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The Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team earned its first Valley District win on Friday, bouncing back from two losses earlier in the week by defeating William Monroe 37-23 at home in Lexington.
Abby Bouchard, returning from illness, led the Wildcats (6-7 overall, 1-5 district) with 12 points, seven steals and three blocks while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out two assists. Emma Clark scored nine points on three 3-pointers, including a big one in the fourth quarter to help RC pull away.
Both teams struggled to score early on, with the Green Dragons (4-7, 0-4) taking a 4-0 lead in the first three minutes. The Wildcats’ first point came on a free throw from Bouchard just over five minutes into the game. She then stole the ball and made a layup to cut WM’s lead to 4-3, and teammate Lola Mulitalo hit a free throw to tie the game 4-4 in the final minute of the first quarter.
WM’s Ava Robinson made a three-point play early in the second quarter to give the visitors a 7-4 lead early in the second quarter, but RC’s Des Butler then hit a 3-pointer to tie it 7-7, starting a 9-0 run for the Wildcats that put them up 13-7. Clark hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first half to give RC a 16-9 lead.
The Wildcats used their defensive press to contain the Dragons early in the second half, but WM cut the lead to 20-17 before Clark hit another 3-pointer, and a free throw from Bouchard gave RC a 24-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Dragons cut the lead to three again early in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run on a layup by Bouchard, a 3-pointer from Clark and a side jump shot from Mulitalo on an assist from Ruby Goodhart to extend their lead to 31-21 with 4:20 left. WM cut RC’s lead to eight on an inside shot from Robinson, but Bouchard then hit two free throws, and the Wildcats had a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
Other than Bouchard and Clark, RC’s leaders were Butler and Mulitalo with five points each, while Goodhart contributed four points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Mulitalo pulled down four boards and had two steals and two blocks, while Butler made six steals.
Savannah Lam led WM with 10 points, Robinson scored nine points, and Reagan Shifflett chipped in four.
The Wildcats hit four 3-pointers, while the Dragons had none.
RC committed 21 turnovers, while WM had 21.
The Wildcats will continue district action on Tuesday when they play host to Broadway, starting with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m.
For the full story on this week’s action, with photos from Friday’s game, please see our Jan. 22 newspaper.
