Photo by Bill Ferguson Wheeling Central’s Kaitlyn Blake (42) goes up for a shot among multiple Trinity defenders during Thursday morning’s W.Va. Class AA state tournament quarterfinal at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum. Blake had a double-double as the No. 3 Maroon Knights rolled to an 80-35 win over No. 6 Trinity.

CHARLESTON — While No. 6 Trinity Christian struggled from the perimeter throughout its Class AA quarterfinal against No. 3 Wheeling Central Catholic, the Warriors generated enough first-half offense to hang in a game under normal circumstances.

The Maroon Knights, however, scored early and often throughout the matchup to maintain their distance, before building on a 15-point halftime lead with a dominant second half to race by the Warriors, 80-35, at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

“Really pleased with how the girls played,” Maroon Knights’ head coach Roberta Olejasz said. “We don’t coach effort. They bring their own effort for us and defensively, that really showed today.”

The result sends Wheeling Central (16-8) to a semifinal where Williamstown awaits.

The Maroon Knights made 9-of-20 shots during a 24-point first quarter to help ensure they’d play from in front save for an opening basket from the Warriors’ Jenna Barnett.

“In the first half, they did a good job getting the ball out of Jenna’s hands,” Trinity head coach Mike Baldy said, “and that’s what Central and every opponent wants.”

Kaitlyn Blake keyed Central’s strong start with a 10-point opening frame as the post presence was dominant near the basket, while teammate Addie Payton connected twice from behind the arc to add six points.

Trinity (19-6) had its share of bright spots in the second quarter, including consecutive baskets from Kaylin Kurilko to start the period and pull to within nine.

While the Warriors totaled 15 points in the period, Central kept up and then some. Payton’s third triple marked her team’s first points of the quarter and she accounted for 11 points over the first 3:58 of the frame, with her last basket leaving the Warriors facing a 39-22 deficit. A jumper from Brook Edge marked the final points of the half and sent Central into the locker room with a 41-26 advantage.

Through two quarters, the Maroon Knights had 16 field goals and were 6 of 6 on free throws.

A defensive game plan designed to limit Barnett was also executed well, led by Payton’s efforts.

“Without my teammates putting in the same amount of effort I put in, I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Payton said. “I benefit off their efforts. We knew we needed to shut her down and they got tired. We kept running as a team and it led to turnovers and open shots for everybody.”

The Warriors got a triple from Kate Williams 1:48 into the second half to trim their deficit to 11, but two free throws from Blake and an Edge triple moved the lead back to 16.

Central gained its first 20-point advantage on Blake’s follow-up basket with 2:46 to play in the third, and the Maroon Knights scored the final 12 points of the period to move into the fourth with a commanding 64-35 advantage.

“That lead swelled from 15 to 40 real quick with their transition game,” Baldy said. “They’re a tremendous transition team. As the game went on, we couldn’t hit a shot. We didn’t get a chance to set up in our press at all. We needed more shots to go in and it didn’t happen for us. On a broader spectrum, it’s a 19-win season and I’m really proud of this team.”

Blake finished with a game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. She also had five assists and five blocks.

Payton scored 22, made three of eight threes between the two teams and had a game-best seven steals.

Edge, in her third game back from injury, scored 14 to go with seven assists as the Maroon Knights moved to 10-0 this season with her in the lineup.

“It’s so much fun being back out there with the girls,” Edge said. “They’ve worked so hard.”

Olejasz believes the presence of Edge makes the Maroon Knights a more complete team.

“She’s our leader and coach on the floor. She’s worked her way back,” Olejasz said. “We’re not there yet, but we’ve started playing like we were when we had her at the beginning of this season.”

Kurilko scored 15 points and had 12 boards to pace the Warriors, but the rest of the team shot 5 for 55.

The Warriors made only 3-of-35 threes.