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The Parry McCluer High School girls basketball team celebrated Senior Night with an emphatic 82-7 victory over Nelson County in Buena Vista on Monday of last week.
Later in the week, the Fighting Blues collected road wins over Pioneer District rival Craig County and Altavista, improving to 16-3 overall and 7-0 in the Pioneer District and ending the week on a 12game winning streak. PM can clinch the district title outright with a win over Narrows at home tonight.
In last Monday’s nondistrict game, Victoria Hamilton scored 17 points to lead five Blues in double figures. Payton Emore notched 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Natalie Mohler finished with 16 points and eight boards. Kayleigh Ramsey chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, and Kylie Ramsey totaled 10 points.
Prior to the contest, PM honored its three seniors: Emore, Addisen Roberts and Tatyana Turner. Roberts proceeded to dish out seven assists in the game, and Turner notched five points.
The trio’s resume is beyond impressive. Over the past four years, PM is 71-10 overall, having swept all Pioneer regular-season and tournament titles and making two appearances in the Region 1C championship game. The Blues won the regional title and advanced to the Class 1 state semifinals in 2022.
“They’ve been instrumental to the success that we’ve had,” Gilbert said of the senior class. “When you step back and look at what they’ve been able to accomplish – as a group and in their four years – there’s folks that would love to have the careers that they’ve had.”
PM wasted no time in taking control against the Governors, scoring the first 23 points of the contest and leading 47-4 by halftime.
Though a struggling NC team – the Governors would fall to 0-16 by the end of the week – wasn’t able to put up much of a fight, Gilbert was pleased with the way his squad maintained its focus throughout the game. The Blues executed well at both ends of the floor, limiting NC to two field goals and committing just three turnovers.
“That was the message before the game: we wanted to be clean, and we wanted to play basketball,” Gilbert said. “We moved the basketball; we took open shots when we had them; we didn’t turn the ball over; we played pretty good defense. That’s a recipe for success – I don’t care who you’re playing.”
JaMaya Slayton scored all seven of NC’s points, while Hanna Rivera grabbed a team-high four rebounds. Peira Conner chipped in four points and six boards for the Blues.
Graduating well-accomplished seniors has become something of a habit for PM. Emore, Roberts and Turner got to learn from their predecessors – including the seven-player senior class that spearheaded the state semifinal run in 2022 – and the Blues are certainly hoping to see that cycle continue.
“They’ve done it the right way, and hopefully these younger kids on the team see that – see how they go about their work, day in and day out – and hopefully that just continues to filter down to those younger ones,” Gilbert said. “We’ve been fortunate in that regard over the last 10 or 11 years, and hopefully that continues.”
Hamilton led all scorers with 16 points, and she also recorded seven steals as the Blues completed a season sweep of the Rockets. Mohler notched 13 points, while Emore and Turner chipped in seven markers apiece.
Daileigh Donithan led Craig (5-10 overall, 2-5 district) with eight points, and Kailyn Jones contributed six points and three blocks.
The Blues led 12-2 by the end of the first quarter. The Rockets were able to stay within striking distance for the rest of the half, trailing 23-12 at the break, but PM outscored the opposition 29-12 after the intermission to pull away.
For the game, the Blues held the Rockets to 21.4 percent shooting (9-of-42) and forced 34 turnovers.
PM 54, Altavista 30
The Blues capped off the week with a 54-30 nondistrict road win over Altavista on Saturday afternoon.
Mohler scored 13 points and Emore tallied 12 to pace PM. Hamilton added nine points, while Roberts and Kayleigh Ramsey registered five points apiece. Katelyn Grace totaled 13 points for the Colonels (6-13), and Riley Stinnette had eight markers.
PM will close the regular season at home against Narrows (9-9, 5-1) this evening. Action begins with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m. When the teams met on Dec. 13 at Narrows, PM earned a 48-45 comeback win in the varsity game.
With a victory tonight, the Blues would clinch the top seed in the Pioneer District tournament next week, with a home semifinal game scheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 14 at PM. A loss tonight and a win by Narrows at Highland County on Friday would force a playoff on Monday night for first place.
For the tournament schedule and updates, visit www.thenewsgazette. com.
