By Colin Rhodes
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — An honor bestowed upon a select few, East Fairmont’s girls basketball head coach James Beckman was named the 2023 West Virginia girls basketball Coach of the Year by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission and the National Federation of State High School Associations.
“Very humbling honor, first and foremost,” Beckman said. “It takes a village, not just me. The work the players to put in it, our coaching staff, our feeder program with Coach [Rich] Rogers, the support staff from my family. It’s a collective group. It’s not just myself, it’s an award for East Fairmont and our girls basketball program.”
Beckman first heard the news he won the award in October. He’s the first Marion County coach to win a statewide coach award since Jeff Crane was named Coach of the Year while serving as North Marion’s track and field coach in 2021.
In the 2022-23 season, Beckman’s Bees won 23 games, a school record, and reached the state tournament for the first time since 2007. The remarkable season ended after a loss to Philip Barbour in the quarterfinals.
Not only the head coach of the girls basketball team, Beckman serves as the athletic director for East Fairmont High as well. Marion County Schools Superintendent Donna Heston believes the award is a great indication of who Beckman is and the work he has done.
“He should not only be recognized and commended for his work as a coach at East Fairmont High School, but beyond,” Heston said in a text message. “He has been a leader among our athletic directors, and he has developed resources, strategies and county wide recognitions of alumni, students and current coaches that we have utilized countywide through his model and design.”
Beckman now enters a pool of coaches that can earn national recognition on top of their state recognition. How much recognition he will receive is yet to be determined.
East Fairmont turns over Nitro in opening victory | West Virginia High School Sports | wvnews.com
By Sean McNamara
For the Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) – The East Fairmont girls’ basketball team started off its season with a win at home Saturday, defeating the Nitro Wildcats, 69-46, at East Fairmont High School.
Key to the Bees victory Saturday was the wire-to-wire defensive pressure that forced 40 Nitro turnovers, leading to extra possessions and a 76-30 advantage in field goals attempted.
The Bees (1-0) rotated 10 players throughout the game with eight of them recording steals and all 10 helping make things difficult on the Wildcats (0-1) all evening.
“We were making it look chaotic, which is what we like to do,” senior Kenly Rogers, who had a team-high six steals, said. “We were flying around forcing pressure. Forty is great for us, but that’s what we like to do. We like to play fast and speed them up. It worked out in our favor late in the game.”
“They’re a fine-oiled machine,” Nitro coach Pat Jones said of East Fairmont. “They can press you for 32 full minutes. We got gassed. We got winded. We were in it until about the three-and-a-half-minute mark of the third quarter. You could tell the wind got taken out of our sail. They just kept pressing and we got tired.”
While the defensive pressure was present the entire game, the Wildcats handled it early by forcing the Bees into fouls and getting to the line.
Through the first quarter, thanks in large part to a 6-7 performance from the free-throw line, the Wildcats held a 17-12 lead.
In the second quarter, Nitro went 4-4 from the line and, despite having 12 turnovers through two quarters, held a 24-20 lead at the halftime break.
The third quarter saw the Bees come to life as six points from Emma Moore and four apiece from Rogers and Brooklyn Shupe helped the home team take a 38-35 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Once the fourth quarter began, a switch flipped for the Bees.
Through the first 24 minutes, East Fairmont was shooting 12-of-58 from the floor, but the Bees caught fire in the fourth, shooting 12-of-18 in the period to runaway with the victory.
“That’s just the mentality that we preach here – being mentally tough,” Rogers, who had eight of her team-high 15 points in the final frame, said. “Stuff didn’t go our way early in the game. Specifically, for me, I wasn’t shooting well. But we just kept hustling and staying the course. Eventually, it came to us.”
While the Bees got hot, the Wildcats, who began the season ranked eighth in the Class AAA AP poll continued to struggle against the press, committing 28 turnovers in the second half en route to the loss.
“Our girls think we’re better than what we are,” Jones said following his team’s 23-point loss. “We’re really not as good as everybody thinks we are. We’ve got a lot of learning to do. Like I told them, we’re not going to take this as a loss, we’re going to take this as a learning experience.”
Nitro shot 13-of-30 from the floor in the game, led by 16 points and nine rebounds from Karson Jones. Natalie Smith and Hailey Newsome each pitched in nine points while Ava Edwards led the team with three steals.
The Wildcats will be back in action Wednesday at home against Charleston Catholic.
In addition to Rogers’ 15 points, Moore tallied 14 points and eight rebounds while Shupe scored 11 points with four rebounds and two assists. Kaylee Haymond contributed nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Bees.
For the Bees, who were eliminated in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament a year ago, Saturday’s victory was exactly the start to the season they were hoping for.
“We expect so high of our team,” senior Jalyn Jenkins said. “Since we lost in states we’ve spent so much time working together and trying to get our team together and ready and just making sure we can do everything we need to do out there on the court.”
By Colin Rhodes
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — Winning 23 games and reaching the state tournament for the first time in 15 years, the East Fairmont girls basketball team had one of if not the best season(s) in school history last year. But perhaps the big stage was too much for them, as they lost in the quarterfinal to Philip Barbour.
“Not to take anything away from Philip Barbour, but the lack of experience got the best of us that Thursday morning game,” Head Coach James Beckman said. “From the floor to the civic center itself, we never experienced anything like that.”
While the trip to Charleston ended sooner than anyone on the team would’ve liked, the team still enjoyed the chance to play in the tournament.
“It’s definitely a fun experience,” senior Kyleigh Fridley said. “It was new for pretty much all of us. A few people went down the year before and watched even though we weren’t in it. But for most of us, it was a new experience getting to go out there, travel as a team, being in a new environment no one’s ever been in before.”
After gaining the experience from playing the state tournament, East Fairmont sets its sights to play in the championship game the Saturday of tournament week next spring. They won’t have their two tallest players from last year, however.
The 5-foot-11 Morgan Cochran and 5-foot-9 McKenzie Moyer both graduated, taking away the height advantage the Bees held all of last season.
“What they both brought was size,” senior Kenley Rogers said. “We lost their height, and so just to move on from that is to play on our speed, which we now have. I think we’re a faster team, and we can play on to that, get up and down the court and run.”
While East Fairmont lost two seniors last year, it brings back six — Rogers, Kyleigh Fridley, Kinsey Hardesty, Jalyn Jenkins, Tarayn Myers and Sophia DeMary. It’s a deep class that’s played together for several years and brings loads of knowledge and leadership to the team.
“We’ve all played since middle school together, so we know how each other plays,” Myers said. “We’re all pretty wise with what we do and the program that [Beckman] runs and the things he wants us to do and how he wants to play basketball.”
Even though the senior class alone is enough for a starting five and sixth player, Beckman believes in the abilities of all the players on his team regardless of year. He’ll play as many girls in a game as possible, giving them the experience to grow and better the team without going through rebuilding years, and he’s comfortable doing it.
“I’m comfortable rolling probably 10-11 kids in a varsity game at some point from the first to the fourth quarter,” Beckman said. “You can see at times four seniors and an underclassmen, you could possibly see three underclassmen and two upperclassmen.
“I’m big on giving kids experience. I don’t want to rebuild, so when this senior class goes, I want those juniors and seniors to be ready for next year.”
While ranked second in the state in Class AAA by the coaches’ poll, East Fairmont faces a tough schedule for 2023-24. According to Beckman, the team will face nine higher-classification opponents, including Cabell Midland, and reigning AA state champion Wyoming East who hosts the Bees Dec. 21.
East Fairmont also travels up to Pittsburgh to play in the Deep Creek Classic and face WPIAL 5A schools South Park and Woodland Hills to end 2023.
The Bees already got off to a good start, beating Nitro 69-46 in the Big X/Cardinal challenge to open a season that hopefully leads to a deeper state-tournament run.
“We have unfinished business from March when we left the state tournament,” Beckman said. “This is a determined group and a driven group that wants to get back there.”
Video Highlights: Philip Barbour solves East Fairmont in Class AAA quarterfinal, moves on with 62-45 victory - WV MetroNews
By Greg Carey
WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Once in the regular season and again in a sectional title game only two weeks ago, Philip Barbour failed to solve East Fairmont.
However, the third time was the charm for the Colts, and unfortunately for the Bees, that was the most meaningful one.
Behind a balanced offensive attack predicated on being aggressive, Philip Barbour converted 27-of-40 free throws and stymied East Fairmont to claim Thursday’s Class AAA quarterfinal at the Charleston Coliseum, 62-45.
“It’s all these girls. They play so hard and they don’t want to lose,” Colts’ head coach Rick Mouser said. “We throw stuff at them, change it up and they just run with it and keep pushing.”
No. 6 PB (15-10) never trailed in the contest after securing its spot in the state tournament with a regional overtime victory at Robert C. Byrd — a game the Colts never led during regulation. The Colts advance to a semifinal Friday where the winner of No. 2 Wayne/No. 7 Sissonville awaits.
The Colts began to create separation by scoring seven unanswered points over 1:46 to turn a 6-6 tie into a seven-point lead.
With 1:15 remaining in the opening quarter, the No. 3 Bees (23-3) committed their seventh team foul, moving PB into the bonus for the remainder of the half.
The Colts capitalized by making 9-of-10 foul shots in the opening quarter, and guard Braylyn Sparks made all three of her attempts with less than 1 second in the frame to give the Colts an 18-12 advantage entering the second.
“We work on it every day. The other day I made them all shoot 100,” Mouser said. “You’re getting down to the games where foul shooting is going to matter and it did today.”
One year after making its first state tournament appearance in program history and bowing out in the quarterfinal round to eventual state champion Logan, the Colts settled in early this time around.
“Experience plays a huge role in these types of games,” Sparks said.
The Bees got two free throws from Taran Myers and a Morgan Cochran jump shot to cut what had been an eight-point deficit to 22-18, but the Colts followed by seizing control of the contest.
Starting with Sparks’ jumper at the 5:05 mark, PBHS rattled off 10 consecutive points in a stretch that also featured Halfin’s jumper, layups from Mattie Marsh and Averi Carpenter and two free throws from Marsh for a 32-18 lead 1:33 before halftime.
Thanks to a Jayln Jenkins jumper, the Bees got to within 12 at the break.
“We did a lot of uncharacteristic things that we haven’t done all season long and it’s being in the moment here for the first time in 16 years,” East Fairmont head coach James Beckman said.
“It comes with time. We’ll build on this foundation to get back here next year.”
PBHS maintained its separation throughout the third quarter, never leading by less than 10 and upping the advantage to as much as 42-27 after Marsh and Halfin made layups over a 20-second stretch.
The Colts cashed in on 7-of-13 free throws during the third and took a 47-35 lead to the fourth.
“Starting well was real important,” Mouser said. “They’re a tough team. They put that pressure on you and if you’re behind, it seems to snowball.”
Cochran’s follow-up basket allowed EFHS to trail by 10 with 7:24 to play, but the Bees could get no closer as PB made 3-of-6 field-goal attempts and 9-of-14 free throws over the final 8 minutes to maintain a double-digit advantage the entire time.
Carpenter made a pair of foul shots with 25 seconds left for the final margin, which marked the Colts’ largest lead of the contest.
“We were chasing a lot and put them on the foul line entirely too much,” Beckman said.
Marsh led all players with 15 points and added 10 rebounds with five steals. Halfin also had a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to key the Colts’ 44-36 advantage on the boards.
Halfin’s offensive production was a welcomed sight for Mouser.
“The points with her are a bonus,” Mouser said. “I told her the other day she could be first team all state scoring 10 or 12 points, because she gets 13 or 15 rebounds every day.”
Sparks and Carpenter scored 11 apiece and Arrington Sparks added 10 points for a fifth double-figure scorer.
Kenly Rogers led the Bees with 11 points and Cochran added eight. Brooklyn Shupe was a spark off the bench with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Bees made only 16-of-56 shots and finished 12 for 19 on free throws.
“They had something we didn’t have from the experience last year and I felt at times it got the best of us, especially early in the game,” Beckman said. “We were playing catchup the entire time. We had a remarkable season with 23 wins. A lot of records set — 17 wins in a row, most points scored in history. Those are things we want to look back on. We set the bar high for next year, which is what we want to do. This group of girls will be hungry this offseason.”
Bees advance to state tournament for third time in school history | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — The 2022-23 East Fairmont women’s basketball team can count themselves among their 2003 and 2007 counterparts, as the third team in school history to advance to the state tournament after a 61-51 regional championship win over Lincoln.
For a team that has stressed teamwork all season, Wednesday’s win was emblematic of their year — every East player that saw playing time got in the scoring column against Lincoln, led by Kenly Rogers’ 15 points.
“It’s so exciting, it feels so rewarding because this is what we’ve been working for for the past year and beyond that,” Rogers said.
A tight game through the first half tilted in the Bees’ favor in the third quarter, with East Fairmont nursing a one-point, 26-27 lead coming out of halftime, but holding a 48-32 lead by third quarters’ end.
