By JONATHAN GREENE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
CHARLESTON — Karen Miller said a good start would be key for PikeView.
The Lady Panthers took their coach’s advice to heart as they held Frankfort scoreless for nearly seven minutes while they built a 10-0 lead.
That lead would turn out to be the difference in the game as PikeView held on for a 43-33 victory in the first round of the West Virginia Girls State Tournament Wednesday morning at the Charleston Civic Center.
“I thought the girls did an excellent job on defense,” Miller said. “We got the 10-0 run which was basically the difference. We got some fast breaks and got some easy layups. I can’t say enough about our defense.
“Our girls really played great defense. Coming in, we knew they had two good posts and [Saydi Whiteman] is an excellent guard. We knew we had to control them and we did.”
In their previous meeting, Frankfort’s big three of Whiteman and posts Stephanie Bills and Stephanie Cornachia combined for 35 points. This time around, they were limited to 15.
“There was nothing there that we didn’t think was going to happen,” Frankfort head coach Mike Orndorf said. “That’s one benefits of playing them earlier in the season. We had them on film and we knew what was coming. We tried our hardest to stop them from what they wanted to do.”
The Lady Panthers (18-9) held the Falcons (17-9) to 4 of 23 shooting in the first half and 23.2 percent on the day. Bills and Cornachia were completely shut down with two points each on 2 of 10 shooting.
“Depending on where the ball was, we wanted to double up if needed,” Miller said. “We had several different defenses that we were going to run. We mixed it up and each defense we ran was effective.
“The shots they got were mainly at the foul line and outside. I though we did a heck of a job on their post players. The only thing open was mainly their guards.”
Hope Nester had a game-high 14 points to pace PikeView. Danielle Compton added 13 points while Jennifer Taylor chipped in with 11.
“Having another game with these seniors means everything to me,” Nester said. “To just get another game with them feels great.”
Neither team got off to an ideal start as turnovers were rampant in the games opening minutes. The Lady Panthers though were the first to settle in when Taylor’s three hit nothing but net. Two more turnovers by the Falcons turned into baskets by Compton and Nester. After a Frankfort miss, Nester took the ball coast to coast for the layup and the foul.
“We knew we had to push them,” Taylor said. “We had to run them up and down the floor. Last time we played them, we ran them.
“That was our game plan this time. We had to get a quick start and we couldn’t let them get ahead. We were able to get our lead.”
Frankfort’s first basket come with 1:17 left in the first quarter. Mikala Miller hit a jumper then Savannah Brown added a basket just before the buzzer to make it 10-4.
“That’s pretty much the same thing we did last time [against them,]” Orndord said. “I believe we were down 13-2 when we played them in the [Capital City Showcase]. It was an eerily similar situation.”
Taylor started off the second with a fastbreak lay-up, but the Falcons were able to cut the deficit to 12-8 on a jumper by Whiteman and lay-in from Cornachia.
PikeView’s defense continued to force turnovers as the Panthers rebuilt their lead to eight points, 16-8, at the break.
The teams combined for 24 turnovers in the half, but PikeView was the only one to take advantage outscoring Frankfort 7-0 on points off turnovers. They also held a commanding 12-2 advantage in the paint and outscored Frankfort 8-0 on the fastbreak.
The Falcons trimmed the deficit to five early in the third quarter off a three by Mikala Miller with 5:31 left.
Following a scoreboard malfunction which stopped play for a few minutes, PikeView closed the quarter on a 10-4 run.
Lyndsay Hatfield kicked it off with one of two free throws then Nester added a steal and score. Compton would add three free throws while Taylor had two putbacks.
The lead grew to its biggest of the night when Compton had a putback to start the forth on one of her five offensive rebounds. She finished with nine.
“I had to work around the girls and get in front of them,” Compton said. “You have to push them out of the paint. I knew I had to do that going into the game. That was my main focus today to box them out and get those rebounds.”
A jumper from Katie Jan and a Whiteman drive made it 30-21, but Compton answered with a jumper and Nester followed with a take to push the lead back to 13.
The Falcons would get no closer than eight points as PikeView nailed seven of 10 free throws done the stretch.
Frankfort had a few opportunities late, but could not take advantage of them. Whiteman was 2 of 8 from the charity stripe and the team was 2 of 10 in the fourth.
“I couldn’t get open early and when I was open, my shots weren’t falling,” Whiteman said. “Neither were my foul shots. It was a bad day.”
The win advances PikeView to the state semifinals Friday morning against second-seeded Scott, which defeated Oak Glen 72-50. Tip-off is set for 9:30 a.m.
The Skyhawks eliminated the Panthers last season in the first round and edged them 55-54 earlier this season.
“They know us and we know them,” coach Miller said. “Hopefully, the ball will bounce our way this time.”
— Contact Jonathan Greene
at jgreene@bdtonline.com

at the Charleston Civic Center
FRANKFORT (17-9)
Katie Jan 3 0-0 6, Mikala Miller 4 0-0 9, Saydi Whiteman 3 5-11 11, Stephanie Bills 1 0-0 2, Stephanie Cornachia 1 0-0 2, Bria Welker 0 0-0 0, Savannah Brown 1 0-0 2, Ashley Noah 0 0-0 0, Aylssa Lantz 0 1-2 1. Totals 13 6-13 33.
PIKEVIEW (18-9)
Hope Nester 5 4-7 14, Samantha Wood 1 0-0 2, Danielle Compton 4 5-6 13, Jennifer Taylor 4 2-3 11, Lauren White 1 0-0 2, Laura Hill 0 0-0 0, Haley Sabin 0 0-0 0, Lyndsay Hatfield 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 12-18 43.
Frankfort.................................4 4 9 16 — 33
PikeView................................10 6 12 15 — 43
3 point field goals: FF 1 (Miller); PV 1 (Taylor). Fouled out: Jan.