HS School Girls Basketball: Big week upcoming for Wyoming East; James Monroe explodes out of the gate

Wyoming East and James Monroe enter 2026 undefeated

The high school girls basketball season is just a month old, but the cream is already rising to the top in Class AA Region 3.

Wyoming East and James Monroe both went into the 2025-26 season with high expectations.

The Warriors and the Mavericks not only expect to make the state tournament from Region 3, but both teams also have their eyes fixed on a championship title.

As expected, the two heavyweights have hit the ground running and enter 2026 undefeated.

So far, the Lady Mavs have the most impressive resume over their first seven games.

Before heading to Summersville for the Winter Classic, James Monroe already had victories over AAAA No. 7 Cabell Midland, AAAA No. 10 Huntington, Narrows (VA), AAA PikeView and AA Region 3 foe Summers County.

picture courtesy of Ashley Honaker

At the Winter Classic, the Lady Mavericks added wins over AA No. 8 Philip Barbour and AA No. 4 Charleston Catholic.

Leading the charge for the Mavs has been the Dunlap sisters, Mya and Lydia, along with strong contributions from sophomore Peighton Griffith.

James Monroe will host AA No. 5 Wyoming East, Jan. 9 before traveling to New Richmond Feb. 6.

Also remaining on the schedule are home and home dates with AAA No. 5 Princeton, along with regional combatants Midland Trail and Westside.

The Lady Mavs will travel to Philip Barbour in mid-February before hosting AAAA No. 5 Beckley to end the season.

Wyoming East has won its first six games, but the degree of difficulty spikes as the Lady Warriors roll into January.

Saturday at the 2026 Wildcat Classic, the Lady Warriors will matchup with AA No. 1 Wheeling Central inside Willie Akers Arena.

The following Wednesday East will play Beckley in the New River CTC Tournament in the Raleigh-County Convention Center.

Two days later its the trip to Lindside before coming back to the New River CTC Tournament for a Saturday showdown with Princeton.

Following that brutal four-game stretch, the Lady Warriors still have home and home dates with Midland Trail, Summers County and Logan, along with road trips to Westside and Summit Christian.

Kyndal Lusk has done the bulk of the scoring for East, along with Abi Baker and Rylee Brown.

While James Monroe and Wyoming East are the favorites to head to the state tournament this year from Region 3, the ladies from Clear Fork are making some noise and definitely cannot be ignored.

The only loss for Westside so far is a setback at Wyoming East.

Although the loss was in double-digits, the Lady Renegades are convinced they can compete with their cross-county rivals.

The re-match with the Lady Warriors is scheduled for Feb. 11.

Westside will only play James Monroe once this year. That game will be Jan. 16 in Lindside.

The Lady Renegades have had a wide range of scorers led by Karsyn Paynter, Sarah Lilly and Paisley Shannon.

Possible stumbling blocks will be home and home games with Summers County, Midland Trail and Scott.

Regional play starts Feb. 25.