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The Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team suffered three lopsided losses, falling at home 66-31 last Tuesday to Fort Defiance, losing 83-40 to Valley District rival Spotswood on Friday and dropping an 82-20 road loss to Salem on Dec. 29. The losses extended RC’s losing streak to five games.
Fort jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first four minutes and extended its advantage throughout the game. The sharpshooting Indians led 28-9 after the first quarter before the Wildcats picked up their offense in the second quarter, but Fort took a 40-19 lead into halftime.
Fort made six 3-pointers and had a balanced scoring attack, as six players had eight points or more. “They shot the heck out of it. They just made everything,” said RC coach Darrell Plogger.
Freshman guard Des Butler led RC with 12 points, making both of the Wildcats’ 3-pointers. “She keeps getting better,” said Plogger of Butler.
Emma Clark added six points for the Wildcats, while Sadie Moore chipped in five points and five rebounds. Ruby Goodhart led the Wildcats with 11 rebounds while adding four points, two steals and a block. Parker Dameron pulled down four boards.
RC committed 27 turnovers, while Fort had just seven. The Wildcats shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line, but they shot 30.6 percent (11-of-36) from the field.
RC was missing two starters, guards Abby Bouchard and Bella Dorey, due to injury. “That hurts because that’s a lot of our ball-handling, but I thought the other girls really stepped up and played pretty well,” said Plogger. “Des played really well. Natalie [Samante-Asunción], offensively, played a lot better, took care of the basketball. We fought.”
SHS 70, RC 16
Returning to Valley District action on Friday, the Wildcats, still playing shorthanded, suffered a 70-16 road loss to Spotswood (9-3 overall, 5-0 district). The loss dropped the Wildcats to 0-4 in the district.
The Wildcats committed 35 turnovers and made just eight field goals, shooting 34.8 percent (8-of-23).
Goodhart led RC with six points and pulled down five rebounds, while Samante-Asunción scored four points. Dameron added two points and four rebounds, Moore led RC with six rebounds, two points and a block, and Clark had two points.
Salem 82, RC 20
Before the new year, the Wildcats suffered an 82-20 road loss to Salem on Dec. 29. The Wildcats struggled to take care of the ball, committing 18 turnovers in the first quarter and 35 in the game.
Clark led RC with seven points, while Butler, Bouchard, Goodhart and London Garrett added three points each. Goodhart paced the Wildcats with nine rebounds and a block, while Butler made two steals.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Turner Ashby last night and will continue district action at William Monroe on Friday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, in games rescheduled due to inclement weather last Saturday, the Wildcats will make the short trip to Buena Vista to face rival Parry McCluer, with the 4 p.m. varsity game following the 1 p.m. JV girls’ game and the 2:30 p.m. JV boys’ game between the two schools. The varsity boys’ game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. . RC will then return to district action on Tuesday when they play at Broadway, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m.
