RC Girls Snare ‘Big’ Win

The shoe was finally on the other foot for the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team in a matchup with Parry McCluer.

The Wildcats rode a dominant second quarter to a 51-34 victory over the Fighting Blues in Lexington on Friday afternoon, marking their third consecutive victory and their first win in the local rivalry since the 2019-20 campaign.

Abby Bouchard scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for RC (4-4), while Ruby Goodhart notched eight points and eight boards and Emma Clark also contributed eight points.

Victoria Hamilton led the Fighting Blues (4-1) with 12 points, and she also snared six rebounds. Natalie Mohler added eight markers for the Blues, and Peira Conner finished with six points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

“It’s big for us,” said RC head coach Darrell Plogger, who’s in his second season with the girls’ program after a long run of success with the boys’ team. “We know every time we play them, they’re going to be ready to play. It’s a big win anytime you can beat them, because we’ve got so much respect for them.”

An early 6-0 run – including two buckets from Goodhart, who came off the bench and played limited minutes upon her return from injury – gave RC a 10-6 lead. But a pair of Hamilton free throws and a Josie Martinez jumper allowed PM to knot things up at 10-10 by the end of the opening period.

The Wildcats took control of the game in the pivotal second stanza, outscoring the Blues 19-5 in the period to build up a 29-15 halftime lead. Clark tallied all eight of her points during the quarter, going 5-for-5 at the foul line, while Bouchard notched seven of her markers during the frame.

Just as importantly, RC locked things down on the defensive end, holding PM without a field goal during the stanza. Though Hamilton would eventually claw her way into double figures, the Wildcats made life difficult for PM’s leading scorer throughout the contest, with some outstanding defense from Lola Mulitalo and the 6-foot-3-inch Goodhart.

While Plogger suggested that the Wildcats were a little too amped up to take the floor in front of a packed gym, he thought that his team settled into the game after the opening period.

“In the second quarter, I think we calmed down,” Plogger said. “The ball started moving, and we started getting good looks at the bucket. Defensively, I felt like our intensity really picked up.”

Mohler opened the third quarter with a triple for PM, trimming the margin to 2918. But the Wildcats responded with an 11-2 spurt that featured baskets from five different players, and they would maintain a double- digit margin throughout the second half.

Natalie Samante added seven points for the Wildcats. Bella Dorey – who picked up two early fouls and sat on the bench for most of the first half – made her presence felt after the break, finishing the night with six points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Des Butler also chipped in four points and four assists.

Kayleigh Ramsey notched four points for PM, and Emory Slagle led the Blues with three assists. But the Wildcats handled PM’s trademark defensive pressure well, committing just seven turnovers in the game while forcing 16 miscues from the Blues.

After kicking off the year with four comfortable victories, PM should ultimately benefit from facing its first real adversity of the season.

“If everything’s easy in life, you don’t learn,” said PM coach Adam Gilbert. “So we’ll learn; we’ll go back and watch film, get back to work and be better. We don’t have a choice. We’ve just got to roll the sleeves up, so to speak, and just get back at it.”

PM returns to the court at Altavista on Thursday, beginning with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m. RC travels to Harrisonburg for Valley District action on Friday, with a varsity game only at 6 p.m. The Wildcats and Blues will then meet again in Buena Vista on Saturday, with the game scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.