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In its final home game of the regular season, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team earned a 39-31 win over Valley District rival Turner Ashby on Friday night in Lexington.
Ruby Goodhart led the Wildcats (9-11 overall, 3-8 district) with 21 points and 10 rebounds, hitting one 3-pointer early in the first quarter. Lola Mulitalo scored six points off the bench and provided strong rebounding for RC, while Abby Bouchard chipped in five points.
The win was the Wildcats’ first victory over TA (12-7, 6-3) in recent history, and it was a much different story than when the teams met on Jan. 14 in Bridgewater, when the Knights cruised to a 77-29 win.
The rematch was close the whole way. The Knights led 8-7 at the end of the first quarter and held a small lead for much of the second quarter until Goodhart made an inside to tie the game 17-17. Mulitalo then found Lexi Samante for an inside basket to give the Wildcats the lead, and Mulitalo made a pair of free throws. TA’s Ava Myers scored on a putback at the end of the half to cut RC’s lead to 21-19.
The Wildcats scored the first nine points of the second half, which included an inside shot from Mulitalo, a three-point play by Goodhart, a 3-pointer from Emma Clark, and a free throw by Bouchard. The Wildcats held TA to four points in the quarter and took a 30-23 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats struggled to score for most of the fourth quarter, with Mulitalo hitting an inside basket, but those were RC’s only two points until the final two minutes. TA only managed four points in that stretch, cutting RC’s lead to 32-27, before Goodhart made an inside shot with about a minute left. After a TA turnover, Bouchard went to the line and made two free throws. The rest of the game was decided at the foul line, with Goodhart hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute.
TA’s leaders were Rowen Smith with 13 points and Gianna Carderelli with 12 points, including two 3-pointers.
The Wildcats committed 15 turnovers, while the Knights had 16.
Before the game, the Wildcats honored Clark, their lone senior, who scored three points and played strong defense. A four-year varsity guard who’s a talented outside shooter and defender, Clark has been a valuable leader of the Wildcats. She has committed to continuing her basketball career at Division III school Bridgewater College next year.
The Wildcats will continue district action at Rocktown on Monday, with the varsity game only at 6 p.m.
For the full story on this week’s action, with photos from Friday’s game, please see our Feb. 12 newspaper.
