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Wildcats ‘Battled To The End’ In Regional Opener
Despite leading for most of the game, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team concluded one of its most successful seasons in recent memory with a 48-45 road loss to Alleghany in the first round of the Region 3C tournament in Covington.
The 10th-seeded Wildcats (11-13), making their first regional tournament appearance in six years, led 26-19 at halftime over sixthseeded Alleghany (17-6) and were up by 10 points midway through the second quarter before the Cougars started to battle back. Sparking Alleghany’s comeback was Bryce Leitch, who led all players with 29 points, sinking three 3-pointers. Leitch scored 17 of her points in the second half. It also helped Alleghany that RC sophomore center Ruby Goodhart got into foul trouble in the third quarter.
The Cougars cut RC’s lead to 36-32 by the end of the quarter and outscored RC 16-9 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. Although the Wildcats were perfect (6-of-6) from the free throw line, the Cougars went to the line much more often, converting 19-of-26 (76 percent) of their attempts.
Alleghany committed just eight turnovers while capitalizing on 17 RC turnovers, most of them in the second half. “Turnovers hurt us,” said RC head coach Darrell Plogger, noting that the Cougars’ defensive press frustrated the Wildcats. “That’s been our Achilles’ heel all season.”
With the win, Alleghany advanced to the Region 3C quarterfinals and were scheduled to play at second-seeded Western Albemarle (184) on Monday night.
Plogger, completing his second year as the Wildcats’ head coach, said he was proud of how his team played. “I thought our effort was as good as it could be,” he said.
Goodhart led RC with 12 points and nine rebounds while dishing out three assists. Emma Clark added nine points on three 3-pointers and led RC with four assists, while Abby Bouchard scored eight points and had a block and a steal. Lola Mulitalo scored seven points, pulled down eight boards, and made two steals for RC, while Dez Butler chipped in six points on a pair of triples.
Other than Leitch, Alleghany’s leading scorers were Kelsey Nicely with 11 points and Ja’Kara Heighter with five.
RC shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from 3-point range, while the Cougars hit five triples.
The Wildcats, who had won just two games in each of the last two seasons, had their second- most wins in program history. “We improved so much from last year,” said Plogger. “Our team chemistry was very good. We came up a little short in the turnover battle.”
The only RC team this year’s Wildcats trailed in wins was the 2014-15 team, coached by Bart Bellairs and starring RC Athletic Hall of Fame guard Keely Fresh, a 2015 RC graduate. The 2014-15 team went 15-10 and made the Conference 31 semifinals, but did not make the regional tournament. The most recent team to make the regional tournament, the 2018-19 team coached by Misty Armstrong, went 8-18 that season.
In the challenging Valley District, the Wildcats went 5-9 this season, with their first win over Turner Ashby in recent history, a 39-31 win in the Wildcats’ final home game on Feb. 7. The Wildcats swept district rivals Rocktown and William Monroe and local rival Parry Mc-Cluer. In December, RC earned big nondistrict overtime wins over Staunton and Waynesboro. Both schools are in the Shenandoah District, which the Wildcats will join this coming school year, with shorter travel distances than the Valley District.
The Wildcats graduate just one senior, Clark, who has committed to continuing her academic and basketball career at Division III school Bridgewater next year. Clark was a four-year varsity guard who’s a talented outside shooter and defender. “We’re going to miss Emma,” said Plogger. “She’s been a big piece of our success. I hate to see her go.”
The future looks bright, though, with a lot of talented players set to return and lead next year, led by Goodhart, Butler and juniors Bouchard, Mulitalo, Bella Dorey and Natalie Samante. Plogger said some of his players will play spring sports, and some will improve in the offseason by playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and travel basketball. Several of RC’s junior varsity players got valuable varsity experience this year when varsity players were out with injuries.
Plogger is grateful for his staff, with assistant coaches Tyler Falls, Ricky Haston, Paul Pelter and Monica Schaus. “I wouldn’t trade my staff for anybody,” said Plogger. “All of us get along so well. Great group of coaches.”
In addition, Plogger said he’s grateful for RC athletic director Adam Haynes, athletic department assistant Travis Rogers and athletic trainer Courtney Simpkins for helping make girls basketball and other programs successful. “I appreciate all the work they do with us,” said Plogger.
Looking back on this special season, Plogger said he “couldn’t be more proud of these girls. We battled to the end.”
