Frankfort uses foul line, defense to down Keyser, 47-44

Jan. 28—KEYSER, W.Va. — Frankfort and Keyser are no strangers to last-shot situations, so it came as no surprise they'd produce another on Friday.

The Falcons and Golden Tornado have both fallen victim to buzzer-beaters this year, with Frankfort falling to James Monroe on Dec. 28 and Keyser losing the same way to Hampshire on Wednesday night.

Keyser had two looks at tying 3-pointers in the waning seconds against its Mineral County rival Frankfort, but both were off the mark, allowing the Falcons to hold on and win 47-44.

For Frankfort, it was a reverse of fortune at the horn. For Keyser, it was another moment of heartbreak.

"It's a rivalry game, so everyone knows what that's like, it really helped our confidence," Frankfort head coach Steve Willison said. "At one point, we were really struggling (this year). It's nice to see us go this direction."

The triumph was Frankfort's sixth in eight games after a 1-5 start to the season. The defeat is Keyser's second in a row, though the Tornado remain in good standing at 9-6.

Frankfort established a 45-40 lead with 59.9 seconds remaining after a pair of Lynsey Zimmerman foul shots, a common sight for spectators in attendance.

The Falcons built their lead at the charity stripe, shooting 15 of 24 from that range after halftime compared to just 5 of 8 at the line for the Golden Tornado.

That allowed Frankfort to control the game late despite making just three field goals during the second half — two of which came by way of Zimmerman, who made two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points, third on the team behind Arin Lease (16) and Larae Grove (11).

"Whenever you get two foul shots at the end of the game and it's a two- or three-point game, you've got to hit at least one of them," Willison said. "We were at least doing that. Getting them foul shots is what wins and loses games."

Keyser guard Averi Everline, who finished with 11 points, made a quartet of free throws and a series of Frankfort turnovers afforded the Golden Tornado one final possession trailing 47-44 with 8.5 seconds left.

The Golden Tornado's transition trey fell short but went out of bounds off a Frankfort player with 0.8 seconds left. Keyser got exactly what it wanted with an open 3-pointer at the buzzer; however, it clanked off the iron to secure the Falcons' win.

Autumn Kerchner ended with a Keyser-high 12 points, and Maddie Harvey matched Everline's 11-point total.

Keyser was on the back foot from the get-go down 8-0, with Lease and Madi Ruble both tallying a pair of close-range finishes in the early stages, but the Tornado battled back.

However, the early deficit and poor ball security in big moments proved too costly to overcome.

"We dug ourselves in a hole," Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said, "but like always, we have a team that fights. It seems like we always get back in it.

"We turned the ball over in key situations that led to easy points for them. I don't want to take anything away from them, but we're a team that can't afford to shoot ourselves in the foot that many times."

The foul disparity, Blowe said, was another symptom of Keyser's turnover woes.

"In the first half, I thought we were turning it over but chasing them down and getting steals right after," he said. "Second half, they were a little more clean and they were getting some easier run-outs. And then we had people on their hip that were fouling."

Frankfort led 13-12 after the first quarter and it was tied at 21-all at the break following a Ruble lay-in during the half's final seconds.

The third quarter went back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than three points until a 6-0 Frankfort run — capped by a Zimmerman jumper — gave the Falcons a 36-31 edge after three.

Zimmerman's perimeter shooting was key for Frankfort, as Keyser was implementing a 1-3 zone with its other defender guarding Grove man-to-man. The defense shut down the inside but left Zimmerman open more often than not.

"She hit a couple shots because they weren't guarding her," Willison said. "She really changed things. ... We knew, whatever they were doing, they were letting our wings open."

Up next, Frankfort will hope to continue its momentum against Fort Hill (5-6) at home on Saturday at 3 p.m. Keyser is at No. 4 Southern (9-7) on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.