Defense was the prime ingredient to East’s efforts in the third, holding Lincoln to six points in the period and turning the Cougars over in bunches with defensive pressure.
“We work on that all the time in practice,” Rogers said. “We know that we can wear teams down and we can go on runs and that stops them from going on runs. That’s definitely a goal of ours, is to get out and run.”
“Every girl that got on the floor scored tonight,” East Fairmont head coach James Beckman said. “It was a balanced group, everyone contributing to this win. Defensive-wise, I can’t speak enough about how these girls turned it on in the third quarter, a big third quarter for us. For us to get out, pressure them, get out and run our style, kudos to our kids.”
After getting out to a 19-15 lead after one, East simmered down from the field in the second quarter, with Lincoln winning the period 11-8.
Ball movement and patience proved key to the Bees’ offensive resurgence in the third — as well as their dominant defense.
“We worked the ball around a lot,” Rogers said. “We missed some shots in the second quarter, after we started off kind of hot we were missing shots. Working the ball around, getting those fast breaks, that really helped us.”
The Bees held off 26 points from Lincoln’s Ashlyn Riley in the victory. Megan Tucker scored eight points for the Cougars, while Brooklyn Davison scored seven, Gracey Fortney scored five, Sadie Adams scored three and Sylvie Salerno scored two.
East and Lincoln played comparably from the foul stripe and the 3-point line. Lincoln shot 11-14 on free throws while East shot 11-18. Lincoln made two 3-pointers, while East made four, three coming off the hands of Kailee Haymond.
Behind Rogers’ 15, McKenzie Moyer scored 10, Haymond scored nine, Tarayn Myers scored eight, Brooklyn Shupe scored seven, Jalyn Jenkins scored six, Kyleigh Fridley and Emma Moore each scored two, and Morgan Cochran and Sophia Demary each scored one.
A historic season continues to pick up steam for East Fairmont. The Bees will play a conference foe in Charleston, with Philip Barbour drawing the six seed and East Fairmont drawing the three seed.
After the win, the Bees cut down another net from the basket, and took another step towards their dream.
“It just means so much to me,” Rogers said. “I’ve said it before, but I remember being a little kid and watching this team, and I always wanted them to get to states. I feel like when we’re playing, we’re playing for the girls in the past who didn’t get this opportunity. I feel really good that we get to do this for East Side.”
“That’s what we talk about all the time, it’s for East Fairmont,” Beckman said.
“The mental toughness they have. They don’t hold grudges, they don’t let little things bother them, they just keep moving forward. I think that’s the biggest thing with them, they just continue to move forward no matter what’s thrown at them. For such a young age group to do that, we all can take notes.”
By Andrew Wilson
The Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — For the first time since the 2006-2007 season, the East Fairmont girls basketball team is state bound.
With their 61-51 victory over Lincoln in the Class AAA Region II co-final on Wednesday at East Fairmont, the Bees have secured their third trip to the state tournament in school history.
“It’s so exciting,” East Fairmont junior guard Kenly Rogers, who scored a team-high 15 points, said. “It feels so rewarding because this is what we’ve been working for for the past year (and) beyond that, so it’s very rewarding.”
The No. 3 seed Bees (23-2) will face No. 6 Philip Barbour in the state quarterfinals at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 9 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Philip Barbour defeated Robert C. Byrd 46-43 in overtime in the other Class AAA Region II co-final on Wednesday.
Every girl who played for the Bees on Wednesday scored. McKenzie Moyer scored 10 points, Kailee Haymond added nine, Tarayn Myers finished with eight points and Brooklyn Shupe scored seven points.
“The no-quit mentality, the mental toughness that they have,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said when asked what he attributes their success to. “They don’t hold grudges; they don’t let little things bother them; they just keep moving forward. I think that’s the biggest thing that I notice with them, how hungry they are and they continue to move forward no matter what’s thrown at them. And for such a young age group to do that, we all could take notes.”
The Bees opened on a 10-4 run, which included 3-pointers by Haymond and Rogers. Lincoln’s Sadie Adams was open twice on the right wing and sank the first of two 3-point attempts, cutting the Cougars’ first-quarter deficit to 15-13 late in the first quarter.
Megan Tucker, Lincoln’s only senior, opened the second quarter by drawing a foul while attempting a layup and hit both free throws, cutting the Cougars’ deficit to 19-17.
The Cougars turned the ball over 25 times, many of which were steals by the Bees.
After getting those steals, whether in double teams in the press or in the half court, the Bees often converted off of them, including a Haymond’s 3-pointer from the left corner, which stretched the Bees’ lead to 24-17.
But the Cougars used a 7-2 run — with layups from Brooklyn Davisson and Riley as well as Riley’s deep 3-pointer from the top of the key — to cut their deficit to 26-24.
Following a free throw from East Fairmont’s Sophia DeMary, Riley buried a jumper that trimmed the Cougars’ halftime deficit to 27-26.
East Fairmont opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, taking a 35-26 lead on a put back by Shupe. Later, Jayln Jenkins stole the ball near half court and hit a layup in transition, giving the Bees a 42-29 lead.
“I thought their depth in the second half was a huge part (of their success),” Lincoln coach Rob Hawkins said. “They just kept running them in, and they switched up the traps a little bit, and we had a little harder time reading them in the second half. We were seeing the open man too late and they did a good job of rotating and picking off.
“We had too many turnovers in the third (quarter), and they did a good job taking advantage.”
The Cougars only hit one field goal in the third quarter, a coast-to-coast layup by Riley midway through the quarter, but at that point, the Cougars were trailing 46-31.
“We changed some personnel to help guard Riley because she’s a heck of a player,” Beckman said of his halftime adjustment. “We were throwing three to four kids at her to try to wear her down, and I thought we did a great of putting different girls on her.”
Lincoln hit 19 of 48 shots from the field, including only 2 of 15 shots from long range. The Bees connected on 23 of 60 shots from the field.
Riley scored a game-high 26 points with six rebounds and five steals. Her 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter trimmed the Cougars’ deficit to 49-34.
Rogers wasn’t done, as her floater gave the Bees a 51-36 lead and her layup increased the East Fairmont lead to 53-40.
Two free throws by Myers and a jumper by Jenkins increased the Bees’ lead to 59-44 near the end of the fourth quarter.
The Cougars will say goodbye to one senior, Megan Tucker.
“Megan is such a wonderful person,” Hawkins said. “(She) always has a smile on her face, even when I yelled at her the last four years, she’d just smile at me. Obviously, the last couple years, she’s been a big part of our offense, and when gets to the basket and scores, we’re a much better team.
“But it’s her personality. She has an infectious personality that you can’t be in a bad mood when you’re around her. That’s the biggest thing she’s done for us is being such a positive influence on all of us. Like I said, it’s hard to get down, it’s hard to be in a bad mood, because she’s always going to smile and she’s going to pick you up.”
By Joe Brocato
WVMetroNews
Video Highlights: Two third-quarter runs propel East Fairmont to sectional title, 66-48 over PB - WV MetroNews
PLEASANT VALLEY, W.Va. — A pair of lengthy scoring runs in the third quarter provided East Fairmont with the winning margin in a 66-48 victory over Philip Barbour in the Class AAA Region II, Section 1 championship game.
The Bees built a 32-27 halftime lead and they needed just over two minutes in the third quarter to extend their cushion to 13 points. Junior guard Kenly Rogers scored the first five points in the frame and freshman Kailee Haymond added a three-pointer on the 8-0 run to start the half.
However, Philip Barbour immediately answered with a 12-0 run to pull within a single point at 40-39. The Bees ended the quarter on an 11-1 burst to rebuild their double-digit lead at 51-40.
“It was the grit and toughness that we emphasized since day one. In the third quarter, the kids had a refuse-to-lose mentality. I couldn’t be more proud of how they dug deep and prevailed in that situation,” said East Fairmont head coach James Beckman.
The Bees played a significant span of the second half with Rogers, East’s leading scorer, sidelined with foul trouble.
“Other kids stepped up when their leader went down. We talked about all the time that it is your moment. And when it is your opportunity, we had kids step up in that moment.”
Rogers led the Bees with 15 points. McKenzie Moyer added 13 points and Tarayn Myers scored a dozen.
East Fairmont (22-2) will host Lincoln in the Class AAA Region II co-finals on Wednesday.
“It means a lot to this program. It means a lot to this community. It means a lot to Eastside. For the brand, it is always for the brand.”
Philip Barbour (13-10) was led by Braylyn Sparks’ game-high 18-point effort. The Colts will visit Robert C. Byrd in the other regional co-final.
East Fairmont's depth too much for Colts | West Virginia High School Sports | wvnews.com
By Greg Talkington
For the Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — When Philip Barbour made a charge to pull within one point of East Fairmont on Friday night, it appeared the Class AAA No. 3 Bees might be in trouble.
With leading scorer and point guard Kenly Rogers and senior center and leading rebounder Morgan Cochran both sitting on the bench in foul trouble, it was the the Bees’ depth that proved to be the difference.
Role players McKenzie Moyer and Emma Moore, along with freshmen Brooklyn Shupe and Emma Moore, all hit for key points during an 11-1 run to close the third quarter, and the Bees went on to post a 66-48 triumph to win the Region II, Section 1 title for the first time since 2007.
The victory allows the Bees, now 22-2 on the season, to host Big 10 rival Lincoln in a co-regional game next Wednesday while the Colts (13-10) will head to Clarksburg to face Robert C. Byrd the same evening.
“You know, Kenly and Cochran both had four fouls, and Moyer rolled her ankle and missed a couple of minutes,” East coach James Beckman said. “But our young kids stepped up and grabbed ahold of an opportunity.
“Those girls wanted the ball and they came through.”
It appeared the Bees were on the verge of a blowout when Kailee Haymond’s 3-pointer out of the left corner capped an 8-0 EF run to start the second half. That gave East a 40-27 lead at the 5:52 mark of the third quarter.
But the fiesty Colts, led by a pair of conventional 3-point plays by Averi Carpenter, went on a 12-0 run, pulling to within one (40-39) on Braylyn Sparks’ runner with 2:43 to play in the third.
But beginning with Shupe’s layup at the 2:16 mark, the Bees countered with an 11-1 run to close out the quarter, with Moore’s steal and layup capping the surge with 25 seconds remaining in the period.
The Bees then used a 6-1 run at the outset of the final quarter to expand their lead to 16 points, with Shupe capping the spree on a layup off a nifty pass from Haymond that made it 57-41 with 5:26 remaining, and the Bees coasted from there.
Rogers led the Bees with 15 points and four assists despite missing more than a quarter of the game with foul trouble. Moyer added 13 points while Myers hit for 12. Haymond and Moore both added eight points, and Cochran contributed six points.
Sparks led the Colts with a game-high 18 points, while Carpenter added nine and Arrington Sparks seven. Mackenna Halfin continued her strong play in the paint with a game high 14 rebounds.
“East puts a lot of pressure on you with their defense. They make things hard because they are always in your face with that defense,” PB coach Rick Mouser said. “But our kids played hard to the buzzer and we’ll get another opportunity next week at Byrd, who also is very, very good.”
The Colts hung around early thanks to their own defense, as they forced eight East turnovers in the first quarter, but still trailed 18-14. They were within two (28-26) late in the second quarter after Joryalyn Ward connected on two free throws, but the Bees hit four-of-four free throws in the final 1:21, while the Colts missed three of four charity tosses during that time, allowing East to lead by five at the break.
“This is a huge accomplishment for these young ladies, our program and the community,” Beckman said of East’s first sectional title in 16 years. “This is what you work for all season — to make it to the state tournament and now we’re one game away.
“It’s back to work to get ready for a good Lincoln team. We have to be ready to play.”
Bees capture sectional title in rollercoaster win | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — For the first time since 2007, the East Fairmont Bees captured a sectional title, beating the Philip Barbour Colts 66-48 Friday in a postseason rematch from last year.
After three quarters of pitched play, the Bees pulled away going into the fourth quarter, and secured a spot in regionals next week.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for this program, for these young ladies, and for this entire community of Fairmont,” East Fairmont head coach James Beckman said.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the work these kids have put in, the coaching staff, our support staff, our offseason coaches, because this is what you work for. You work for an opportunity to go to Charleston and we’ve got one more step to get there. We’ve got to be ready to play Wednesday.”
With 16 years since the Bees raised a sectional plaque, the weight of the win was not lost on the players either.
“I’ve never experienced any of our teams that’ve done this before, and it’s definitely been a goal of mine since I was little,” East Fairmont’s Kenly Rogers said. “I was so excited to achieve this with my best friends who I’ve worked so hard with.”
East never trailed on Friday, but Philip Barbour held the upper hand through much of the third quarter, cutting the lead to one point, 40-39, with three minutes to play in the third.
East led 32-27 at halftime, but foul trouble was hurting the Bees. Six players had two fouls at halftime, and part-way through the third, Rogers and senior Morgan Cochran both were tagged with their fourth fouls.
