Taylor, Wildcats celebrate milestone

Jan. 19—Steve Taylor likes for the attention to be on his high school girls basketball players, but he let the light shine on himself a little bit last Thursday.

That night, Taylor's Meadow Bridge Wildcats went on the road and vanquished Covington, Virginia 46-30, allowing the veteran Fayette County coach to notch his 300th high school basketball coaching win. The victory hiked Meadow Bridge's record to 8-1 in 2022-23, and it put Taylor at 300-187 overall in his 27th season at the helm.

"We played a lot better in spurts, but the kids did a good job," Taylor said of the most recent digit in the win column. "It's always about the kids; they're having a really good season."

"(Getting) 300 wins at the same school, especially at a small school, is pretty special," Taylor admitted. "My kids are pretty tough; they show up to practice every day.

"I didn't say a whole lot (about the milestone) to them. They were celebrating with me, and I was celebrating with them."

"Just because we're a small school doesn't mean we don't have a great basketball program," Taylor added.

He said children begin playing basketball early in the local biddy league and maintain their interest in the sport going up in the ranks.

"I'm surrounded by great coaches," he stressed. "(Longtime assistant) Charlie Redden is phenomenal, and Seth Tabor with our middle school program ..."

The Wildcats enjoy their time on the court, the coach said. "We like to have fun, but when it's time to get serious, we do."

Under Taylor's guidance, the Wildcats have had two girls basketball state tournament appearances, won a regional title and a co-region crown, and captured eight section championships. The Class A state tourney appearances occurred in 2002-03 and 2009-10.

In 2003, the Wildcats beat Montcalm 45-31 to win the Class A Region 6 title and advance to the girls state tournament for the first time in school history. In that initial state appearance, Meadow Bridge lost 65-19 to Tygarts Valley in the quarterfinal round.

In 2010, the 'Cats defeated Iaeger 54-53 in the Class A Region 3, Section 2 championship, then topped Valley 53-40 in a Class A Region 3 co-final to advance to Charleston. That season, they absorbed an 82-25 thumping at the hands of No. 1 St. Joseph in the opening round.

Taylor admits his team came up against superior competition at the state level. "The state tournament is a lifetime experience," he said. "We had two real good basketball teams that did good things, and we played some powerhouse teams (at the state level). We chalked it up to experience."

Play during the recent Covid-19 era has affected Taylor and his players just as it has others. Also, as those in other programs know, talent comes in cycles and some years might be a little lean. "The last couple of years has been kind of tough," he said. However, young, skilled players are growing up, and this year's squad — which features no seniors — has rung up eight wins as of the Covington game, with the lone loss coming to rival Greenbrier West.

Ahead of the MBHS girls job, Taylor, 62, coached the Meadow Bridge boys middle school team as well as being an assistant at Rainelle Christian Academy.

"I've been blessed," he said, while pointing to men such as Ed McCall, Larry McClintic and Howard Hylton for helping him set his path. "I'm probably going to stick around a little while longer. The health is good."

He said his teams "always think state tournament" at the outset of the season. He's happy that the majority of those squads have posted winning records, and that they've enjoyed themselves in the process.

"We want to have fun in what we do," Taylor said. "We've tried to do right by this small town."

Another goal, he stressed, is to help the players get positive reinforcement as they progress through the school system and beyond. "We hope we've been a positive throughout our program. We hope we've helped them in life experiences."

Kierston Rozell scored 13 points and Sierra Simmons 11 to lead Meadow Bridge, while Lauren Bragg netted 23, including a 9-of-10 effort from the charity stripe, for Covington.

In the junior varsity game, Meadow Bridge captured a 25-23 decision over Covington.

Jordan Butcher led the way for the 'Cats with 10 points. Also providing offense were: Keira Hanshew, 5; Meredith Fleshman, 2; Mackenzie Phillips, 6; and Emma Blair, 2.

Covington scorers were: Ava Lewis, 2; Kendra Dressler, 11; Jakara Heighter, 6; and Analiese Webb, 4.

The Wildcat varsity went on to defeat visiting Hundred 58-33 on Jan. 14 to improve to 9-1. The hosts trailed 14-11 after one quarter but eventually nailed down the victory on the strength of 10 3-poiners, including five by Sierra Simmons. Simmons and Charity Reichard led the way with 17 points each, and Riley Roberts added eight.

Meadow Bridge was just outside the Top 10 in this week's The Associated Press Class A poll.

Email: skeenan@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gb_scribe

Hundred

Ashlynn Peters 4 0-0 11, Summer Morris 3 1-4 7, Leah Dean 6 0-1 12, Areonna Zarco 1 0-0 2, Ryleigh Morgan 0 1-2 1, Kylie Morris 0 0-2 0, Aliyah Shreve 0 0-1 0. Totals: 14 2-10 30

Meadow Bridge

Charity Reichard 6 2-2 17, Sierra Simmons 6 0-0 17, Riley Roberts 4 0-0 8, Kierston Rozell 2 0-0 6, Kaitlyn Cooper 1 0-0 2, Abigail Cooper 0 0-0 0, Lillian Hayes 3 0-0 6, Jordan Butcher 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Phillips 1 0-0 2, Meredith Fleshman 0 0-0 0, Emma Blair 0 0-0 0, Allison Poticher 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 2-2 58

H 14 5 6 8 — 33

MB 11 18 14 15 — 58

Three-point goals: H: 3 (Peters 3); MB: 10 (Reichard 3, Simmons 5, Rozell 2); Fouled out: None.

Meadow Bridge

Charity Reichard 2 0-0 4, Sierra Simmons 4 0-1 11, Riley Roberts 4 0-0 8, Kierston Rozell 6 0-1 13, Kaitlyn Cooper 2 0-0 4, Abigail Cooper 1 0-0 2, Lillian Hayes 2 0-0 4, Keira Hanshew 0 0-0 0, Jordan Butcher 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Phillips 0 0-0 0, Meredith Fleshman 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 0-2 46

Covington

Tyra Rose 1 1-2 4, Lauren Bragg 7 9-10 23, Sydney Bragg 0 0-0 0, Tyler Stayton 1 0-0 3, Kaydence Bragg 0 0-0 0, Breanna Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Madysen Hubbard 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 10-12 30

MB 14 6 11 15 — 46

C 4 2 11 13 — 30

Three-point goals: MB: 4 (Simmons 3, Rozell); C: 2 (Rose, Stayton). Fouled out: None.