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Making an incredible comeback from a 15-point halftime deficit, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team earned its second win in a row by defeating Staunton 61-53 on Dec. 20 in Lexington.
The Wildcats, who improved to 3-4 with the win, were down 19-13 after the first quarter of the nondistrict game, and Staunton (2-4) outscored them 16-7 in the second quarter to take a 35-20 halftime lead. The Storm led by 18 points at one point in the second quarter.
The second half, however, was a different story, as the Wildcats made inside shots, free throws and 3-pointers while containing the Storm to cut the lead to 44-40 by the end of the third quarter.
With the game tied 47-47 with 3:32 left in regulation, Staunton’s Tiffany Chisley sank a free throw, and the Storm went up 50-47 on an inside basket from Kerein Scott. In the closing seconds of regulation, RC’s Emma Clark missed a 3-pointer, but teammate Abby Bouchard hit a 3-pointer to tie it 50-50 and send the game to overtime.
The Wildcats and Storm traded 3-pointers early in overtime, with Clark hitting one for RC and Trioux Williams making one for Staunton. The Wildcats went ahead by one on a free throw from Bouchard, and Lola Mulitalo then made a big play for RC by grabbing an offensive rebound and putting in a shot while fouled. Mulitalo hit the free throw to put the Wildcats up 57-53 with 1:21 left, and the Wildcats sealed the win with an inside shot from Bella Dorey and a pair of free throws from Bouchard.
Of Dorey’s shot, RC head coach Darrell Plogger said. “I’d actually said nothing but an uncontested layup or no shot, but hey, we’ll take it,” he said. “She’s tough as nails. She’s what makes us go. We don’t have anybody else that can do what she does.”
It was the second overtime victory of the season for the Wildcats, who earned a 64-62 win in double overtime at Waynesboro on Dec. 6. The Wildcats then defeated Waynesboro 50-43 at home on Dec. 18.
Proud of his players, Plogger said, “These girls have grown up and gotten mentally tough in the last couple weeks. We’ve seen it coming through the practices, through a little bit of everything, but one thing we talked about at halftime was playing every possession. We wanted to get [the deficit] to eight by the fourth, and we actually got it to four, and we knew we were there then, and then it was just being able to make plays down the stretch.”
“Our girls have grown up from making the [junior varsity] team last year to the varsity team this year,” added Plogger. “They’re tough enough to finish games.”
Bouchard led the Wildcats with 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while dishing out six assists and making three blocks. Clark scored 16 points, making four 3-pointers, and grabbed six boards. Mulitalo led RC with 19 rebounds and added 13 points, and Des Butler scored seven points, grabbed seven boards and dished out five assists. Dorey chipped in three points, two assists and a steal. The Wildcats were missing 6-foot-3-inch sophomore starting center Ruby Goodhart, out with an injured calf and cheering from the bench, but other leaders stepped up to get the win.
Plogger said Bouchard and Clark “were their usual selves. Des came back in the second half after a rough first half. She was really emotional at halftime. I could not be more proud of her, how she came out and played the second half. She got us started by attacking the basket.”
The RC coach said that for Mulitalo to grab 19 rebounds after joining the team the second week of the season and having very little practice time was impressive. “To be able to do that is unreal,” said Plogger.
Hayden Terry led Staunton with 16 points, sinking four 3-pointers, while Williams added 15 points. Also stepping up for the Storm were Ny’Myah Rodriguez with 10 points and Avian Fields with six.
Staunton made eight 3-pointers, while RC hit six. The Wildcats and Staunton will meet again on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Staunton.
RC will start the new year with a Valley District matchup at Harrisonburg on Friday, with the varsity game only at 6 p.m. RC will then play at Parry McCluer on Saturday, with the varsity game scheduled for 4 p.m. The day will start with the JV girls’ game at 1 p.m., followed by the JV boys’ game at 2:30 p.m., with the varsity boys’ game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats return to district action when they play at Rocktown next Tuesday, Jan. 7, with the varsity game only at 6 p.m.