With a Bees lineup consisting of majority freshmen on the court, Philip Barbour ripped off a 12-0 run, propelled by momentum-seizing and-one baskets by Mattie Marsh, and two from Averi Carpenter.
In a do-or-die situation, and with Rogers, Cochran, and an injured McKenzie Moyer on the bench, the young Bees planted their feet.
“Kids stepped up, young kids stepped up,” Beckman said. “Kenly’s got four fouls, Morgan Cochran’s got four fouls, McKenzie Moyer rolls her ankle, we’re young out there on the floor. And those kids stepped up — the opportunity was there for them, and man did they ever grab hold of it. I’m proud of them.”
A pass from Tarayn Myers to Brooklyn Shupe ended the scoreless run, and kicked off what was an 11-1 East run. Freshman Emma Moore converted an and-one off a dribble drive, and went coast-to-coast after a steal to bookend the scoring barrage.
Freshmen Emma Moore, Kailee Haymond and Brooklyn Shupe, and juniors Tarayn Myers and Jalyn Jenkins led the charge through the end of the third.
Moore ended with eight points and three steals off the bench in one of the biggest performances in the freshman’s young career.
“Kenly definitely boosted our confidence in the locker room, helped me step it up,” Moore said. “We wanted to pull this one through, and I thought if I stepped it up and kept my confidence high and just played like the player I am, worked with the team and wanted it more then we would pull through.”
Friday’s matchup was a rematch of 2022’s sectional semifinals, a game Philip Barbour narrowly won.
“We talk a lot about mental toughness on our team,” Rogers said. “Last year we were in a similar situation with them, and they pulled away, they were the ones that toughed it out. We’ve had this one circled, and it’s the kind of game we’ve been gearing up for all season. We pulled it out and we showed our toughness tonight.”
Weathering the third-quarter storm to actually increase their lead by quarter’s end, 51-40, the Colts couldn’t mount another comeback push. East outscored Philip Barbour 15-8 in the fourth to seal the section.
In a physical game where players could have ended up sprawled on the floor after every shot, East helped themselves by shooting 22-29 from the foul line, a robust 76 percent.
“If you want to continue to make that journey to Charleston, and you want to go after that state title, you’ve got to shoot from the foul line,” Beckman said. “You’ve got to shoot in big spots like those. We want to stay above 70 percent.”
In a physical matchup where both teams were hampered by fouls, East was out-rebounded 30-20, but evened things out by winning the turnover battle 34-20.
Kenly Rogers scored 15 points with three rebounds and two assists to lead the Bees. McKenzie Moyer scored 13 with four assists and four steals. Tarayn Myers scored 12 with three assists and three steals. Moore scored eight, as did fellow freshman Kailee Haymond, who made two 3-pointers.
Three-pointer were a difference maker for the Bees. East canned six triples to Philip Barbour’s one.
Senior Morgan Cochran scored six points and snagged three steals. Brooklyn Shupe scored four and blocked two shots.
For Philip Barbour, Bralyn Sparks led all scorers with 18. Averi Carpenter joined her in double figures with 12.
East Fairmont next plays Lincoln on Wednesday. The Bees previously beat Lincoln 68-58 back on Jan. 11.
By Sean McNamara
For the Exponent Telegram
PLEASANT VALLEY, W.Va. (WV News) — In a game that saw 42 combined fouls and 56 overall turnovers, the East Fairmont Bees utilized their depth and the play of junior Kenly Rogers to defeat the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears, 63-37, in the opening game of the Class AAA Region II, Section 1 tournament.
With the win, East Fairmont (21-2) advances to the sectional championship game where it will host Philip Barbour, while the Polar Bears conclude their season at 6-15.
East Fairmont led wire-to-wire in Wednesday’s matchup, leading 18-6 after the first quarter, 34-14 at halftime and 52-23 after the third quarter before securing the win.
Spearheading that effort was Rogers, who accounted for 32 of her team’s 63 points while helping orchestrate the East Fairmont offense throughout the contest.
“She was playing in the moment,” Beckman said. “The game came to her. The composure was the biggest thing I saw from her. You didn’t see her get rattled out there. She just continued to execute and step up throughout the game.”
Rogers connected on 11 of 19 shots in the game with six made 3-pointers, three steals and two rebounds in the victory.
“She’s a very good player,” Fairmont Senior coach Corey Hines said of Rogers. “She’s going to have a long career and she has an opportunity to play at the next level, especially if she keeps improving.”
With Rogers leading the way, each member of the EFHS roster played a role in the win, which was paramount in a game that saw such a frantic pace and so many fouls called.
“If it’s a tightly called game, it plays in our favor because of how deep we are,” Beckman said. “When they call that style of a game, it doesn’t hurt us. We were able to get deep into our bench and you see that we’ve got four freshmen out there playing on top of reserve juniors and a few sophomores. They know their role and they come out there and give us big minutes and continue to execute out there on the floor.”
Kyleigh Fridley scored eight points for the Bees with eight rebounds and three steals while Morgan Cochran scored seven points with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Tarayn Myers scored two with nine rebounds and four steals.
While the East Side defense forced 34 turnovers and held Fairmont Senior to 20 percent shooting from the floor, Beckman noted that his Bees, who shot 21 of 70 in the game with 22 turnovers, had its own missed opportunities throughout.
“We left a lot of points out there,” Beckman said. “From layups to bunnies to missed jumpers. We have to be able to clean that up for Friday.”
Like their opponents from across town, Hines noted that the Polar Bears, who made 8 of 41 shots from the floor and 20 of 39 free throws, had their share of missed chances, as well.
“If we make layups and make free throws we’re still in the game,” Hines said. “Anytime you’re playing a good team you can’t just miss layups and free throws.”
Playing a role in those missed opportunities that plagued the Polar Bears was the East Fairmont defense, which hounded FSHS throughout the game and never allowed them to get comfortable.
“What you look for in any situation like that is consistency,” Hines said. “We had our opportunities. The only thing you can go by is to put your team in a position to have an opportunity. We didn’t capitalize on it and they did.”
Sadaya Jones led the Polar Bears with 10 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the loss. Camryn Morgan added 10 points with ten rebounds and three steals while Claira Hager scored nine points with five boards and three steals and Charlee Beresford scored six with seven rebounds and four steals.
The loss ends the season for the Polar Bears and marks the end of a stretch of postseason success and trips to the state tournament in Charleston. As his team heads into the offseason, Hines tipped his cap to his fellow Marion County teams and coaches and sets his sights on his team building toward the future.
“We had a long run,” Hines said. “It’s been like 12 seasons. Sometimes you have to pass the ball to somebody else. Right now, East has an opportunity. Hopefully North Marion and East still represent our area. We’ve done it for so long. Right now, you take your lumps, you analyze it and you go back to work.”
East Fairmont now prepares to host Philip Barbour, the No. 2 seed in the section, in Friday’s 7 p.m. sectional title game, where Beckman hopes to see his team lock in and move on to host in the regional round.
“We have to be more disciplined when we play them,” Beckman said. “When I say more disciplined I mean that we have to be more disciplined on the ball controlling our 1 v 1s and be able to play defense off ball.”
By Greg Talkington
For the Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — East Fairmont girls basketball coach James Beckman has slowly built up the program over the past few years.
That hard work is starting to come to fruition as his Bees set a new school record for wins in a season by defeating visiting Herbert Hoover 93-49 Saturday afternoon at the Beehive.
The victory marked the 20th time this season the Bees ended in the win column against just two defeats. The squad also set a school mark with its 14th straight win.
“These kids just keep setting records,” Beckman said of his youthful squad. “The work they’ve put in is paying off, and being the first team to win 20 games in school history says so much.
“I’m really proud of this group for the effort and work they’ve put forth.”
The Bees stifling defense helped them break away early. They forced 31 Herbert Hoover turnovers during the game, five in the final 1:45 of the first quarter, which helped turn a two-point, 13-11 lead into an 11-point, 22-11 lead by the end of the period.
The turnovers, along with the 24-point efforts of backcourt duo Kailee Haymond and Kenly Rogers, were too much for the Huskies.
Haymond, just a freshman, connected on 9 of 13 shots from the field, which included six 3-point goals. Rogers, a junior point guard, directed the Bee offense flawlessly and hit 9 of 17 shots, which included four treys.
“Those two feed off each other well,” Beckman said. “They’ve played together a great deal and know each other really well.
“They both can hit the 3-pointer but are capable of taking it to the rim as well.”
East also got an excellent performance from senior post player Morgan Cochran, who scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while junior forward Kyleigh Fridley added 10 points.
Hoover, now 6-16 on the season, never led, but was within two when freshman point guard Ayva Veltri converted on a conventional 3-point play that made it 13-11 at the 1:53 mark of the first quarter.
But the Bees ratcheted up the pressure to force five HH miscues the remainder of the quarter. Brooklyn Shupe started the surge with a layup off the feed from Rogers, and Haymond followed with a triple out of the right corner with 54 seconds left.
Cochran then finished off the 8-0 run with a putback before hitting two free throws in the final seconds of the frame.
The Huskies were still within 11 when Regan Geary hit two free throws that made it 33-22 with 3:47 left in the second quarter.
But led by 10 points from Rogers, the Bees outscored Hoover 14-7 the remainder of the half for a 49-29 lead at the intermission.
East then held the Huskies to just seven points in the third quarter while posting 20 of its own to put the game away.
“It was great to send our seniors off with such a solid performance on Senior Night,” Beckman said.
Veltri led Hoover with 21 points with a stellar shooting effort, nailing 6 of 8 shots from the field and all seven of her free throws. Taylor Ray and Geary added nine points each.
East Fairmont girls set historic records in Senior Night win | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — The East Fairmont Bees made school history Saturday against Herbert Hoover High, winning their 20th game, an all-time team-best, while also winning their 14th straight game, a school record as well.
"These kids are setting records, they're making a legacy that they can look back on," East Fairmont head coach James Beckman said. "It's great to be a part of that."
The Bees beat the Herbert Hoover Huskies 93-49 on Saturday, shaking off a slow start to pull off a decisive win in a game that was made doubly special by the circumstances bookending it.
Saturday's contest was senior day for East Fairmont, with Morgan Cochran and McKenzie Moyer recognized before the game for their time on the team. After the game, more celebration was in order as the entire team was recognized for their historic 20th win.
"Great senior night for McKenzie Moyer and Morgan Cochran, way to send them out in their last regular season here and give them some motivation going into sectional play," Beckman said.
Freshman Kailee Haymond led the Bees with 24 points, while junior Kenly Rogers scored 20 of her own to go with six assists. The pair combined for 10 3-pointers against the Huskies, their hot shooting helped the Bees pull away from the Huskies in East's regular season finale.
"It's fun to watch them feed off of each other," Beckman said of the two. "How well they play together, they've been playing together for a long time, and they're a special duo. That's a strong backcourt of players. They're capable of shooting deep or taking it to the rim and I'm glad they're on our team."
Cochran put up her second-straight double-double on Saturday, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds along with two steals. Kyleigh Fridley joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.
East Fairmont got off to a slow start on offense, still managing to lead the duration of the game thanks to a suffocating defense that had Herbert Hoover scrambling just to maintain possession of the ball throughout.
The Huskies did not register a field goal attempt until the 3:10 mark of the first quarter, their first 10 possessions resulting in either free throws or a turnover.
Herbert Hoover ended the first quarter shooting 3-4 from the field, and down 22-11.
As a quirk of the game's script, East Fairmont did not have a defensive rebound in the first quarter — though they had 11 offensive rebounds in the same timeframe. The extra possessions from offensive rebounds and turnovers gave East 30 shot attempts in the period, and time enough to work out some early woes from the field.
"We missed some bunnies in the first quarter, there was some frustration building in some of the kids," Beckman said. "But we talk about not letting your mind take over your talent, and in the second quarter we settled in, we put some nice runs together.
"We came out strong in the third quarter, these kids are resilient and it's good to see. They're hungry, and we've got to be ready for sectional play on the 22nd now."
East Fairmont shot 11-30 in the first quarter.
One Bee who did not muddle through a slow start was Haymond, who connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter. She would make one more in the second quarter, while Rogers would catch fire and hit a trio of triples of her own in the second.
After managing 22 points in the first quarter off an abundance of offensive rebounds and steals, East scored 27 points on near-50% shooting in the second quarter.
The lead grew to 20, 49-29, by halftime. East allowed only seven points in the third quarter to lead 69-36 going into the final frame.
East's Tarayn Myers recorded her 100th rebound this season, a mark that Beckman has established as a goal for his players on the team.
"That's something big in our program that we pride ourselves on," Beckman said.
When it came to their point of pride, East Fairmont out-rebounded Herbert Hoover 41-18 in the game. Myers grabbed six caroms, and scored three points with two steals.
