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The Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team completed its season with a 63-30 road loss to Valley District rival Broadway on Tuesday of last week.
The Wildcats, ending the season on a nine-game losing streak, finished with an overall record of 2-20 and a district record of 0-8.
After the win, the Gobblers (13-9 overall, 4-4 district) were waiting to see if they advanced to the Region 3C tournament this week.
Broadway jumped out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter and led 37-14 at halftime. The Gobblers carried the momentum into the second half, gradually increasing their lead to more than 30 points.
Lily Gatesman led Broadway with a game-high 19 points, while Wren Wheeler added 13 points. Lindsey Wimer contributed nine points for the Gobblers, and Emma Bacon chipped in seven.
Emma Clark scored nine points on three 3-pointers and pulled down three rebounds for RC, while freshman Lola Mulitalo scored nine points and snared three boards while leading the Wildcats with four steals and two blocks. Freshman Abby Bouchard contributed five points, two assists and a block. Jaci Moore chipped in four points, and Parker Dameron scored three points.
The Wildcats committed 20 turnovers. It was a rebuilding season for the Wildcats, whose wins were a 29-24 victory over Staunton in their second game of the season on Dec. 2 and a 54-46 triumph over R iverheads o n J an. 11, both at home. The Wildcats had a pair of close losses in late December, 36-27 to Parry McCluer and 43-40 to James River, and came up short 39-33 in their district opener at Harrisonburg on Jan. 6.
RC head coach Andrew Bellairs challenged his players to work on their game during the offseason. “They have a chance to be good and to build something great here,” he said. “But we have got to start working on basketball year-round, not just during basketball season.”
The Wildcats will miss their two seniors, guards McKenzie and Rachel Hines, who are both preparing for the lacrosse season before playing Division I lacrosse next year, McKenzie at Radford University and Rachel at Liberty University. The Hines sisters were two of seven basketball players from the Wildcats’ lacrosse team, which won the Region 4D title the last two years.
Although most of his players were new to basketball, Bellairs said the young talent on the varsity roster and the talent on the junior varsity team is promising for a good future. “It’s just up to our work ethic if that’s going to be next year or two years or three from now,” he said.
“We want to work to make this something that can result in a series of [consecutive] winning seasons and not just one every blue moon. I am so excited for the future and proud of the girls for their work this season.”
