Wildcats Dominate At Home, Hold Off PM In Round Two
The Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team earned a season sweep over local rival Parry McCluer, but round two came down to the wire.
The Wildcats coasted by the Fighting Blues 50-30 in Lexington on Monday of last week. In Saturday’s rematch in Buena Vista, RC again built up a big second-half lead – only to hold on for dear life and a 40-36 victory. It was the fourth consecutive win in the series for the Wildcats, who also swept the series last year.
Fueled by another dominant post performance from Lola Mulitalo, who finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds, the ’Cats (4-6) assumed a 36-24 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Fighting Blues (1-7) came roaring back, using six fourth-quarter turnovers from RC to spark a 12-4 run that trimmed the margin to four (40-36) on a Josie Martinez basket with 1:07 to go. PM missed out on several chances to pull even closer inside the final minute as the Wildcats survived to secure the victory.
“The clock basically was our friend in the end,” RC head coach Darrell Plogger said. “They did a good job turning us over, pushing us to spots where they can trap us. We were just fortunate enough to hold on again.”
PM head coach Adam Gilbert was pleased with the spirit that his team showed in battling back from a double- digit deficit in the final four minutes of the game.
“When we got down 12, it could have gone one of two ways,” Gilbert said. “The kids showed a lot of grit and determination.”
Martinez totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blues, while Emory Slagle added 10 points and nine boards. Bella Dorey scored 12 points for the Wildcats.
The game started well enough for PM, which held RC off the scoreboard until the final minute of the opening period in building up an early 7-2 lead. The Wildcats grew into the contest in the second quarter, and the Blues headed into halftime with a narrow 17-15 edge.
PM endured a cold spell of its own in the third period, failing to score until the final 34 seconds of the frame. Mulitalo powered an RC surge at the other end of the court, scoring seven straight points as part of an overall 13-0 run that put the Wildcats ahead 28-17.
“She’s been that all year for us,” Plogger said of Mulitalo. “When we get in trouble – or we need a bucket, we need a rebound – she’s the one that usually shows up to play. She’s just a competitor.”
Meanwhile, the Blues looked flustered against RC’s pressure defense, coughing the ball up seven times in the period and rushing shots when they finally broke the press.
“We got in our own ways, our own heads. We were thinking too much,” Gilbert said. “I’m not taking anything away from Rockbridge; they turned us over and did what they had to do.”
PM closed the gap to 28-24 on a fastbreak basket from Martinez with 7:16 to play in the fourth quarter. But the Wildcats countered with another 6-0 spurt, going ahead 36-24 on a hoop from Dorey at the 4:51 mark.
The Blues responded with their best stretch of the game, getting a key 3-pointer from Slagle and two buckets from Martinez to help them close the gap. And even though PM ran out of time in its comeback bid, Gilbert saw a blueprint for the rest of the season with how his team performed down the stretch.
“We got steals, and we were attacking the basket,” the PM coach said. “It looked like we were finally just playing basketball. That’s what we’ve got to do: we’ve got to have that effort for four quarters.”
The Wildcats can hang their hat on two big rivalry wins – and they can also breathe a sigh of relief.
“I told our seniors, they’ve kind of got bragging rights forever here, being able to win both games” against PM, Plogger said.
“I’m glad this game’s over,” he added.
Caroline Watts notched six points and seven rebounds for the Blues, and Kayleigh Ramsey also scored six points. Natalie Samante and Genesis McCoy chipped in four points apiece for RC, and Dez Butler posted a game-high four assists.
RC 50, PM 30
Churning out its highest scoring total of the season in front of spirited fans in a crowded gym, the Wildcats earned a 50-30 home win over the Blues on Monday of last week.
Fueled by two 3-pointers from Butler, the Wildcats raced to a 17-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, after jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes. Butler led RC with 16 points, making all three of her 3-pointers in the first half, and grabbed five rebounds and two steals. At halftime, the Wildcats led 30-16.
“I thought Dez played really well,” said Plogger. “She carried us for a stretch there, got hot, and that’s what we need from her. We need her to score.”
In the second half, the Blues slowed down RC’s offense, but the Wildcats still outscored them 8-7 to take a 38-23 lead into the fourth quarter.
Led by scoring inside and rebounding by Mulitalo, the Wildcats finished the game strong, stretching their lead to as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Mulitalo scored 13 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, shooting 5-of-8 from the free throw line, and also had an assist, a block and a steal. Dorey added 12 points, two steals and a team-high four assists for RC, and Samante chipped in seven points and grabbed five rebounds.
The Wildcats’ reserves also “did a great job for us,” said Plogger. The RC coach highlighted the efforts of Gabby Clark, who stepped in when Mulitalo got in foul trouble and three rebounds.
Martinez led the Blues with 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Ramsey scored eight points, going 6-of-8 from the free throw line, and had a steal and a block. Slagle chipped in six points for PM and had three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Watts and Kat Zissi led PM with two steals each, with Watts scoring two points, while Patience Hill grabbed 10 boards and scored one point.
RC won the rebounding battle, pulling down 41 rebounds, while the Blues grabbed 34 boards.
The Wildcats, who were struggling with more than 25 turnovers in recent games, did a much better job of taking care of the ball, committing just 14 turnovers. The Blues had 14 turnovers. RC had just four turnovers in the first half. “That was by far the best half we’ve played this year,” said Plogger.
“I’m really pleased,” the RC coach added. “We did a lot of work the last couple of days. We’re trying to take care of that, and I think the hard work paid off tonight.”
On the other side, reviewing his team’s performance, Gilbert said, “I think, at times, we played timid. Early on, they hit shots, and I think that got them settled in a little bit. I thought they attacked the basket well. They shot pretty well in the first half. We didn’t shoot well tonight. We didn’t shoot well early on, and the bucket got small for us, and then when we did attack the basket, we missed some chippies around the basket.”
The Wildcats shot 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the field and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from three-point range, while the Blues shot just 22 percent (9-of-41) from the field and went 0-of-11 from three-point range.
Plogger said that, while the Blues are a young team, “What they’re trying to get, they know how to get. They’re just really, really well coached. Coach Gilbert does a great job.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Wilson Memorial last night and will continue Shenandoah District action at Riverheads on Friday before playing host to Fort Defiance on Tuesday. The Blues were slated to travel to Auburn on Monday before playing at Highland County last night and will continue Pioneer District action at Craig County on Thursday before playing host to Narrows on Tuesday. All games are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