The Huskies' Ayva Veltri scored 21 against the Bees, the freshman made a pair of 3's and shot 7-7 from the foul line.
Rounding out East's final game of the regular season, Brooklyn Shupe and Emma Moore each scored six, while Absidee Carpenter, McKenzie Moyer, Sarah Ramage and Sophia DeMary each scored two.
The Bees join the postseason fray on Feb. 22 for the start of sectionals, their record sitting at 20-2.
By Sean McNamara
For the Exponent Telegram
PLEASANT VALLEY, W.Va. (WV News) — Behind a swarming defense that forced 31 turnovers, the East Fairmont Bees earned their 18th win of the season Friday, defeating the Liberty Mountaineers, 58-33, at East Fairmont High School.
The Bees pressured the Mountaineers throughout the game, utilizing their roster depth to cycle players in and out, keeping everyone fresh and making things tough on the shorthanded visitors from Clarksburg.
“We’ve got five kids out there running their guts out,” Liberty coach Dennis Hutson said. “He’s playing 18 kids and trapping us full court. That’s a monumental task.”
The East Fairmont depth not only paid dividends on the defensive side, where the Bees recorded 19 steals and forced 12 dead-ball turnovers, but also on the offensive end where 10 different players scored in the game.
“That’s a great luxury to have, and that’s been the gameplan all season long, our depth,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “Those kids can score. No matter what we run or what style we see, they’re all talented scorers.”
Leading the scoring charge for the Bees was Kenly Rogers, who netted 17 points to go along with four assists and two steals.
Brooklyn Shupe connected on 5 of 7 shots for 10 points while Tarayn Myers scored nine and Kailee Haymond, Morgan Cochran, Kyleigh Fridley and Emma Moore all scored four.
While the Bees’ scoring was well-distributed, shooting 24 of 59 from the floor, 7 of 13 from the free-throw line and 3 of 14 from 3, Beckman wants to see his team get more consistent knocking down shots moving forward.
“I thought we left a lot of points out there,” Beckman said. “I thought we missed a lot of bunnies, wide-open layups and free throws. I was happy with the shot selection, I just thought we left a lot of points out there.”
In the opening quarter, East Fairmont knocked down 6 of 20 shot attempts, allowing the Mountaineers (4-15) to hang around as the Bees led 13-11 after the period.
Key in the early effort for Liberty was guard Jazalynn Ray, who scored five of her team-best 13 points in the opening quarter while playing a key role in navigating the EFHS pressure.
“I thought Jazzy Ray competed her butt off tonight,” Hutson said. “She played as hard as you can possibly play on both ends. She’s rebounding, trying to defend, getting deflections and bringing the ball up the floor. I thought she did a great job in that situation.”
In the second quarter, behind seven points from Rogers and four from Shupe, the Bees extended their lead to double digits at 27-17 by halftime.
The second half saw the Bees pull away, outscoring Liberty 16-9 in the third for a 43-26 lead heading into the final period, where they closed out the 58-33 win.
After committing 31 turnovers and allowing 12 offensive rebounds to the Bees, the Mountaineers attempted 23 fewer shots than their opponent, going 13 of 36 from the floor, 6 of 13 from the free-throw line and 1 of 6 from behind the arc.
“We had open shots, and that’s because they’re gambling, they’re doubling and they’re betting our girls don’t make the shot,” Hutson said. “Unfortunately, we did not make the shot.”
Ray’s 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals were all team highs for the Mountaineers. Emma Elliott pitched in eight points for Liberty with three assists and three steals while Destiny Berryman and Riley Pearlman each scored six, with Pearlman grabbing seven rebounds and blocking four shots.
Now with four straight losses and a 7 p.m. home game coming Monday against Morgantown, Hutson knows that the road will not get easier for his Mountaineers and tipped his cap to the Bees for their performance Friday.
“There’s a reason East is 18-2,” Hutson said. “He’s got some nice kids. He’s got some kids who can hit shots. Coach Beckman does a great job building his program. That’s where we’d like to be.”
For East Fairmont, with just two regular-season games left on the road at Oak Hill next Friday and at home the following day against Herbert Hoover, Beckman wants to see his team keep the intensity and focus up as the postseason nears.
“We have to finish plays and be stronger with the ball at times,” Beckman said. “We just have to bring it every game for four quarters. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is – get yourself ready to play this time of the month.”
By Michael Minnich
The Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — Let’s start with the most important thing first: On a night when the Class AAA No. 4 East Fairmont Bees opposed the No. 6 Philip Barbour Colts with the top seed in the sectional playoffs on the line, they united at midcourt after PB’s LaDonna Herron suffered a scary head injury late in the first quarter.
“That was an emotional moment for both teams. Thoughts and prayers to that young lady. I hate to see anything like that,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “I hope everything works out for her and her family and we get positive results for her. My heart goes out to her and her family and Philip Barbour’s program.”
“She had a knot on the side of her head. She was kind of wanting to go to sleep and then be awake, then wanting to go to sleep and then awake,” PB coach Rick Mouser said. “I really haven’t heard anything yet. I’m going to go over there or call up there.”
Herron was inadvertently knocked down and her head made hard contact with the gym floor with 1:15 to go in the first quarter.
Action was halted for 45 minutes while she was safely removed.
“To see both teams come together…officials, coaches, everybody…that was a special moment,” Beckman said.
As for the game, the Bees took advantage of the Colts’ foul trouble, particularly to guards Arrington Sparks and Braylyn Sparks, to score 11 straight points at the end of the third quarter to break a 38-all tie and earn the 70-54 victory.
Kailee Haymond scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and added four steals for the Bees, while Kenly Rogers (13 points, five rebounds), Tarayn Myers (12 points, six steals) and McKenzie Moyer (11 points) were also in double figures for EF.
Braylyn Sparks scored 17 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Mattie Marsh tallied 15 points and seven boards for PB, whose five starters were whistled for 20 out of their allotted 25 personals, with both Sparks sisters fouling out.
The two teams combined to shoot 62 free throws, with East Fairmont making over 75% (25 of 33) and Philip Barbour under 2/3s (19 of 29) of their respective attempts.
In an up-tempo game that actually saw both teams turn the ball over 28 times apiece, the Bees got steals from nine different players, points and rebounds from eight and assists from seven.
“Deflections and steals are something that we chart,” Beckman said. “When you get a deflection, you can get steals. This is a team that shares the ball well. No one cares who gets credit for any accolades. It’s a special group.”
The Bees built an early 7-2 lead, with five of their points coming from Myers and seven of the nine overall points put in from the free throw stripe.
PB answered with a 7-0 sprint on a Mackenna Halfin jumper, Arrington Sparks steal-and-lay and Averi Carpenter 3 to go up 9-7 with 4:31 to go in the first quarter.
East Fairmont went back on top, 10-9, thanks to a Haymond 3 with 1:17 on the clock, the last scoring before the stoppage.
Both teams were allowed to warm up for five minutes after the injury before play resumed; layups by Morgan Cochran for East and Marsh for PB kept it a one-point contest heading to the second period.
Out of a 16-all tie, the Colts scored the next five, all on free throws, four from Braylyn Sparks.
But a third personal foul on Arrington Sparks deprived PB of a canny ball-handler and East Fairmont’s pressure closed in, using an 8-2 run capped by a Haymond 3 to go up 24-23 at the 2:02 mark.
“For both teams to come back after 45 minutes and be able to play at that high level with the magnitude of what was on the line, the No. 1 seed for sectionals, kudos to all of those kids,” Beckman said.
After a Marsh free throw tied the score, the Bees kept rolling with a Rogers layup and a Emma Moore 3 to seize a 29-24 halftime lead.
Layups by Carpenter and Arrington Sparks closed that gap to one and it stayed a one-possession game, including ties at 33, 36 and 38, until a Haymond 3 with 1:01 left in the quarter and Arrington Sparks on the bench.
After a Moyer jumper, Haymond scored an old-fashioned 3-point play with 4.5 seconds left, stole an errant pass, then heaved in a half-court 3 to give the Bees a dramatic 49-38 lead.
“Huge momentum for us. We were able to get out in transition, score and impose our will on them,” Beckman said. “That was much-needed because we were struggling in that first portion of the third quarter.”
Philip Barbour never really could answer that, especially with the Colts’ ability to play aggressively hampered by the personal foul situation, and East Fairmont kept a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
“We made some uncharacteristic turnovers tonight. We got in foul trouble. I’m trying to get them to play through that stuff and be strong with the ball, but they get knocked around. They’re not very big,” Mouser said. “I think 50/50 balls were a big issue tonight. Normally, we come up with more than we did today, which gave (East Fairmont) more chances and us less chances to get something going.”
The loss snaps the second four-game win streak of the season for Philip Barbour (9-6), which is home against Elkins on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
East Fairmont is 17-2, has won 11 in a row, and faces Liberty at The Hive on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s probably been since 1995 that East Fairmont has been a 1-seed in the sectional. How hard these kids have worked in the offseason for that 1-seed. They’re not satisfied with that 1-seed. They’re humbled, but we know there’s still work to be done,” Beckman said. “We lost at Liberty last year by three points. They remember that.”
Bees breeze by Bearcats, 83-26 - WV MetroNews
By Greg Carey
WVMetroNews
GRAFTON, W.Va. — East Fairmont girls basketball coach James Beckman admits his team may not be all the way comfortable playing a half court game.
In Monday’s matchup at Grafton, it mattered not.
The Bees applied full court defensive pressure throughout a dominant first half, forcing 17 of the Bearcats’ 32 turnovers in the first two quarters, which combined with a balanced scoring effort allowed East Fairmont to cruise to an 83-26 win at Scotty Hamilton Gymnasium.
“We try to get a lot of our offense from our defense, and we were able to do that,” Beckman said. “Our pressure led to some runouts and easy points and that’s what it’s about for us.”
It marks the 10th consecutive win for the Bees, who improved to 16-2 with a victory in a matchup of half the teams that comprise Class AAA Region II, Section 1. The Bearcats fell to 8-8 with their sixth loss in seven games.
“We’ve developed a plan in practice that continues to challenge them,” Beckman said. “You always hear coaches say you want to be playing your best late in the season and we’re still working to get there.”
Grafton played its best basketball in the opening couple minutes, getting layups from Hadley Horn and Lillie Crimm to build an early 5-0 lead.
From that point forward, it was all East Fairmont.
After falling behind early, the Bees ran off 14 unanswered points to take control. That stretch featured two 3-pointers from McKenzie Moyer and one from Kenly Rogers, along with a Kyleigh Fridley layup and Kailee Haymond’s three points.
The Bees forced nine GHS first-quarter turnovers, which prevented the Bearcats from attempting more than five shots, three of which they made.
Fridley connected on two jump shots late in the frame to help stake EFHS to a 21-8 lead entering the second quarter.
The Bees picked up where they left off, rattling off 11 consecutive points to start the period, with Fridley accounting for five, Tarayn Myers four and Rogers the other two.
“We did a good job sharing the ball and taking the right shots,” Beckman said.
After a Kambree Delaney layup allowed the Bearcats to trail 34-13, Beckman’s team answered with a 14-0 spurt to close the half. Rogers began the surge with a trey and Brooklyn Shupe followed with a conventional three-point play. Haymond added a layup, before Moyer scored inside twice and Shupe converted a layup to send the Bees into halftime with a 48-13 lead.
Despite backing off of its full court pressure, EFHS forced six third-quarter turnovers and got field goals from six different players in the frame to hold a 64-22 advantage ahead of the fourth.
The Bees shot better than 55 percent (35 for 63) and had four double-figure scorers in the victory. Rogers led all players with 17 points, Haymond added 16, Moyer contributed 14 and Fridley made all five of her shots to score 11.
“Our depth and balance really helps us,” Beckman said. “Our team chemistry is at an all-time high and it’s comforting to see as a coach.”
Shupe added seven points and a game-high five assists, while Myers led all players with eight rebounds to key the Bees’ commanding 31-17 edge on the boards.
Freshman Kenna Keener led the Bearcats with 15 points, 11 of which she scored in the second half. Keener did the bulk of her damage from the free-throw line by making 11-of-16 attempts. The Bearcats made only 6-of-24 field goals for the game.
"Road Warrior" Bees down Minutemaids | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
WESTON — The East Fairmont Bees walked into Weston on Friday night for a Top 10 Class-AAA duel with the Lewis County Minutemaids, and prevailed 56-51 behind some fourth-quarter heroics from freshman Kailee Haymond.
Haymond scored all 14 of her points in the second half, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter. Down 38-36 after three quarters, the shot in the arm from Haymond was much needed in the game’s final frame.
“Glad she’s on our team,” East Fairmont head coach James Beckman said. “She played exceptionally well. Another girl who doesn’t get rattled, who lives in the moment. Plays a lot of basketball for us, and puts a lot into her craft. I’m happy for her.”
