tell how much (IU East) was hustling and how much they want to make the tournament," Kowalska said. "I feel they are a very dangerous team. I wasn't surprised with (IU East's) effort, but we knew how to finish the game."
Tied at halftime, WVU Tech moved out to a 53-49 lead after three quarters.
Leading by five with eight minutes to play, WVU Tech watched IU East go on a 9-1 run, capped by a triple from Kamiylah Bomar for three of her game-high 24 points and a 64-61 lead.
However, Tech had been down this road before and did not panic. The Golden Bears clamped down on defense and attacked the basket with a vengeance.
Over the final five minutes of the game, Tech outscored IU East 15-5 to secure the win.
"As a coach you don't necessarily like games like this, but they help you grow as a team. When the adversity hit, we knew what to do," Kowalska said. "You are not always going to win games by 20 points; that is just unrealistic. Every team wants to beat us. What matters is how we respond to it and how well we finish the game. It is not about how we start, it is how we finish. That is what I tell my team."Â
Email: rudy@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter at @Rusman1981
Indiana University East (8-19, 6-7)
Bryanna Bransford 4, Kamiylah Bradford 24, Megan Harlow 5, Addie Brown 10, Reagan Hume 19, MaKayla Blount 7. Totals: 29-68 4-5 69.
WVU Tech (21-6, 13-0)
Laura Requena 7, Kathylee Pinnock Branford 18, Alexandria Gray 11, Brittney Justice 11, Whittney Justice 9, ShanEttine Butler 6, Brianna Ball 6, Eugenia Marcelli 1, Isabel Barrio 3, Alyssa Taylor 3, Logan Dudley 2. Totals: 24-56 13-24 76.
IUE: 13 21 15 20   — 69
WVUT: 20 12 19 23   — 76
3-point goals: IUE: 7 (Bransford, Bomar, Harlow, Brown 2, Hune, Blount), WVUT: 4 (B. Justice, W. Justice, Barrio, Taylor). Fouled out: None
