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The Parry McCluer High School girls basketball team improved to 10-2 overall with a 44-34 home victory over Nelson County on Tuesday of last week.
Anna Claytor tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Fighting Blues, while Victoria Hamilton finished with 11 points and three assists. Rachel Thompson scored a game-high 14 points and added eight rebounds for the Governors, who fell to 2-7, and Serinity Green recorded 11 points and 10 boards.
In the rematch, PM broke open a tight game by outscoring NC 15-4 in the final 9:07. The Blues limited the Governors to a single point in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.
But early on, PM struggled to find energy. Following a big victory over rival Rockbridge County three days earlier – and with a string of key Pioneer District contests coming up – a midweek nondistrict matchup had all the makings of a trap game.
“For whatever the reason, it did take us a while to get going,” PM head coach Adam Gilbert said. “Once we warmed up a little bit, we were able to settle in, take the lead and hold on to it for the most part.”
But with Thompson attacking off the dribble and Green battling away on the inside, the Governors created some problems for the PM defense. NC used a 10-2 firstquarter stretch to assume a 14-9 advantage and led 14-12 at the end of the period.
The Blues needed an offensive spark, and they got one from Tatyana Turner. The junior – and first-year varsity player – is typically the first off the bench for PM. In Tuesday’s game, she knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first half and finished with eight points.
“Tatyana has that ability, and she’s shown that all year,” Gilbert said. “We’re going to need that moving forward, for sure.”
Claytor and Hamilton got going in the second quarter, which PM dominated. The Blues outscored the Governors 14-4 in the frame – including an 8-0 run in the final 1:24 that featured four points from Payton Emore – and built up a 26-18 halftime lead.
But NC came storming back in the third quarter, holding PM without a field goal for nearly five minutes and claiming a slender 30-29 lead on a runner from Thompson with 2:17 to go.
Yet the Governors would hit just one more field goal the rest of the way, as the Blues took command in the closing stages to secure another season sweep. PM opened the year with a 43-30 win over NC in Lovingston on Nov. 28.
Emore finished with eight points for the Blues, and Natalie Mohler registered four points and six rebounds. Tamya Vest-Turner notched seven points for NC, and Laila Barbour’s five rebounds – combined with Green and Thompson’s work on the glass – helped the Governors amass a 34-26 advantage on the boards.
With NC sitting back in a zone for much of the night, PM may have been too tentative in launching outside shots. The Blues took good care of the ball – they only committed 10 turnovers in the game – but they also passed up some open looks from the perimeter.
“We want to move the basketball, and we are moving it well,” Gilbert said. “At times, we’ve just got to slow down a bit, and take a peek at the basket every now and again.”
But it’s obviously a better feeling to look for improvements after your squad still earned a victory.
“I think that says a lot about a team,” said Gilbert. “You can be disappointed with the way you played and still win. I’d much rather be able to see that than to be disappointed with a loss.” The Blues were scheduled to visit Pioneer District rival Craig County yesterday and will continue district action at home against Narrows on Friday before traveling to Covington on Tuesday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. on both nights.