Haymond scored the Bees’ first eight points to singlehandedly mount a 8-2 run that gave East a 44-40 lead with 6:05 to play, a lead East would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Having one team in front for long was a rare sight in the third quarter, where the game bounced back and forth before a raucous crowd. The third period saw six lead changes and three ties. East came into the third frame ahead 21-20.
Lewis’ Bryn Hunt and Ella Pinkney had their best quarters in the third, each scoring eight. Hunt finished with 19 while Pinkney finished with 17.
Despite Lewis taking the lead early and the intensity at a high level throughout the third, Beckman was proud of how his team stayed focused.
“Continued to be more than pleased with the composure these kids hold on the floor. All four quarters they don’t get rattled, they keep playing each possession.”
Alongside Haymond’s 14, Kenly Rogers scored 12, McKenzie Moyer scored 11 — five in the fourth quarter — Morgan Cochran scored seven, Brooklyn Shupe scored five, Tarayn Myers scored four and Kyleigh Fridley scored three.
For Lewis County, Payten Goodwin scored seven, Addie Curry scored four, and both Lillie Cayton and Elleonna Stump each scored two to go with Hunt and Pinkney’s totals.
The Bees led 12-6 after the first quarter, before the Minutemaids roared back to bring the game within one by halftime.
In a game between two teams with aspirations to go to the state tournament, a competitive affair ended up in East Fairmont’s favor. Earning yet another win on the road, the Bees have not needed a home crowd boost to rack up wins.
“Great environment for girls basketball,” Beckman said. “That’s what you want — to battle through adversity. I just told them in [the locker room], we’re road warriors right now. You look at our wins on the road — at Lewis County, at Bridgeport this week, last week at Buckhannon, at South Charleston. We’ve beaten some big teams on the road.
“Charleston’s on the road, and we’ve got to be able to play in these environments to even get down to Charleston.
East Fairmont stays on the road, next playing Grafton on Monday.
Bees still striving for growth amidst historic stretch | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — The East Fairmont Bees girl’s basketball team has put the state on notice this year, rumbling to a 14-2 start, the best record for the Bees at this point in a season in decades.
With the home stretch of the season coming around though, East Fairmont head coach James Beckman doesn’t want to see any of his players content with the work behind them.
“Continue to improve every day,” Beckman said of his expectations for the Bees. “Don’t get satisfied or complacent. Competition in practice, competition in games will prepare us for February.
“Everyone says they want to play their best come sectional time, well it’s not a light switch you can just flip on in February. You’ve got to compete in practice and in scrimmages all the way starting now. Competition eliminates complacency.”
After East’s 70-52 victory over Brooke on Jan. 13 only one of the Bees’ wins had been by less than 10 points, a nine-point 55-46 win over Charleston Catholic.
East Fairmont has won all four of their games since then, but each of the contests has had moments of drama for the Bees. A three-point win over Sissonville, a seven-point win over Buckhannon-Upshur, a five-point win over Elkins, and most recently a two-point win over Bridgeport — East’s late-game chops has been tested over the stretch.
“I think it just shows the toughness we have,” East Fairmont’s Kenly Rogers said. “Coach emphasizes mental toughness, and definitely down those stretches, you can’t let things get to you— missed shots, problems with foul trouble. Everybody who was in the game in those moments stepped up.”
“When you’re a good team you can pull through tough games and get close wins like that,” East’s Tarayn Myers said. “When you have a deep bench and you have girls stepping up you can have confidence in pulling games like that out.”
In Wednesday’s game against Bridgeport, the Bees held a lead for most of the game before the Indians tied things up at 45 late. Backs to the wall, the Bees put together a 7-0 run and weathered the storm to win 52-50.
“Kids keep their composure out there on the floor,” Beckman said of his team’s close victories. “There’s been times in the last couple of games where they’ve tied us or they’ve taken the lead, and we didn’t fold. We fought through the adversity those opponents threw at us, and we mustered through and prevailed.”
East’s depth came into play in that game, as it has all season.
The Bees have seven players averaging between three and nine points, with Rogers leading all scorers with 18.9 per game. East also has seven players averaging over 1.5 steals per game, as the Bees’ frenetic defense has held their opponent to 50 points or less in 11 of their 16 games.
Depth is a luxury that East has used to their advantage.
“The depth that we have, that’s different for us,” Beckman said. “We have not been able to go nine, 10 deep in years past, and for kids to be able to play the same style we play.”
Within that 10-deep mix is some seniors — like Morgan Cochran, leading the team in rebounds with 5.3 per game, and McKenzie Moyers, second on the team in steals per game with 2.6 — but many freshmen as well, like Kaille Haymond, Emma Moore and Brooklyn Shupe.
While the underclassmen are legitimately contributing to the AP’s No. 4 team in Class-AAA, the Bees see an additional benefit in giving their youngsters some run.
“I have always tried to mix different grade levels,” Beckman said. “Your seniors are going to be gone and you’ve got to have experience going into the next year. You want those freshmen and sophomores to have experience.”
East Fairmont has a big game against No. 6 Lewis County on Friday.
With mere weeks until the postseason, Rogers and Meyers say their focus is on reaching the state tournament.
“That’s what we’re going for,” Rogers said.
“Kids are working hard in practice whether it’s film study, individual skill development or whether we’re doing team,” Beckman said. “They’re buying in and when you’ve got kids buying into their role and being a part of a team, you’ve got something special. That’s been a lot of the main ingredients going into the success we’re having this season.”
Bridgeport rallies but falls to East Fairmont | West Virginia High School Sports | wvnews.com
By Andrew Wilson
The Exponent Telegram
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WV News) — East Fairmont’s Emma Moore and Brooklyn Shupe each scored once in the fourth quarter. Likewise, McKenzie Moyer’s two free throws were her only points in the fourth.
But they all came at ideal moments.
After Bridgeport tied the game at 45 on a 3-pointer by Maddy Amick, a 3 by Moore from the left corner, Shupe’s layup off of an inbounds pass and Moyer’s free throws enabled the Bees to hold on for a 52-50 victory at Bridgeport on Wednesday.
“(It showed) grit and toughness for us,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “They tied the ballgame up, our kids buckled down, defended, put a nice little run together to get us the lead. I can’t applaud this team enough for the toughness they showed. We had a Big 10 Conference game on the road, especially at Bridgeport, that’s a big win for this program. (That’s) 14 wins on the season, so extremely proud of how we battled.”
The Bees (14-2) have now won eight consecutive games.
Moyer’s free throws gave the Bees a 52-45 lead, but Bridgeport’s Jaylin Dodd answered with a pair of free throws. A bit later, after East Fairmont didn’t hit the front end of a 1-and-1, Bridgeport’s Gabby Reep hit a layup, drew a foul and buried the plus-one free throw.
Moyer was fouled while dribbling and went to the free-throw line but missed the front end of a 1-and-1. That enabled Bridgeport to run another play, and Anderson attacked the paint and attempted a layup that narrowly rimmed out.
The Indians (12-5) hit 17 of 45 shots from the field.
“We did get everything we wanted (on the final play), but it was the same story on the last play that it was in the game,” Bridgeport coach Herman Pierson said. “As I had somebody comment to me during the game, if you all could make a bunny shot, you would be up (by) 10 points. We missed way too many, and we didn’t take advantage of what I call easy opportunities. They’re a good team, they’re a good defensive team, but once we got past a certain point in the game, yeah, they made it tough, but we still had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. You can’t keep making that same mistake and (keep) missing that same shot.”
The Bees were led by Kenly Rogers, who scored 19 points, and Moyer, who added 10.
East Fairmont connected on 18 of 53 shots from the field, including 6 of 15 behind the arc. The Bees also hit 10 of 13 free throws.
Leading 14-12, East Fairmont closed the first quarter on a 6-1 run, taking a 20-13 lead on a 3 by Moyer.
Jaylin Dodd led the Indians with 17 points as well as nine rebounds and two steals. Dodd’s free throws and her layup midway through the second quarter trimmed the Bees’ lead to 24-18.
Gabby Reep scored 15 points with nine rebounds. She drew a foul attacking the basket with 2:38 remaining in the second quarter and sank both free throws, trimming Bridgeport’s deficit to 25-20.
After East Fairmont’s Morgan Cochran hit a put back and Rogers sank two free throws, Reep hit a free throw as well as a jumper as the Indians trailed 29-23 at the half.
The final shot may not have gone her way, but early in the third quarter, Anderson hit layups on consecutive possessions, including pouncing on a loose ball and hitting a layup and drawing a foul, which cut the Indians’ deficit to 31-29.
Anderson scored 10 points with six rebounds and two assists.
With the Bees leading 33-30, a Bridgeport defender fell, which left Moyer wide open on the left wing. She swished a 3-pointer, giving the Bees a 36-30 lead.
East Fairmont finished with 36 rebounds, 24 of which were defensive rebounds.
“Points of emphasis in our program is control the glass, offensively, and defensively, win the Windex award,” Beckman said. “Our kids know their role, they know their assignments and we want to be able to get extra possessions on offense and limit them to one shot in a possession.”
Trailing 40-32, Reep found Dodd in the post for a layup, and later, Reep assisted Anderson on a layup, which cut the Indians’ deficit to 40-36.
Bridgeport got as close as 40-38 on a layup by Dodd, but a 3-pointer by Rogers, who hit 2 of the Bees’ 6 3-pointers on the night, gave the Bees a 43-38 lead. A layup by Reep cut the deficit to 43-30 before two free throws by Rogers gave the Bees a 45-40 lead.
East Fairmont travels to Lewis County at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Bridgeport travels to Elkins at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Bees sink Buccaneers with late rally, 49-42 | West Virginia High School Sports | wvnews.com
By Dalton Wright
The Exponent Telegram
TENNERTON, W.Va. (WV News) — In a game that saw 22 lead changes, East Fairmont scored seven unanswered points in the final two minutes to secure a hard fought 49-42 victory Wednesday night at Buckhannon-Upshur.
“Basketball is a game of runs. We weathered the storm that was the early stages of the fourth quarter and answered with a run of our own. Great teams find a way to win and this team is a phenomenal group,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “Our team has a certain grit and toughness that allows us to grind out tough wins like this. I am confident that our depth and a refuse to lose mentality will propel us as we near the postseason.”
Kenly Rogers and Kyleigh Fridley each scored 13 points to pace the Bees offensively.
For B-U, Kenna Maxwell and Kendal Currence both netted 11 points.
There were seven ties or lead changes in the first quarter.
The last one came when B-U’s Gabby Parke stole a pass and found a streaking Alyssa Abel for a wide-open layup to even the game at 11 in the waning seconds of the first quarter.
The teams traded baskets and leads throughout the second quarter, too.
Fridley nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Bees a 19-17 advantage with 4:27 left in the first half.
However, just as it seemed the Bees had began to carve out some breathing room, the Buccaneers roared to life.
Currence sank a pair of free throws and a fast break layup on back-to-back possessions to give B-U a slight 25-23 edge with under a minute left in the first half.
East Fairmont responded as Rogers drove the length of the court and tied the game with a pull-up mid-range jumper to tie the game at 25 right before the halftime buzzer.
The Buccaneers came out of the locker room blazing hot, going on a 7-0 run over the first two minutes of the third quarter.
The Buccaneers’ run was sparked by five points from Maxwell, who capped the run by converting an and-1 opportunity to extend the Buccaneers’ lead to 32-25 with 6:20 left in the third.
Following an East Fairmont timeout with just under six minutes left, Moyer and Jalyn Jenkins hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the Buccaneers’ lead to 34-31 with just over four minutes left in the third.
Maxwell answered on the other end with a floater to push the lead back to 36-31, but the Bees continued to swarm.
Haymond somehow got a shot off despite a good, hard foul from Hodge’nay Henderson, converting the and-1 opportunity to trim the Buccaneers’ lead to 36-34 with 2:13 left in the third.
Despite the Bees holding the B-U scoreless for the final three minutes of the quarter, the Buccaneers still clung to a 36-35 advantage heading into the fourth.
East Fairmont took advantage of the Buccaneers’ offensive woes as Rogers used a nice Euro step to get a clean look and give the Bees their first lead since the second quarter at the 6:14 mark.
Maxwell finished an underhanded layup with 4:53 to go, putting the Buccaneers back on top, 38-37, with their first basket in nearly six minutes of game time.
The Buccaneers briefly regained a 42-41 lead with 2:21 remaining after Maxwell slithered her way into the paint and finished a floater.
However, the Bees’ stormed back one more time, with Fridley and Rogers leading the charge by hitting clutch free throws to seal the game in the waning seconds.
“We gave up way too many second- and third-chance opportunities, giving a really good team extra looks. We had a 42-41 lead late and didn’t execute down the stretch and it cost us. We feel that we let one get away from us. We have to learn from it and get ready for Friday night,” Buccaneers coach Rob Kittle said.
B-U falls to 8-4 and will have a chance to get back on track on Friday at Robert C. Byrd at 7:30 p.m.
