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With a strong defensive performance, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team earned a 40-24 road win over Parry McCluer to complete a sweep of the season series on Saturday in Buena Vista.
When the teams met eight days earlier at RC, the Wildcats (5-5) captured a 51-34 win for their first victory over the Fighting Blues (5-2) in five years.
“Anytime you can beat a well-coached team, a program like [PM head coach Adam] Gilbert runs down here, it’s always great to be able to do that,” said RC head coach Darrell Plogger. “I knew they’d come prepared today, and I thought they played well. I thought they played hard and took us right to the fourth quarter.”
Ruby Goodhart led the Wildcats with 16 points and eight rebounds and had three blocks and three steals, while Victoria Hamilton led the Fighting Blues with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The game was close early on, with the Wildcats leading 9-7 after the first quarter. PM tied the game 9-9 on an inside shot from Kayleigh Ramsey early in the second quarter, but those would be the Blues’ only two points of the period. The Wildcats scored just five points in the quarter, on an inside shot from Lola Mulitalo and a 3-pointer from Emma Clark. The final three minutes of the half were scoreless, with RC taking a 14-9 lead into the break.
To start the second half, the Blues got inside baskets from Hamilton and Peira Conner to cut RC’s lead to 14-13, but the Wildcats responded with a pair of baskets to go up 18-13. At the end of the third quarter, RC led 25-21.
In the fourth quarter, Mulitalo hit a pair of free throws and scored on an offensive rebound, and Goodhart then made a pair of inside baskets to extend RC’s lead to 33-21 with 3:40 left. Hamilton hit a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcats’ lead to nine points, but those would be PM’s only points of the quarter, as the Wildcats ended the game on a 7-0 run.
Mulitalo scored six points and grabbed six rebounds and two steals against the Blues, Clark added five points and two steals, and Dorey and Abby Bouchard each chipped in four points. Dorey led RC with three assists and had three steals, while Bouchard grabbed eight rebounds and a steal.
Other than Hamilton, PM’s scorers were Emory Slagle with eight points, including two 3-pointers, Ramsey with three points, and Conner with two. RC’s Natalie Samante did an excellent job of guarding Natalie Mohler, normally one of the Blues’ top scorers, who was held scoreless after scoring eight points in the Blues’ previous meeting with the Wildcats.
RC and PM each made three 3-pointers. The Blues committed 23 turnovers, while the Wildcats had just nine.
ABOVE, RC junior guard Natalie Samante (left) and PM senior Victoria Hamilton battle for the ball. Samante scored three points, while Hamilton led the Blues with 11 points and seven rebounds. AT NEAR RIGHT, PM junior guard Kayleigh Ramsey (15) takes a shot over RC senior guard Emma Clark. Ramsey scored three points, while Clark had five points. AT FAR RIGHT, Wildcat sophomore center Ruby Goodhart takes the ball toward the basket while Hamilton guards her. Goodhart led all players with 16 points and eight rebounds. (Ronnie Coffey photos)
