Fueled by hot shooting by Natalie Samante, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team battled to a 44-42 home win over Shenandoah District rival Buffalo Gap on Thursday night in Lexington.
Samante led all players with 16 points and pulled down four rebounds, shooting 4-of-5 from three-point range and scoring 14 points in the second half.
With the win, the Wildcats (9-13 overall, 7-7 district) avenged a 44-43 road loss to Buffalo Gap (6-13, 3-10) on Dec. 19 and improved their standing in the hunt for a Region 3C playoff spot.
The Bison took an early 6-2 lead, but RC then went on a 7-0 run and led 11-8 after the first quarter. The Wildcats stayed ahead for the remainder of the first half, taking an 18-15 lead into halftime.
To start the third quarter, Gap’s Rachel Showalter hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, and teammate Brailyn Green was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to give the Bison a 21-18 lead. Gap stayed ahead until Samante made a 3-pointer with just over a minute left to tie the game at 29-29, and Samante made her third triple of the quarter just before the clock expired to give RC a 32-30 lead.
The game remained close in the fourth quarter, and Samante hit another 3-pointer to give RC a 38-35 lead with a little under four minutes left. Showalter made an inside shot to cut RC’s lead to one, but Dez Butler then knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Wildcats’ advantage to 41-37.
The Bison got the lead back with just over a minute left, after a pair of baskets and a free throw that put them up 42-41, but the Wildcats responded with an inside basket from Lola Mulitalo to take a 43-42 lead. After a defensive stop, Mulitalo was fouled with 3.1 seconds left and hit 1-of-2 free throw attempts, and the Bison had one more long shot that missed, leaving the Wildcats to celebrate.
Mulitalo scored 13 points and led RC with 14 rebounds and four blocks while contributing three assists and three steals. Butler added seven points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists, while Genesis McCoy chipped in three points, five boards and two steals.
Showalter paced the Bison with 12 points, while Green and Lindsay Lyle each scored eight points.
RC and Gap each committed 19 turnovers.
The Wildcats will conclude a busy week of four games in five days when they travel to face district rival Fort Defiance on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
For the full story and photos from this week’s action, please see our Feb. 18 newspaper.