East Fairmont improves to 12-2 with its sixth straight win ahead of a home contest against Elkins at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
By Joe Brocato
WVMetroNews
Video highlights: Beckman wins 100th game and East Fairmont holds off Sissonville, 58-55 - WV MetroNews
East Fairmont girls come up big in Beckman's 100th win | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — While hitting the 100 win benchmark is exciting enough, East Fairmont head coach James Beckman's 100th career win did not lack in excitement on the court either.
Holding off a late comeback, the Bees pulled out a 58-55 win over the Sissonville Indians on Saturday after a go-ahead bucket from Kenly Rogers and a game-sealing block by Brooklyn Shupe.
After the final buzzer, Beckman received a plaque and game ball at center court, and was congratulated by family, players and fellow coaches.
"I wouldn't be at this 100th win without the current girls that I have on the roster, the alumni that helped me get here, and this coaching staff," Beckman said. "It's been a collective group. Happy to have this accomplishment but there's still more wins to be had."
Beckman hit the milestone in his 10th year coaching East Fairmont.
"In this program, two years ago, this junior and senior class only had seven games because of COVID ... It's been fun to get this program to where it's been."
After leading 26-19 at halftime and 43-47 after three quarters, Sissonville worked back into the game and tied the score at 48 with 3:49 to play. It was the first tie since a 9-9 score in the first quarter.
Madison McCutheon, Haley Jarrett and Kynadee Britton helped the Sissonville cause in the fourth quarter, with Britton entering the quarter with 25 points, and finishing the game with 32.
Britton converted an and-one fast break layup to tie the game at 48, but Rogers matched the effort with an and-one lay-in of her own the next possession to put East back out in front.
A pair of free throws by Britton and jumper by Jarrett vaulted Sissonville ahead 52-51 with 2:20 to play. It was Sissonville's first lead since holding a 4-2 advantage in the game's opening minutes.
East's Shupe came up with a big steal on defense, and Rogers came through with another big shot on offense to give her team the lead back in what was becoming a see-saw affair.
Britton earned another trip to the line on offense for Sissonville, making both and pulling the see-saw back to the Indians, 54-53 with a minute to play.
Once again it was Rogers who answered for the Bees. The junior scored nine points in the fourth quarter to end the game with 22 points.
East, once ahead, held the slimmest of leads, but a foul in the back court sent Britton to the line once again.
Britton shot 16-26 from the stripe on Saturday, including 5-9 in the fourth quarter.
Britton split her free throws to tie the game at 55.
With possession of the ball and under a minute to play. East bled some clock, with the ball always finding its way back to Rogers. After moving the ball around the perimeter for the last time, the ball was expectedly in Rogers hands. With a dash down the left wing and a spin inside, Rogers scooped up a shot that banked off the backboard and into the basket.
East led 57-55 with a mere 10 seconds to go.
"What a player," Beckman said. "Kept the composure, got to the rim, knew we needed a bucket."
Coming out of a timeout, Sissonville got the ball inbounds, beating East's pressure with passes up the court, into the hands of Britton. Driving full-speed down the lane, Britton's shot was blocked by Shupe, and after the ball found McKenzie Moyer, Sissonville fouled in vain with 0.1 seconds left. Moyer made the first and missed the second to bring the game to a close.
"Athletic, lengthy, physical," Beckman said of Shupe. "You knew who the ball was going to, you knew who was going to take the last shot. She did a great job and we did a great job of doubling down on her to make it the most difficult shot. Those kids wanted it."
Neither team shot well at the free throw line Saturday. East finished 9-23, while Sissonville shot 22-43.
The Bees made 19 steals Saturday, Tarayn Myers led East with four, Jalyn Jenkins, Kyleigh Fridley and Morgan Cochran each with three, Shupe with two, and Rogers and Emma Moore each with one.
The two teams were nearly even on the glass, Sissonville out-rebounding East 38-36. Cochran led the Bees with nine rebounds, while Rogers pulled down eight and Moyer grabbed six.
Cochran and Moyer finished with eight and six points, respectively.
The Bees built a first-half lead with balanced scoring — eight points from Kailee Haymond, five from Rogers, four from Emma Moore and Cochran, three from Moyer and two from Fridley— while Sissonville leaned on Britton, who scored 13 points in the first half.
Coming out for the third quarter though, Sissonville quickly found a rhythm with a quick beat.
Committing to push the ball at a feverish pace after a turnover, rebound or inbounds pass, Sissonville got East in foul trouble, got good looks around the rim before the Bees' defense could get set, and worked their way to the foul line.
For East's part, they spent the third quarter searching for a rhythm of their own. After starting off strong with a 9-3 run to start the quarter, the Bees hit a rut, and ended up being outscored 18-17 in the third.
Momentum stayed on Sissonville's side to start the fourth, with a lightning-quick 8-2 run trimming the East lead to three, 48-45, with six minutes still to play.
Though the game ended up with more drama than what might have been anticipated at halftime, Beckman appreciated how his team pulled through in crunch time.
"We had some lapses there in the third quarter. Missed some free throws, missed a wide open layup, missed some put backs. We've got to be able to stay focused out there.
"We took a timeout to regroup and say hey, they're out-toughing you right now. If we want to take that next step you've got to dig deep and that's what they girls did. They dug deep and showed how tough they are and how hard they've worked to get that victory."
To round out East's scoring total, Haymond finished with 11, Moore scored eight, Fridley finished with two and Shupe finished with one.
Bees open East Fairmont Classic with win over Brooke | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — In front of the high school’s student body, the East Fairmont Classic kicked off Friday at noon, with the host school East Fairmont Bees earning a convincing 70-52 win over the Brooke Bruins.
The Bees’ Kenly Rogers put in a game-high 24 points, while the Bruins’ Ava Bolen scored 21.
After taking a 7-5 lead early on, the Bees never looked back, ripping off a 13-1 run and leading the rest of the game. East led 21-8 after the first.
Rogers started off the game hot, scoring 10 points in the first quarter.
“High motor kid, doesn’t matter what quarter it is,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “She’s in the mindset right now where she’s ready to play before the tip. She’s the catalyst of what we do, so it was good to see her get hers.”
Aggressive play landed both sides in foul trouble — six fouls apiece on both teams by first quarter’s end had the Bees and the Bruins in the bonus in the second.
Brooke shot 5-7 from the line in the second, while East leveraged the early foul trouble to 11 of 12 foul shooting in the period.
The Bees led 41-23 at halftime.
Rogers led East with three assists in addition to her 24 points. The junior also nabbed four steals. Morgan Cochran joined Rogers in double figures with 12 points, six rebounds, an assist and two steals.
Kailee Haymond scored nine, Jalyn Jenkins scored eight, McKenzie Moyer and Tarayn Myers both scored four, Brooklyn Shupe scored three and blocked two shots, and Kyleigh Fridley scored two points, grabbed four rebounds and recorded a game-high four steals. Emma Moore and Sarah Ramage also added two apiece.
The Bees’ calling card of full-court pressure and traps played into the win and the early advantage East enjoyed. Brooke committed seven turnovers in the first quarter, and East Fairmont recorded 17 steals as a team.
“That’s the style we play,” Beckman said. “That’s our identity, that’s what we work on. Kids like playing like that, and we just get better every day playing with our system.”
Against a Bruins team with plenty of height, centered around the 6-foot-1 Bolen, East recorded 31 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive.
“The size with this team, especially Bolen No. 44 — we knew from playing her a couple years ago up there at Brooke, she’s well-coached, she’s been working in the offseason, strong post player,” Beckman said. “With her size it was going to be a mismatch for us. It was a collective, there were guards doubling down, our post did a great job working to limit her touches.”
East Fairmont is back in action in the East Fairmont Classic tomorrow, facing Sissonville tomorrow at 3:15 as part of a five-game slate at East Fairmont High.
By Owen Krucoff
The Exponent Telegramn
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (WV News) — From the first time the Lincoln Cougars had to travel the length of the court on offense, it was clear it was going to be a long night.
In one of the first possessions of Wednesday’s game at Lincoln, East Fairmont’s signature press defense stopped the Cougars’ ball handlers at every turn, forcing Lincoln coach Rob Hawkins to call an early timeout to avoid a 10-second violation for not getting across half court.
The Cougars eventually broke through on that possession, but the Bees’ swarm had set the tone for the game. Class AAA No. 6 East Fairmont forced 27 turnovers and never trailed after the first quarter in a 68-58 win.
The Cougars found consistency in stretches, including turning a 15-point deficit into a six-point gap in the fourth quarter, and the Bees didn’t always cash in on the turnovers they forced. But it was still enough for East Fairmont (9-2) to pick up its third straight victory.
“It was just a shock to the system,” Hawkins said. “Until you play against someone that’s playing that hard, trapping that hard and everything, there’s an adjustment period.”
When the Bees turned their defense into offense, it was often Kenly Rogers and Tarayn Myers who were responsible. Rogers, the team’s usual leading scorer, put in 25 points and had six steals. Myers registered a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double with all of her scoring coming in the second half.
“Tarayn had a great second half,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “I talked to her right before half, ‘Points aren’t falling. Find other ways to help your team. Rebound the ball, defend, show that grit and toughness that you bring to this team.’ She settled down and had a great second half for us.”
Kailee Haymond made three of the Bees’ nine 3-pointers, including one that gave them their first lead at 5-2 in the first quarter. Lincoln lost nine turnovers in the first, but East didn’t always convert the chances into points. It was a 10-8 Bee lead late in the period until Rogers nailed a 3 at the buzzer and another to begin the second quarter, opening up a gap that would last most of the game.
“We’ve got to do a better job of that, capitalizing (after we) turn somebody over,” Beckman said. “So we’ve continued in practice working on our transitional play and hopefully be able to up our percentage down the road.”
A Jalyn Jenkins 3 stretched East Fairmont’s lead to 25-12 before Lincoln used a 9-2 run that included five straight from Ashlyn Riley to get within 27-21. The Bees answered with eight points in the final minute of the half, including another buzzer-beating 3, this time from Haymond. It was 35-22 at the break.
“We just never could catch them,” Hawkins said. “Every time we get a little momentum, we turn it over a couple times and they hit a shot.”
It was 53-38 after the third quarter, and it appeared the Bees were close to coasting to the victory. But Lincoln put forth its best offensive period with seven points from Riley and eight from Megan Tucker. Two Sylvie Salerno free throws made it 62-56 with under a minute left, but the visitors kept their composure with six makes from the line to close it out.
“We knew they weren’t going to lay down, and that’s what the discussion was at the time,” Beckman said. “They’re well-coached, you’ve got a (heck) of a player in (Riley). They weren’t going to roll over, so we knew that they were going to give us a challenge.”
Riley led all scorers with 27 and Tucker joined her in double figures with 16. Tucker and Brooklyn Davisson had six assists each for Lincoln.
“She got stuck handling the ball a lot,” Hawkins said of Riley. “We had to put a lot on her shoulders tonight, and I thought she did a good job keeping her composure, playing hard.”
East Fairmont had five players score six or more points. Haymond finished with nine points and six assists.
Both teams will be at East Fairmont this weekend for tournament action Friday and Saturday. The Bees face Brooke at noon Friday and Sissonville at 3:15 p.m. Saturday while Lincoln takes on Sissonville at 3:30 p.m. Friday and No. 7 Logan at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
By Joe Brocato
WV Metro News
Video highlights: Rogers leads East Fairmont past Pikeview, 71-50 - WV MetroNews
By Andrew Wilson
The Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — East Fairmont girls basketball coach James Beckman knows it’s been over 15 years since the Bees last defeated Fairmont Senior.
But now, that streak is history.
The East Fairmont girls basketball team’s 86-45 victory over cross-town rival Fairmont Senior on Friday at East Fairmont was the Bees’ first win over the Polar Bears in over 15 years.
It’s also Beckman’s first victory over the Polar Bears in his coaching tenure.
It started with the Bees’ full-court press and man-to-man defense with trapping in the half court. The Bees (7-2) forced 38 turnovers, including 24 in the first half, and only allowed three field goals in the first half, all of which were in the first quarter.
“We had kids flying all over the place tonight, making the right reads,” Beckman said. “It was a quick turnaround from Wednesday’s game at (Robert C.) Byrd, so we got to the drawing board yesterday, worked on some things, cleaned some things up. These kids wanted this game. (I’m) proud of them for their execution and how well they played. They put four quarters together tonight. If you look at it, we won every quarter, so we put four quarters together, and what a big game.”
Kenly Rogers scored 28 points, including three of the Polar Bears’ five 3-pointers, two of which were in the fourth quarter. Jalyn Jenkins, Morgan Cochran and McKenzie Moyer each scored 11 points. Cochran also tallied eight rebounds and five steals.
The Polar Bears shot 37 free throws while the Bees took 23 free throws. The Bees hit 15 of those 23 free throws while the Polar Bears knocked down 24 of 37 free throws.
