By Dan Stillwell

For The Daily Telegraph

HINTON -- Class AA No. 4 Summers County's 77-65 win over James Monroe Friday night was an entertaining game.

Just don't judge it by the foul shooting.

Fans of the transition game probably left happy at the number of steals and ensuing lay-ups. Summers got superlative play from its sophomore Justice twins, forward Brittney and point guard Whittney, while James Monroe's Laine Shiflet controlled the boards in its balanced attack and reserves Megan Bailey and Mikayla Moran gave fine efforts off the bench.

But that foul shooting!

"We had a lot of opportunities," James Monroe coach Mike Hines, noting the Lady Mavericks could have won if they'd hit better than their 17 of 35 effort at the foul line, or made more of its lay-ups. "We lost 21 points at the rim in the first half."

Summers coach Wayne Ryan was little happier at the Lady Bobcats' 21 of 35 shooting at the charity stripe, or their defensive play at times.

"We never really hit a rhythm. I subbed a lot because I'm trying to send individual kids messages," Ryan said. "We knew James Monroe would play us hard, and at some points we didn't match their intensity."

Foul shooting aside, it was Summers' 12-3 start that set the tone of the game.

Brittany Justice was a whirlwind, hitting three jumpers and three foul shots to put James Monroe in an early hole.

"They pressed us and Whittney, and I was able to get open," she said. "

After that, the game was fairly evenly played. James Monroe would cut the lead to seven or eight points in the first half, often getting stickbacks by Shiflett and Cassie Weikle, only to see Brittney Justice hit another jumper or Whittney Justice drive to the basket with authority to bring the lead back to double digits.

Summers' biggest lead was 15, at 43-28 just after halftime. James Monroe (4-6) narrowed the gap to nine several times down the stretch, but would get no closer.

Brittney Justice finished with 28 points, five steals and five rebounds. Whittney Justice was good for 26 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Center Shelby Smith scored six points before fouling out, but contributed 10 rebounds.

"Shelby always gives us solid minutes. So did Audrey Holley," Ryan said. "They're seniors and we expect that from them."

Shiflett, a key member of James Monroe's state championship volleyball team, scored 13 points and had 15 rebounds and five steals.

"People are going to vote how they're going to vote, but she is first team to me," Heinz said. "I know she probably got tired, but she's a good team leader. She's non-stop all the time. We have to have that from 13 people."

Rebecca Sparks scored nine points for the Lady Mavs, while Sydney Ballard, Weikle and Moran each had eight. Weikle also had seven rebounds and three steals. Bailey drilled a pair of 3-point shots for six points.

"We lost by 51 (to Summers) last time, so we made a big turnaround," Heinz said. "We're playing well. The effort is there."

James Monroe returns to action today with a home game against River View.

Summers County will host Princeton on Tuesday.

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



James Monroe (4-6)

Sydney Ballard 3 2-4 8, Cassie Weikle 3 2-6 8, Bailee Jackson 4 1-2 9, Rebecca Sparks 1 7-13 19, Laine Shiflett, 5 3-6 13, Megan Bailey 2 0-0 6, Mikayla Moran 3 2-4 8, Holly Huffman 1 0-0 2, Laura Dransfield 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 17-35 65.

Summers County (7-1)

Abby Taylor 1 2-2 4, Audrey Holley 1 1-2 3, Brittney Justice 8 12-13 28, Whittney Justice 11 3-9 26, Shelby Smith 3 0-3 6, Avery Pivont 2 1-2 5, Hannah Taylor 0 0-2 2, Nayla Bond 0 0-2 0, Tiffani Cline 1 0-0 3, Morgan Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 21-35 77.

JM: 11 17 17 20 — 65

SC: 17 20 20 20 — 77

3-point goals: JM: 2 (Bailey 2); SC: 2 (W. Justice, Cline). Fouled out: SC (Smith, Cline).