Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
LOGAN For the first time since their state championship run in 2022, the Logan Lady Wildcats are heading back to the state tournament.
Second-seeded and fifth-ranked Logan jumped out to a 13-2 lead Wednesday night on its way to a 59-35 win over third-seeded Buffalo (Putnam) in one of two Class AA Region IV co-finals at the Willie Akers Arena.
Logan advances to its seventh state tournament in school history and its fourth since 2018. The Lady Wildcats will be the sixth seed and face third seed Charleston Catholic for a third time this season at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
In their prior two meetings this season, Charleston Catholic defeated Logan, 46-38, in Logan on January 4. The Lady Irish defeated the Lady Wildcats, 51-46, on January 23 at the Charleston Catholic Athletic Complex.
Buffalo was held to 10 points in the first half, putting the Lady Bison in a 27-10 hole at halftime. In its two prior games, Logan allowed eight points to Poca and seven to Clay County. The deficit was too much for the Lady Bison to overcome as Logan continued to pull away in the second half.
Halle Crouse led three Lady Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 20 points. Addyson Amick finished with 12 and Peyton Butcher had 10 points. Jaycee Blair broke out of a two-game scoreless drought, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing with nine points.
Brooke Woods finished with 13 points to lead Buffalo (16-6), who turned the ball over 22 times, which led to many easy baskets for Logan.
Ivy Higginbotham finished with eight and Alivia Luikart had seven for Buffalo, who had its five-game winning streak snapped.
Under the direction of first year coach Mike Tothe, Logan (17-6) has won 11 of its last 13 games heading into next week's state tournament.
Comments