Hitting 3 of 4 free throws as well as a layup by Charlee Beresford helped Fairmont Senior keep the score close early, as they trailed 6-5 after Beresford’s layup.
Following a layup by Fairmont Senior’s Sadaya Jones that cut the Polar Bears’ deficit to 11-7, the Bees closed the first quarter on a 13-3 run and took a 24-10 lead on a 3-pointer by Moyer.
The Bees outscored the Polar Bears 23-9 in the second quarter. Rogers scored 9 points in the quarter, including a layup that gave the Bees a 34-16 lead. Later, her 3-pointer from the left wing increased the advantage to 43-17.
Layups towards the end of the second quarter by Moyer and Sarah Ramage gave the Bees a 47-19 lead at the half.
The Bees also scored the first 6 points of the third quarter on a layup by Kailee Haymond, a mid-range jumper by Rogers and a layup by Cochran, giving the Bees a 53-19 lead.
“What a big game from Kenly Rogers tonight, dropping 28 points, even in foul trouble, still dropping 28, what a player she was tonight,” Beckman said. “Kailee Haymond, as a freshman coming in a big game like that as a freshman for a first high school (season), the crucial minutes that she gave us, especially with Kenly on the bench in foul trouble, how she was able to take over and continually get us into what we do (was great).”
The Polar Bears hit four field goals in the third quarter as Claira Hager, Camryn Morgan, Joclyn Sylva and Jones each scored in the quarter. A layup by Morgan cut the Bees’ lead to 56-24 late in the period.
Leading 60-31, the Bees used a 19-13 run to take a 79-44 lead on a Rogers 3 from the right wing. That was immediately after her last 3 from the left wing on the previous possession.
Cochran scored 5 points in the fourth quarter, and Haymond added five free throws in the frame. Jones led the Polar Bears with 16 points. Silva added 10. Beresford contributed 7.
The Bees will travel to Logan to face PikeView in the King Coal Classic at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Polar Bears host Elkins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Bees fly by Polar Bears behind Rogers' 28 | High School Sports | timeswv.com
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — The East Fairmont Bees felled their county rival Fairmont Senior Polar Bears on Friday, 86-45 behind a lighting-quick first quarter and 28 points from junior guard Kenly Rogers.
Rogers led all scorers in East’s decisive win, which pushes their record to 7-2 on the season. The Polar Bears fall to 1-8.
The Bees jumped out to a 24-10 first quarter lead, capitalizing on 14 Fairmont Senior turnovers in the period to stretch out an early advantage. Jalyn Jenkins and McKenzie Moyer both scored seven points in the first quarter.
Both finished the game with 11 points.
Kailee Haymond scored 13, while Morgan Cochran scored 11 and grabbed eight rebounds, tied for a game-high. Tarayn Myers scored four, while Emma Moore, Sophia DeMary, Brooklyn Shupe and Sarah Ramage each scored two.
For Fairmont Senior, Sadaya Jones led her team with 16 points and tied Cochran with eight rebounds. Joclyn Silva scored 12, Charlee Beresford scored seven, Cam Morgan scored six, Claira Hager scored two and Abby Shuck scored one.
The Bees led 47-19 at halftime and 58-31 after three quarters.
East Fairmont’s next game is against Pikeview on Saturday at the King Coal Classic. Fairmont Senior’s next game is against Elkins next Wednesday at home.
Howe scores 16 points as RCB edges East Fairmont | West Virginia High School Sports | wvnews.com
By Andrew Wilson
The Exponent Telegram
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Robert C. Byrd’s Martina Howe was in the post at the right time.
Soon after East Fairmont junior guard Kenly Rogers drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Howe rebounded a missed shot, hit a put-back and a plus-one free throw.
Following an RCB turnover and a layup by East Fairmont’s Kailee Haymond, Howe was fouled while dribbling and sank the second free throw. But Haymond stole the ball near half court, hit a layup and a plus-one free throw, cutting the Flying Eagles’ lead to three points.
RCB missed two more free throws, but the Bees weren’t able to take a shot on their final possession, and the Flying Eagles held on for a 49-46 victory over the Bees on Wednesday at RCB.
Howe scored a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds and hit the Flying Eagles’ only 3-pointer of the night.
“I was a little nervous, but I knew when it came down to it that it counts,” Howe said of the plus-one free throw following the put back.
Additionally for RCB, Avery Childers scored 15 points and Carleigh Curotz, who had to sit out for a bit in the first half with two fouls, added 10.
RCB opened on a 6-0 run, but the Bees closed the gap. Following a 3-pointer by Jalyn Jenkins, McKenzie Moyer found Haymond on a back door layup. Childers hit 1 of 2 free throws to give the Flying Eagles a 7-5 first-quarter lead.
The game was tied at 7, 9, 11, 13 and later tied at 15 when Olivia Lowther found Howe in the post for a layup. But Haymond swished a 3-pointer from the left wing, and East Fairmont’s Brooklyn Shupe hit a put back and drew a foul, but missed the plus-one free throw.
The Bees would have taken a 20-15 lead into the halftime break, but Childers, whose first 3-point attempt was blocked, corralled the ball off of the block and was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. She hit all three free throws.
In their man-to-man defense with trapping, the Bees forced 17 turnovers, 11 of which were in the first half.
“We started moving the ball better,” RCB coach Robert Shields said of the difference in the second half. “We made some adjustments at halftime, and I thought the girls started moving a little bit. They didn’t sink to the corners and they stayed out of them. When we did get it in the corner, we where smart enough to know to get it out and not get trapped off of that. I’m real happy with that too, really pleased with the effort tonight.”
Not converting off of some of those turnovers, East Fairmont coach James Beckman said, didn’t help the Bees down the stretch.
“I don’t think there was much of a difference, I think we need to capitalize when we turn people over and we need to do a better job of that,” Beckman said. “We struggled early on of not capitalizing off of our opponent’s turnovers. We missed a lot of shots today too. We missed a ton of shots, and we have to get in the gym, continue to shoot. We have to work on shots outside of practice. We just missed a lot of shots tonight.”
The Bees opened third quarter on a 6-0 run, but the Flying Eagles closed the third quarter on a 12-2 run. Howe and Sutherlin each hit two free throws, Howe made a jumper and assisted Childers and Curotz on layups.
A jumper by Holly Hunsaker gave the Flying Eagles a 32-26 lead before Rogers’ jumper to end the third quarter.
“That’s what they do,” Shields said of the Bees’ defense. “That’s what they do in half court settings. You have to be able to have your head up; you have to make sharp passes; you have to get rid of the ball; you have to fake a a pass to make a pass sometimes; sometimes you have to penetrate and attack, and I think we did, for the most part. Only having two days to prepare, I think the girls did a really good job with what they were supposed to do tonight.”
RCB forced 12 turnovers.
With RCB leading 34-31, Childers scored the next seven points for the Flying Eagles, which included a rebound and coast-to-coast layup, a turnaround jumper, another jumper and a free throw.
Curotz was fouled attempting a layup and sank both free throws, giving the Flying Eagles a 43-34 lead. A jumper by Childers gave the Flying Eagles a 45-38 lead, but Rogers’ 3-pointer from the top of the key cut RCB’s lead to 45-41.
Haymond scored 10 points, Rogers added nine and Tarayn Myers, despite fouling out late in the game, contributed eight points.
East Fairmont hosts cross-town rival Fairmont Senior at 7:30 p.m. Friday. RCB travels to Logan to face Lincoln County at 6 p.m. Friday.
By Charles Casey
For the Exponent Telegram
Bees prees their way to easy win over Shady Spring | West Virginia High School Sports | wvnews.com
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — East Fairmont used a relentless full-court press against Shady Spring to get a 69-23 win in girls basketball action Friday afternoon at East Fairmont High School.
The Bees’ (6-1) man-to-man and trapping half-court defenses forced the Tigers into 18 first-quarter turnovers, 27 turnovers in the first half and 36 for the entire game.
East Fairmont never trailed, scoring the first 26 points of the game. Kenly Rogers scored 11 and had three steals during the run as the Bees came at Shady Spring in waves.
“That’s the way we want to play,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “We press, force turnovers and play fast to take advantage of depth we have on this team.”
The Bees played all 16 players in this contest, and most of them saw playing time in the first half when East Fairmont led 30-3 after one period.
Kendra Pizzino finally got the Tigers (1-9) on the scoreboard by hitting a 3-pointer at the 56-second mark of the first quarter.
However, SS did not score again until the 40-second mark of the second quarter, and the Bees reeled off a 19-0 run for a 49-3 lead. Rogers scored 4 more points and had 17 in the first half as East Fairmont held a 51-5 halftime lead.
Everyone got a lot of playing time in the second half for both teams, something Beckman was pleased with after the game.
“It was the second straight game we were able to get all 16 varsity players in the game,” Beckman said. “We had good balance scoring-wise, and these girls really share the basketball to make this a very good team.”
Rogers led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Tarayn Myers also netted double figures with 10 points and three steals while Morgan Cochran added 9 points.
Brooklyn Shupe, Kailee Haymond and Emma Moore also contributed 6 points apiece for the Bees.
Pizzino paced the Tigers with 6 points on two 3-pointers. Kendall Lilly, Gracie McAllister and Mallory Phillips scored 4 points each.
East Fairmont returns to Big 10 Conference action with a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday game at Robert C. Byrd.
North Marion hands East Fairmont first loss, 64-51 - WV MetroNews
By Taylor Kennedy
WVMetroNews
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — North Marion’s girls basketball team was looking for an early statement victory this season after splitting its first two games against Wayne and Hampshire.
The Huskies answered the call Wednesday by handing Marion County rival East Fairmont its first season loss, 64-51.
The Bees (4-1) were held to a season-low 51 points.
“We came out and played tough,” said North Marion head coach Mike Parrish. “I told them that whichever team played the hardest and gave the most effort would have the best chance tonight. We played them in the fall league and they beat us. We talked about coming over here and keeping the streak going.”
East Fairmont head coach James Beckman was not pleased with his team’s effort Wednesday evening.
“We were not disciplined on what we do as our defensive identity,” Beckman noted. “We have to do a better job of staying disciplined. We chased a lot and caused transitional play for them. We put them on the free-throw line more than we liked. As a veteran team, you have to be disciplined when you play teams of that caliber. We know better than that.”
Frostburg State commit Olivia Toland poured in a game-high 24 points, converting on all 13 of her attempts at the charity stripe.
“She played like a senior tonight,” Parrish noted. “She hit shots, got to the rim and line, and was a force out on the floor.”
North Marion (2-1) applied full court pressure to up its intensity and used it for an 8-0 second-quarter spurt.
“Our defense was the main thing,” Parrish said. “We did a good job not letting [Kenly] Rogers get into the paint. We let her drive in twice and score. That was one of not letting her get to the rim and score. We did a good job at that.”
East Fairmont senior forward Morgan Cochran pieced together a double-double of 14 points and rebounds. Six of her 13 first-half points came in the final few minutes of the second quarter and East Fairmont closed on an 8-2 spurt to cut North Marion’s lead to 34-28 going into halftime.
“The flow is something we have emphasized with her,” Beckman said. “We want the game to flow to her and not her to try and find the game. She let her come to her, and she had a great game. She was a handful tonight, and I am proud of her for that.”
The Bees’ early turnovers during possessions led to numerous runouts by the Huskies and North Marion upped its lead to 51-39 entering the fourth quarter.
“We tried to speed them up by our pace of the game and to get up and down the court,” Parrish noted. “We had a lot of transition opportunities. However, we left some down there in the first half. We had the pace of the game we wanted, and that is how we like to play.”
Despite the outcome, Beckman remains optimistic about his veteran group.
“This loss does not define us,” Beckman stated. “We are 4-1, and we will be fine. We will regroup and have a great practice tomorrow, and we will let them off for the holidays. We will get right back and prepare for Westside and Shady Spring. This team will be hungry for its next game.”
By Sean McNamara
For the Exponent Telegram
PLEASANT VALLEY, W.Va. (WV News) — The East Fairmont girls basketball team used an all-around effort Thursday in a 58-33 win over the Preston Knights, forcing 42 turnovers while having 10 different players score in the contest, improving to 2-0 on the young season in the process.
The East Fairmont defense set the tone early as the Bees forced 11 first-quarter turnovers and built an early 23-6 lead thanks to an 8-of-10 shooting performance in the opening frame.
Throughout the game, the defense stayed consistent for East Fairmont as 19 of the 42 forced turnovers in the game were of the live-ball variety, leading to fast-break opportunities and easy shots.
“They’re faster than us,” Preston coach Brian Miller said. “That already puts you at a disadvantage when, maybe not at (a single) position but overall five positions, they’re faster than us.”
Leading to those steals and forced Preston miscues was an EFHS defensive effort that saw all five girls on the floor involved in both the press and half-court sets.
“Our communication, we still have to work on that, but I feel like ball rotation and ball movement was a plus for us,” Bees senior forward Morgan Cochran, who had three steals in the game, said. “You had girls punching up, we kept getting those steals and getting those traps. It helped a lot.”
