Making an incredible comeback from a 15-point halftime deficit, the Rockbridge County High School girls basketball team earned its second win in a row by defeating Staunton 61-53 on Friday night in Lexington.
The Wildcats (3-4) were down 19-13 after the first quarter of the nondistrict game, and Staunton (2-4) outscored them 16-7 in the second quarter to take a 35-20 halftime lead.
The second half, however, was a different story, as the Wildcats made inside shots, free throws and 3-pointers and contained the Storm to cut the lead to 44-40 by the end of the third quarter.
With the game tied 47-47 with 3:32 left in regulation, Staunton’s Tiffany Chisley sank a free throw, and the Storm went up 50-47 on an inside basket from Kerein Scott. In the closing seconds of regulation, RC’s Emma Clark missed a 3-pointer, but teammate Abby Bouchard hit a 3-pointer to tie it 50-50 and send the game to overtime.
The Wildcats and Storm traded 3-pointers early in overtime, with Clark hitting one for RC and Trioux Williams making one for Staunton. The Wildcats went ahead by one on a free throw from Bouchard, and Lola Mulitalo then made a big play for RC by grabbing an offensive rebound and putting in a shot while fouled. Mulitalo hit the free throw to put the Wildcats up 57-53 with 1:21 left, and the Wildcats would seal the win with an inside shot from Bella Dorey and a pair of free throws from Bouchard.
Bouchard led RC with 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Clark scored 16 points, making four 3-pointers, and grabbed six boards. Mulitalo led RC with 19 rebounds and added 13 points, and Des Butler scored seven points, grabbed seven boards and dished out five assists.
Hayden Terry led Staunton with 16 points, sinking four 3-pointers, while Williams added 12 points. Also stepping up for the Storm were Ny’Myah Rodriguez with 10 points and Avian Fields with six.
Staunton made eight 3-pointers, while RC hit six.
The Wildcats and Staunton will meet again on Thursday, Jan. 23 at Staunton.
After Christmas, the Wildcats will play host to local rival Parry McCluer at the RC gym, with the varsity game scheduled for 4 p.m. The day will start with the junior varsity girls’ game at 1 p.m., followed by the JV boys’ game at 2:30 p.m., with the varsity boys’ game scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The full story and photos from Friday’s game, as well as coverage of the games between RC and PM, please see our Dec. 31 newspaper due to our early deadline for the Christmas Eve issue. The story on the Wildcats’ other two games this week, with photos from their 50-43 home win over Waynesboro on Wednesday, will be in our Dec. 24 newspaper.
