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Wildcats Go 2-1 In Final Week Of Regular Season
In gearing up for its first Region 3C tournament appearance in six years, the Rockbridge County High school girls basketball team won two of its final three regular-season games against Valley District rivals last week, defeating Rocktown and William Monroe before falling to East Rockingham. All three games were on the road.
The Wildcats (11-12 overall, 5-9 district) started the week by cruising to a 48-28 win over Rocktown (1-20, 0-13) last Monday.
With the win, the Wildcats completed a sweep of the season series with the Raptors. RC beat Rocktown 53-20 on Jan. 31 in Lexington.
In the rematch, the Wildcats pressed the Raptors from the start and put forth a dominant rebounding effort.
Lola Mulitalo led RC with 11 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, while teammate Ruby Goodhart scored nine points and led all players with 19 rebounds. As a team, the Wildcats grabbed 57 rebounds.
Praising Mulitalo and Goodhart, RC head coach Darrell Plogger said, “Our bigs have been playing really, really well. I don’t think many teams have a good one-two combination inside like we do with Lola and Ruby.”
Also stepping up for the Wildcats were Emma Clark with nine points on three 3-pointers, Natalie Samante with six points, and Abby Bouchard with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks to go along with three points. Bella Dorey and Dez Butler each added three points, with Dorey contributing five rebounds and three assists. Butler and Dorey were returning after missing the previous week’s two games due to concussions.
The Wildcats committed 15 turnovers while forcing 12.
RC 42, WM 34
Following the snowstorm in the middle of last week, the Wildcats traveled to Stanardsville on Friday and earned a 42-34 victory over William Monroe.
The Wildcats, who beat the Green Dragons 37-23 on Jan. 17 in Lexington, got off to a strong start, leading 28-15 after the first quarter. Following a scoreless second quarter, WM (6-16, 2-12) cut RC’s lead to 32-23 by the end of the third quarter, but the Wildcats held on for the win.
Goodhart led all players with 21 points, hitting two 3-pointers, and pulling down seven rebounds. Samante added six points, five rebounds and two steals. Bouchard contributed four points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Dorey dished out six assists to go along with six rebounds and three points, Clark chipped in three points, and Mulitalo grabbed six rebounds and scored two points.
Savannah Lam led the Dragons with 12 points, while Ava Robinson added 10 points.
The Wildcats shot 41.7 percent (5of-12) from 3-point range and committed 22 turnovers, while WM made two 3-pointers and committed eight turnovers.
ER 51, RC 36
Facing one of the top teams in the state, the Wildcats concluded the week with a 51-36 loss at East Rockingham on Saturday afternoon in Elkton.
The Eagles (19-3, 10-3), who beat RC 65-42 on Dec. 9 in Lexington, jumped out to a 16-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and were up 27-13 at halftime.
In the second half, the Wildcats battled back to cut the lead to nine with about four minutes left, but the Eagles fended off RC’s comeback.
Plogger said his team “played great” in the second half. “We showed some grit and fought all the way to the end.”
Bouchard led the Wildcats with 13 points and 12 rebounds while dishing out three assists. Goodhart added 12 points, 12 boards and a block; Clark had six points and two rebounds. Also contributing was Mulitalo with five points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Leading ER was Sydney Short with 15 points, while Izzy Knorr, Reagan Sipe and Haley Lucas each scored nine points.
The Eagles made six 3-pointers, while the Wildcats hit four. RC committed 23 turnovers, compared to RC’s three.
Looking ahead, Plogger said the Wildcats “are really excited” to play in the Region 3C tournament.
The Wildcats are scheduled to start the tournament with a road game on Friday, with the opponent to be determined. For the regional tournament schedule and updates, visit www. thenews-gazette.com.
