Lady Indians fall to East Hardy, 55-52, in championship game of Tip-Off Classic

Both Berkeley Springs and East Hardy advanced to the finals of Eddie's Tire Service Tip-Off Classic at Berkeley Springs High School with easy wins on Friday, December 15. East Hardy disposed of the Paw Paw 69-33, while the Indians downed the Maryland School for the Deaf 59-26, setting up a showdown in the finals by two teams ranked in their respective classifications by WVRSN.com. East Hardy was ranked fifth in the latest Class A poll, while Berkeley Springs was the eighth rated team in Class AA.

The two teams also met in last year’s championship game, with Amber Booher putting back a shot at the buzzer to give Berkeley Springs a 49-47 victory. But there would be no late-game heroics from the Indians this year, as East Hardy built their biggest lead of the game 53-47, with just under three minutes remaining and then held on for the 55-52 win.

The Indians had their chances, cutting the Cougar lead to 53-52 with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Berkeley Springs applied full-court pressure on the ensuing East Hardy possession but their Class A opponent was able to get the ball into the forecourt, forcing the Tribe to commit a foul. Molly Look made one of two free throws, giving East Hardy a 54-52 lead with 11.7 seconds remaining.

Alex Tamez took the inbounds pass and raced the ball up court before passing to Rebecca Trump, who drove the baseline, but her shot was off the mark and East Hardy escaped with the hard-fought win.

The game looked like it would be a high scoing affair, as both teams scored almost at will in the first quarter, with the Indians taking a 21-17 lead into the game's second eight minutes of play.

Tamez and Trump had the hot hands for Berkeley Springs, scoring 14 of the 21 first-quarter points.

Tamez didn't cool off in the second quarter, scoring seven more points, to lead the Indians to a 32-32 tie at the half.

"Alex really played well tonight," McCumbee said. “She had 14 points for us in the first half. She did a nice job of running the offense from the point and shot the ball well."

East Hardy quickly jumped out to a 38-32 lead after the intermission, before a three-point shot from Trump, a two-point bucket from Kayla Hill and another basket by Trump put the Indians on top 39-38 midway through the third quarter.

The two teams traded baskets for the final four minutes of the quarter, before East Hardy scored the final field goal to take a 45-43 lead into the game’s final eight minutes of action.

Berkeley Springs tied the game 47-47, with 5:45 remaining in the quarter, before East Hardy went on a 6-0 run for the 53-47 lead. The Indians fought back valiantly, but couldn't quite catch the Cougars in the end.

"We did some good things in this game," McCumbee said. “But, we didn't play well enough on defense and did not block out well. Those two things cost us the game. We are small and we are going to have to be perfectionists at blocking out in order to succeed. We didn't do that in this game and East Hardy took advantage with too many second and third chances. And, the defense just wasn't up to par. They had their moments, but for the most part it wasn't as good as we would like it. We can't expect to beat the better teams on our schedule with as many defensive breakdowns as we had tonight."

Tamez and Trump led the Indian offense with 16 points each. Sarah Risinger and Ashley Hovermale added eight points apiece, while Kayla Hill and Kelsey McCoy rounded out the scoring with two points each.

Tamez, Trump and Hovermale were named to the all-tournament team.

Fallon Fansler and Holly Wilkins led East Hardy with 20 and 15 points, respectively

On Friday, December 15, against the Maryland School for the Deaf, Berkeley Springs raced out to a 17-4 lead after the first quarter of action and rode that early momentum to a 59-26 victory.

The Indians stretched their lead to 16-points, 29-13 at the end of two quarters, before putting the game away in the second half.

Tamez led all scorers with 16 points. Amber Booher added 14, Ashley Hovermale nine, Hill eight, Trump six, while Courtney Kesecker, Kelsey McCoy and Sarah Risinger scored two points apiece.

Tandy Lewis led the Maryland School for the Deaf with five points.

In the consolation game, the Maryland School for the Deaf defeated Paw Paw in a high-scoring contest 70-58.

Brittany Kerns from Paw Paw, who was selected to the all-tournament team, led all scorers with 32 points.

Rachel Benedict led the Orioles with 29 points, while teammate Andrea Amati added 24.

Berkeley Springs, now 3-2 on the year, will play at Frankfort this Friday, December 22, before taking part in the Rotary Holiday Tournament in Hancock on December 29 and 30.