In an intense back-and-forth battle, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team pulled through for a 62-61 home win in overtime over Shenandoah District rival Fort Defiance on Tuesday night in Lexington.
Senior guard Natalie Samante hit the winning shot for the Wildcats (5-8 overall, 3-4 district), knocking down a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim and then dropped in the basket with 9.8 seconds left in overtime. It was the fourth 3-pointer for Samante, who scored 14 points, and the Wildcats had their highest scoring total of the season.
In a game that was a battle for a spot in next month’s Region 3C tournament, RC led for most of the game, racing out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter before Fort (4-7, 2-4) ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut it to 10-7.
The Wildcats maintained a small lead throughout the second quarter, with Samante and Lola Mulitalo leading the offense, and RC went into halftime up 27-23.
In the third quarter, RC extended its lead to eight, but the Indians battled back to take their first lead of the game, 44-43. Inside by Dez Butler and Bella Dorey put the Wildcats up 46-43 at the end of the quarter.
The Wildcats led for most of the fourth quarter before Fort cut their lead to one in the final minute. Butler then made a crisp pass to Mulitalo for an inside basket that put RC up 57-54 with 21.4 seconds left in regulation. Just before the clock expired, Fort’s Peyton Simmons hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Samante hit a jump shot to put RC up by two, but another 3-pointer by Simmons gave Fort a 60-59 lead with just over a minute left. After an RC turnover, the Wildcats fouled Nora Knicley, who hit her first free throw attempt. She missed the second attempt, and Mulitalo grabbed the rebound before the Wildcats set up Samante for the winning shot. The Indians did not get another decent shot off.
Mulitalo led RC with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Also stepping up was Butler with 10 points, while Genesis McCoy added five points, and Dorey and Madison Mangione each chipped in four.
Caroline Hanger paced Fort with 21 points, while Simmons scored 16 points, and Harper Carter chipped in eight.
The Wildcats will continue district action when they play at Alleghany next Tuesday at 6 p.m.
For the full story and photos from RC’s win over Fort, please see our Jan. 21 newspaper. Coverage of last week’s action will be in this Wednesday’s newspaper.