While the defensive side of the floor saw an East Fairmont all-around effort, so, too, did the offensive end, where the Bees shot 41% in the game with 15 assists on 22 made baskets.
“We like to get out and run, and sharing the ball helps with that,” junior Kenly Rogers said. “We have a lot of weapons on this team. The more we move the ball, the more people can get open looks, the more people can get touches and score.”
As the Bees’ offense saw everyone get involved en route to a 34-12 halftime lead and 45-20 third-quarter advantage, the Preston offense was slowed by turnovers and the physicality of East Fairmont.
“We let them dictate our spots,” Miller said. “We let them dictate where we went. We let them dictate where we picked up the ball, and we let them dictate everything we did. When you do that, you’re just playing into their hands.”
The Knights shot 12 of 38 in the game but put together a defensive effort that Miller was pleased with.
“At the end of the third quarter, I told our girls ‘our defense is fine. They’ve got 45 points at this point, but hardly any of it has been on our defense. It’s been on our turnovers,’” Miller said. “Defense is where we have to hang our hat.”
Throughout the course of the contest, Preston forced 28 East Fairmont turnovers, with Ella White setting the tone with a team-high five steals.
After the Bees shot 80% in the opening quarter, Preston held East Fairmont to 32% from the floor the rest of the way.
“Defensively, we like to create chaos,” Rogers said. “Sometimes that creates chaos for us, as well. We just have to calm ourselves down and relax a little bit.”
“I feel like we need to slow ourselves down more,” Cochran added. “Whenever we get that chance, I feel like when we’re starting, we turn the ball right over. We just need to slow down more as a team.”
While both teams suffered from early season turnover woes, the Bees were able to take advantage of forced Preston errors and use the total-team scoring effort to earn the 58-33 win.
Scoring was evenly distributed for East Fairmont, which was led by 12 points apiece from Rogers and Tarayn Myers.
Brooklyn Shupe, who led the Bees with five steals, added seven points, as did Kailee Haymond. Cochran posted a team-best six rebounds while Myers led the way with three assists.
For Preston, a 12-point, six-rebound effort from Cameryn Sypolt led the way in both categories while Emma Wilson pitched in nine points and Ella White and Kendall Stiles each scored four.
Next up for the Bees will be a trip to Grafton on Wednesday while the Knights will head to Hedgesville on Saturday.
By Nick Henthorn
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — In the days leading up to the regular season, the East Fairmont Bees were eager to test their skills.“Our girls are ready to go, our staff is ready to go,” East Fairmont head coach James Beckman said.“We haven’t really stopped since last March,” senior Morgan Cochran said. “I think we’re ready.”Playing a tough opening-night game against defending state champion Logan on the road, East backed up their words, soaring to a 54-30 win over the Wildcats.Kenly Rogers had 20 points in the game, the junior looking for another big season after leading East in scoring as a sophomore.Finishing last season at 14-8, their highest win total since 2016-2017, and punching a playoff ticket, Rogers and her teammates felt that the best was yet to come for them.“Last year, we were really young but we still got experience together,” Rogers said. “So, this year we’ve got a lot of people back playing together, we’ve got chemistry. We got in situations last year that’s going to be good experience this year.”“We’re growing as players in taking what we know and putting it all together,” Cochran, who scored 10 points against Logan, said. “We’ve had bits and pieces, and it feels like now we’re bringing it all together as one team.”Rogers led the team in scoring last year with 20.8 points per game, paired with 4.2 rebounds 1.7 assists and 3.0 steals per game, the latter two also team-highs.Morgan Cochran averaged 5.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, while fellow senior McKenzie Moyer scored 6.2 points per game, grabbed a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game, and swiped 2.8 steals per game.East was young last year, and indeed can still be considered young this year. Cochran and Moyer are the only seniors on the Bees, with players like Rogers, Tarayn Myers, Kyleigh Fridley, Marissa Haymond, and Jalyn Jenkins returning for their junior years, Kinley Opas returning for her sophomore year. Freshman Emma Moore also came on strong in her first game, scoring nine points against Logan.“We return six lettermen, so those six girls will be in the rotation this year,” Beckman said. “Look to get more of the junior class in the rotation.”Many of the younger players showed strengths that they may build on this year— Myers scored 5.3 points per game, fourth-highest on the team, and took a team-high seven charges. Opas recorded 2.2 steals per game, third-best on the team. Jalyn Jenkins tied for the team-high in three-point shooting percentage.When it comes to the seniors Moyer and Cochran, Beckman is looking for more than production on the court from his elder statesmen.“[They’re] Showing their experience,” Beckman said. “You got three-year lettermen in both of those players. Show their experience when they’re out there with the younger kids, being floor generals, being calm out there on the floor. We’re going to look to them for their leadership.”From the two seniors all the way down to the emerging underclassmen, “growing as a team” was a theme among the Bees, with the work necessary to grow being a priority in the offseason.“We worked really hard this offseason, everybody was showing up every day,” Rogers said.“In order to get where we want to be, you’re going to have competition,” Beckman said. “We try to bring that competition to practice to prepare us for game nights.”Beckman hopes the increased intensity lends itself to improvement in specific areas, and helps the Bees close out games during the grind of the regular season.“I want to get better at putting a complete game together,” Beckman said. “Not being a three-quarter team like we were sometimes in the past. I’ve made a point myself in making sure we’re competing through the entire practice. Not just the first part of practice going hard, but going hard the entire two hours. Those things can translate to the game.”“We’re looking to handle pressure better, work as a team better,” Rogers said. “We want to get down to Charleston and those are definitely things you have to do to get down there.”One game down, many more to go for East, but the Bees’ win over the Wildcats was certainly a first step in precisely that direction.East next faces Preston High School on Thursday in what will be the Bees’ home opener, and the only home game they will play until Dec. 21.
East Fairmont girls back in groove after shortened 2020-21 season
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — East Fairmont girls basketball was among the local teams hit hardest by COVID shutdowns last season, being limited to a start-and-stop seven-game campaign.
The Bees’ outgoing seniors didn’t get the sendoff they likely imagined, and the developing younger players had their growth interrupted. It didn’t seem like a formula for carrying over success into 2021-22.
“It was extremely difficult,” coach James Beckman said. “Your freshmen coming in didn’t get a full season to see how our upperclassmen go about everyday business within our program, get to learn the system … You get 14 days in, you go right into two games, then you get quarantined the first time. You come back after quarantine, you play two games, you get a couple more practices in and you go back into quarantine a second time.”
But despite all that, the Bees won their first four games of the new season and are off to a 7-3 start, rising as high as No. 6 in the latest Class AAA AP poll. Even more surprising is that the team’s top scorer and a number of other regular contributors are sophomores who didn’t get to experience a full freshman campaign.
East is far from the only area team that leans on younger players, but its underclassmen are even greener than most given the Bees’ misfortunes a season ago.
“They never really got into a rhythm of the season last year, so quite frankly, they were short changed a year (of) development,” Beckman said.
Sophomore Kenly Rogers has been the team’s biggest breakout star, becoming the top offensive option in her first full high school season. Some of her top performances include 30 points in a Dec. 10 win over Riverside, 20 in a Dec. 16 loss to highly-ranked North Marion, 30 in a Jan. 4 loss to Robert C. Byrd and 59 over two games in last week’s East Fairmont Classic.
“Kenly works hard, that’s something special about that young lady,” Beckman said. “She’s always watching film, she’s always wanted to get stronger in the weight room. Any days off, she’s wanting to work out at her house or wherever she can get to a gym to get a ball in her hand. And that speaks dividends for her as a player.”
Beckman added that Rogers has improved at learning from film sessions and becoming a vocal leader on the team. But another one of her strengths is tapping into the depth on the court around her.
“She knows that she’s got to score for us, but she’s not afraid to put it in the hands of one of her teammates,” Beckman said. “She does a great job of distributing and creating for her teammates, which makes her dangerous.”
Fellow sophomores Tarayn Myers and Jalyn Jenkins and freshman Kinley Opas have been among the Bees’ regular contributors, underscoring the level of ability on the roster despite a shortened time to develop.
“There’s nothing we can do to make up for time lost, so we’re just continuing to play catch-up from missed time last year, not dwell on the past and just get better each day,” Beckman said. “We’ve got a bunch of hard-working kids in our program that are working hard, they’re listening, they’re asking the right questions, and they’re doing the things that are asked from our staff.”
Teams across the area have been unable to meet this week with the run of snow days, leading to concerns about fitness and preparedness for upcoming games. Beckman said he has encouraged his team to work on cardio for 30 minutes to an hour each day. The status of the Bees’ Thursday game at Elkins was still up in the air as of Wednesday afternoon.
But if East Fairmont’s history suggests anything, it’s that the team will be comfortable playing after a long layoff. For once, it’s a situation where the Bees have the most experience.
Road warrior Bees take down Hedgesville, improve to 5-1
FAIRMONT — The East Fairmont Bees took to the road Wednesday night to face off against the Hedgesville Eagles. Behind 23 points from Kenly Rogers and 21 steals as a team, the Bees returned home victorious, winning 53-49.
The Bees saved their best for last against the Class-AAAA foe, scoring 18 in the fourth to come back from a seven-point deficit entering the final period — eight from Rogers, four from Tarayn Myers, three from McKinzie Moyer, two from Carly Ledsome, and one from Kinley Opas.
Rogers put together another strong showing, with her 23 points, five three-pointers, and six steals all leading or tying for the team lead.
The next highest scoring Bee was Moyer with nine, along with six steals, two blocks and six rebounds.
The steal totals were indicative of the game as a whole — defense-oriented. The Bees had to fight for every basket, as the game was tied at halftime, 24-24, and East was actually behind 35-42 entering the last frame of play.
Other contributors for the Bees included Kyleigh Fridley, who splashed in two deep shots — one in the first quarter one in second — to score six points. Tarayn Myers supplied a much-needed four points, all in the fourth quarter. Halie Lambert and Jalyn Jenkins each had three, and Carly Ledsome had two. Morgan Cochran also had two, along with a team-high 11 rebounds. Kinley Opas had one point to go along with four steals.
With the win, the Bees move to 5-1 on the season. They play next on Dec. 30 against Nicholas County at home.
Rogers makes splash in debut, East Fairmont moves to 3-0
PLEASANT VALLEY, W.Va. (WV News) – The East Fairmont Bees used a 16-2 run in the second quarter to pull away and defeat the Riverside Warriors, 87-33, at The Hive.
Sophomore Kenly Rogers had a fantastic home debut, pouring in 30 points to go with six assists for the Bees, showing off an excellent pullup jumper.
“She has the freedom to do that,” East Fairmont coach James Beckman said. “She can come off of a ball screen. She can create 1-v-1. We’re working on different attack modes with her. The pullup, she can take it if she’s got it, or she can attack the rim.”
East Fairmont forced 41 turnovers, grabbing 27 steals, with nine players getting two or more.
“It’s what we do every day in practice. We base our practices on our defense,” Beckman said. “We’re young. We make a lot of mistakes out there on the floor, as you can see with us being in foul trouble. With that style of play, you know you’re going to be in foul trouble.”
Morgan Cochran added 13 points and nine rebounds and Halie Lambert scored 10 for EF.
Alanna McKenzie finished with 15 points for Riverside.
After a sluggish start for both teams, East Fairmont scored the game’s first seven points on a Kinly Opas free throws, a Jalyn Jenkins stick-back and layups by Rogers and Kyleigh Fridley.
Riverside opened its account on a McKenzie layup and got within four at 9-5 on a Laila Campbell putback with 2:27 left in the quarter.
But back-to-back 3-pointers by Jenkins and Rogers moved the Bee lead to double figures at 15-5; it was a 15-6 game heading to the second quarter.
Leading 18-9, the Bees widened the gap on a Lambert 3, Cochran layup and Rogers jumper.
After two made Mallory Crowder free throws for the Warriors, the Bees ripped off the next nine points, five from Rogers, to lead 34-11 with 3:10 to go in the half.
It was a 43-20 game at the break as the Bees forced 22 turnovers.
“It’s humbling to know the kids that are coming off the bench can still play the style that we want,” Beckman said. “We don’t have to change what we’re doing. But we’ve got to get better defensively and play more with our feet than our hands.”
East Fairmont again scored the first seven points of the half.
In the final 4:10 of the quarter, East Fairmont held Riverside without a field goal and scored 19 points in its own right, including the final 11 in a row.
“We settled in a little bit more,” Beckman said. “Home opener, in front of a nice crowd tonight, on a Friday evening, I think nerves got the best of us at times.”
East Fairmont (3-0) hosts Grafton on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., while Riverside falls to 1-2.
“We’ll go back to work tomorrow, watch some film, get some shots up, and get ready for Grafton,” Beckman said. “One, it’s a conference game. Two, it’s a sectional opponent for us.”
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