Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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March 10, 2010

Summers County not taking title for granted

By DAN STILLWELL Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BECKLEY — It would be easy for Summers County to enter this week’s state tournament thinking the Bobcats have it made.

After all:

• The Bobcats have won three consecutive Class AA state championships and they’re the top seed once again.

•Unbeaten in 25 games, they defeated No. 2 Scott twice in the regular season, 74-66 in the Coalfield Shootout in Madison and 59-49 in Hinton.

•Their lineup includes five returning all-staters, including 2010 state player of the year runner-up Hallie Gunnoe.

•Summers has won 65 consecutive games, last losing 61-44 to Parkersburg South back on Jan. 30, 2008 in the semifinals of the Mountain State Coal Classic.

•The Bobcats have been seriously tested only three times this season — twice by Scott and in an 84-68 win over Woodrow Wilson in which they trailed 36-35 at halftime.

So going into today’s 5:30 quarterfinal matchup with Frankfort, it might be easy for fans to want to go ahead and coronate Summers with the four-peat.

Head coach Wayne Ryan isn’t buying it, however.

“My team knows there is absolutely nothing at state tournament time to take for granted,” he said. “There are upsets. That’s why they call it ‘March Madness.’”

He points out that the much-anticipated state championship games between Summers and Winfield (2008) and Sissonville (2009) never happened.

The Generals were upset in the semifinals while the Indians got beaten in the first round. Lincoln became the Bobcats’ opponents both years in the final.

Ryan knows the Bobcats will carry a big bullseye, but it’s nothing new to his program. Summers also won under Ryan in 2000, and the school or predecessor Hinton High School captured AA titles in 1994, 1992 and 1988.

“We’ve faced (being the team everyone wants to beat) for over two decades now,” he said. “The way we bring kids up to ask them every night to answer that challenge.

“The biggest challenge of all is not the other team. It’s to play and be our best.”

This season’s team is not quite as deep as last year’s state-record 28-0 squad, but the top six is very strong.

Gunnoe, a junior forward-guard averages 20.6 points, five assists, six steals and seven rebounds per game.

“Hallie puts her thumbprint all over the game, whether defensively, offensively or on the boards” Ryan said. “You can’t watch her play without being amazed at how active she is. She’s everywhere.”

Ashley Brown, the only senior starter, is in her fourth season as the Bobcats’ point guard.

“She’s had an outstanding career, and she provides us with the leadership we need to run the team,” Ryan said of Brown, who averages 10 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds. “Ashley is four steals from breaking the career steals record (368) held by Jenni Wynes. That’s a tremendous accomplishment.”

Two-guard Leslie Mack, a junior, scores at an 18.5-point clip per game and also contributes four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Like Gunnoe, she’s a 1,000-point career scorer.

“Leslie has a true knack for scoring points, but she’s really improved her all-around game,” Ryan said.

Center Hanna Gunnoe, Hallie’s 5-foot-11 twin sister, has become a force to be reckoned with in her own right. She averages 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

“Hanna is our most improved player,” Ryan said. “Her inside play has made up for the loss of three senior post players from last year’s team.”

Sophomore Candace Brown (10 points, seven rebounds) and junior Kelsie Lively (6 points, four rebounds) share time as the fifth starter, depending on the opponent.

“Candace impacts games with her athleticism. She can take the ball from basket to basket as quick as anybody I’ve seen,” Ryan said. “Kelsie is very solid fundamentally, and can play a lot of positions. She can give us 14 or 15 points if we need them.”

The Bobcats’ opponent, Frankfort, is the tournament’s Cinderella team with an 8-12 record.

“They’re a solid team with a rich tradition,” Ryan said. “They’ve got a couple of guards we’ve got to contain.”

Also today, No. 3 Tolsia (19-6) takes on No. 6 Oak Glen (16-8) at 9:30 a.m. in the tournament opener; Scott (20-4) plays No. 7 Liberty Harrison (13-8) at 1 p.m. and No. 4 Westside (21-0) squares off at 9 p.m. with No. 5 Ravenswood (17-5).

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