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Saturday, Jan. 28 – Despite a strong second half defensively, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team suffered a 53-30 home loss to Salem on Saturday afternoon.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for the Wildcats, who were playing in the ninth annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout, an American Cancer Society fundraiser.
The Wildcats (2-17) fell behind 8-1 early before Lola Mulitalo and Emma Clark each hit a 3-pointer. After the first quarter, the Spartans (13-6) led 15-7.
Things got worse for the Wildcats in the second quarter, with the Spartans going on a 13-0 run, scoring on several RC turnovers in the middle of the quarter. At halftime, Salem led 37-14.
The Wildcats found their footing in the second half, with each team scoring 16 points in the final two quarters.
The momentum shifted in the third quarter when RC head coach Andrew Bellairs swapped out all five players on the floor for five from the bench. On the sideline, Bellairs emphasized to his starters the need to still play with effort. From that point on, the Wildcats found more success defensively, holding the Spartans to eight points in each of the final two quarters.
Mulitalo led RC with 15 points, while Emma Clark added nine points on three 3-pointers.
The Wildcats will return to Valley District action on Tuesday when they play host to Spotswood, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
For the full stories and photos from this week’s action, please see our Feb. 1 newspaper.
