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The Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team saw a close game slip away, suffering a 65-42 home loss to East Rockingham in the Valley District opener on Monday night at Maury River Middle School in Lexington.
The Wildcats (1-2), coming off a 64-62 double-overtime road win over Waynesboro on Friday, played well in the first quarter against ER (3-0), taking a 9-6 lead after a 3-pointer from Emma Clark and a pair of free throws from Abby Bouchard. However, the Eagles capitalized on four RC turnovers and went on an 8-0 run, taking a 16-13 lead at the end of the quarter.
Making three 3-pointers in the second quarter, ER built up a double-digit lead and ended the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 34-20 lead into halftime.
The Eagles carried the momentum into the second half, leading by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, but the Wildcats battled back. RC went on a 9-1 run, as Des Butler, Bouchard and Clark each hit a 3-pointer to cut ER’s lead to 48-36 by the end of the quarter. RC outscored ER 16-14 in the quarter.
The Wildcats ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over three times early, as the Eagles started the quarter on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 58-36. ER stayed comfortably ahead for the rest of the game.
Emma Clark and Abby Bouchard led the Wildcats with 11 points each, with Clark making three 3-pointers and Bouchard sinking one triple. Ruby Goodhardt scored eight points, Natalie Samante added five, Dorey chipped in four, and Butler had three.
Izzy Knorr and Sydney Short led the Eagles with 10 points each, with Knorr making three 3-pointers. Maya Ramirez added nine points for ER, Reagan Sipe and Kennedy Voight each scored eight points, and Haley Lucas chipped in seven.
The Eagles knocked down seven 3-pointers, while RC made five.
The Wildcats will return to action on Thursday when they play at Stuarts Draft, starting with junior varsity action at 6 p.m. When the two teams met in the season opener last Wednesday at MRMS, Draft won 59-44.
For the full story and photos from this week’s action, please see our Dec. 18 newspaper. The story and photos from last week’s action will be in our Dec. 11 newspaper.
