West posts 15-win season, reaches Division V District Final
· Yahoo Sports
The West Senators' girls basketball program got 15 points from Brayleigh Pistole and received 15 additional points between Ally Buckner and Macey Whisman, but West fell to the Fairland Dragons' girls basketball program, 69-38, in a OHSAA Division V District Final that was held at the Downtown Arena in Waverly.
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West responded well over the first three minutes of action as the Lady Senators took an early 7-6 advantage over the first 2:16 of the game.
During that stretch, West's Gracelynn Bigham opened the scoring with a putback basket while Pistole scored five straight West points, scoring once on a pass from Whisman to the right block and again off of a rebound and drive to the right block, where Pistole absorbed contact and got to the free throw line to finish off an and-one.
Despite a 15-0 run by Fairland over the next 4:47 of the contest, Pistole followed with a pair of free throws and a bucket, ultimately scoring nine of West's 11 points in the opening quarter and notching two offensive rebounds to go along with an assist as the Lady Senators trailed by just 10 in the opening quarter despite the mid-quarter run by Fairland.
In the second quarter, West showed further resiliency as the Lady Senators got two free throws by Buckner to begin the quarter, then scored again as Pistole followed a block defensively with a nifty turnaround one-handed runner at the free throw line to pull West within six of Fairland, 21-15, with 6:57 to play in the first half.
Pistole again added a block later in the second quarter to help the Lady Senators again cut West's lead to single digits as the Lady Senators trailed 25-17 with five-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening half of competition. Fairland ultimately opened up the scoring with a 13-1 run before Pistole again finished through contact.
The sophomore ultimately scored 13 of her 15 points in the opening half as West trailed by a 38-20 margin at the halftime break.
"Brayleigh has had a really good year for us," West head coach Doran Martin said. "She and (Hailey) Carver both give us so much with their play up top and play hard. I'm really proud of both of them and for the adversity they've fought through and for the character they've shown."
The Lady Senators struck first to begin the second half of play as Buckner scored to pull West within 16, then stole a pass to give West another opportunity. Hailey Carver then scored off of a pass from Pistole to kept the deficit manageable at a 40-24 margin with six-and-a-half minutes to play in the third quarter.
Following a 6-0 push by Fairland, Macey Whisman trailed baskets with the Dragons with a pair of layups down on the right block, putting West at a 49-28 margin with three minutes to go in the third frame, and Whisman scored again to allow West to move within 54-30 before the Lady Dragons put the contest away with a
"Fairland has a great team," Martin said. "Jon (Buchanan) has a great program. They've been to three straight Final Fours and have a great chance to get there and win it. There's no shame in losing this game. They have a lot of seniors and we have younger kids."
In addition to her 15 points, Pistole added in seven rebounds and two blocks for West while Buckner notched a nine-point outing. Macey Whisman followed with eight rebounds and six points in the contest.
Fairland was led by Isa Taliaferro's 19 points while Bailey Russell nabbed 17 and Addison Godby 15.
West finished the year 15-10 overall despite having to sit Bigham and Macey Whisman during the middle portion of the 2025-26 season due to injuries to both players. The Lady Senators return each of their top five scorers — Pistole, Macey Whisman, Carver, Maddie Lawless and Buckner — to the roster.
Only Kayla Throckmorton and Rileigh Miller graduate from this year's version of the group.
"Kayla and Rileigh are great teammates and competitors that made our team better for what they brought to us," Martin said. "I'm really proud of both of them for the roles that they embraced for our team. Whether it was in practice or in games like their performances on Senior Night against Waverly, they were big in holding the fort down for us. Just thankful for both of those kids, who they are and what they represent. I'm also excited for the future and we saw glimpses of what is coming up with how our returning talent played all across the floor."