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Trinity Balog feels blessed to have the assortment of teammates as she plays her final season as a member of the Parkersburg High School girls basketball.
Blessed being the key word. The same word tattooed on her right forearm.
"I could not have asked for a better team for my last year," said Balog, who made the game-winning shot during Thursday's 83-81 win over Parkersburg South and finished with a team-high 23 points. "They are an amazing group. We have so many threats. We are a hard team to stop. So many threats. We have shooters, we have bigs. This wasn't my game at all. Everyone played hard."
Entering Friday afternoon's game with Fairland (Ohio) at Warren High School's Clash at the Coliseum, Balog mentioned how she needed 30 points to reach 1,000 for her career. When asked if she was keeping track, she replied, "My teammates are counting. They are hyped for me. They are so excited for me. It's my senior year and I am having a blast."
In a rivalry where the unpredictable becomes the predictable, PHS and South exchanged leads seven times, including three in a third quarter where the Patriots made 10 of 12 shots from the floor and scored 26 points.
The fourth quarter witnessed just one lead change. Sophie Lott's three-point play with 2:11 remaining in regulation put PHS in front 78-76. Just for good measure, the game featured four ties - the last occurring on Macy Singer's 3-pointer which enabled South to even the contest at 81 with 31.3 seconds left on the clock.
As irony would have it, Singer was among the Patriots' top scorers during summer shootouts then injured her shoulder when the girls Fall League opened. The game against PHS was the sophomore's first action of the regular season. She had only checked into the game for the first time only 10 seconds earlier when a second Patriot fouled out.
Singer's 3-pointer from the wing off an assist from teammate Carley Schaffer was her first touch of the game and caught the entire gymnasium off guard.
"When she injured her shoulder, she tried to come back a little bit," South coach Ed Davis said. "We used some flex days there in October and she tried to come back and do some things. She had a relapse, so she has been out until tonight.
"I give her all the credit in the world to have that confidence. I would not have had that confidence to take the shot - I would have been racing out the doors and hiding out until the end of the game."
Earlier that morning, the PHS girls met for a team breakfast then planned to celebrate Christmas together on Friday night. Their compassion for one another and team unity might have rubbed off from their coach Chris Murray.
"I love this basketball team because they play hard all the time," said Murray after his troops weathered a nine-point deficit in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. "I said to the girls in the fourth quarter, all they need to do is show some guts and just keep going.
"They are the most fun basketball team to be around because they work hard. And it's more than just about basketball with this group. They hang out and like each other. It's a blast - they are like sponges. They are truly special and keep developing."
Pending Friday's outcome at Warren High School, PHS and South both left Rod Oldham Athletic Center with one regular-season loss. South won't play again until Dec. 29 at John Marshall and close out the 2023 portion its schedule the following afternoon at Linsly.
"I told the girls, don't over-analyze this - we have a lot of basketball to go," Davis said. "It's Christmas. You will see a lot of people this time of year you don't see. Spend time with them and enjoy them. Put this game in its proper place and perspective, and we will come back and be better."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com