The regular season and now the River Ridge District tournament are behind them, so now the Pulaski County Lady Cougars have turned their attention to the Class 4, Region D playoffs. The first matchup of those playoffs will take place Friday night at Pulaski County High School when the EC Glass Hilltoppers pay a visit to the Cougar Den.
The Lady Cougars and Hilltoppers have become well-acquainted with each other the past few seasons. In the 2019-20 season EC Glass hosted Pulaski County in the Region Title game. Glass came into the game with a solid 22-3 record and with high hopes after running through the Seminole District without a loss. The Lady Cougars won that matchup 70-57 to bring home the region trophy.
The COVID season in 2020-21 was tough on everyone, including the Hilltoppers. They bounced back in the 2021-22 season, however, and found themselves once again hosting the Lady Cougars for the region crown. This time they came into the game 21-3. The Lady Cougars hoisted the trophy in Lynchburg again, this time with a 53-43 win.
This season, the Hilltoppers come into the game in a different situation. After losing several key senior starters to graduation, Glass has struggled at times this season. They hold a record of 12-10 coming into the Cougar Den. Their wins have come against Staunton River (4-20), Chatham (18-4), Amherst County (11-11), Rustburg (1-21), Albemarle (9-14), Brookville (10-12), Heritage (5-17), and Liberty (16-5). Their losses have come against Chatham, Brookville, Liberty, Jefferson Forest (17-5), Cave Spring (16-7), Magna Vista (20-5), Liberty Christian (17-5), and Floyd County (17-5).
“They’re a good team and if our girls overlook them, this thing’s going to end for us,” Lady Cougar Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said. “Any team that is still playing at this point is a pretty good ball team. Anybody can beat anybody. All the regular season stuff is out the window now. We need to worry about one night at a time and take care of business. We want to see our girls play tough, physical basketball like we know they can. We’ve got to attack, but we also have to avoid getting into foul trouble. Everybody has to do their job and play their role.”
For Pulaski County, there are no secrets. Senior Kesyln Secrist needs to be active everywhere and score early and often. Senior Tori Vest needs to continue to provide a tough inside option while still hitting the occasional three-pointer. Senior Paige Huff needs to light up the long shots when they’re open and dish it inside when they’re not. Junior Hannah Keefer needs to play the kind of game she played Tuesday against Patrick Henry every night moving forward, attacking the basket and outrebounding her opponents.
The key to success for Pulaski County will be that and more. Junior Jaden Lawson is incredibly important in not only moving the ball into the hands of scorers, but defensively. If Lawson locks down her opposition and can add 10 points, the Lady Cougars are likely to win any game they play. Junior Kenzlee Jones has moved forward and played a much more physical game against Patrick Henry after dealing with a shoulder injury all season. Her minutes will be a major factor for any Pulaski County win. Junior Andi Ratcliff, along with sophomore Morgan Vest, bring potential on both ends of the court coming off the bench. Both will be called on to contribute, along with junior Destiny Duncan, who offers more defensively than offensively, but can put the ball in the basket when needed.
“It’s going to have to be everybody on the same page,” Coach Ratcliff said. “If you’re on the floor, you better be playing like your hair is on fire. You can rest when you get to the bench or after the game. Even if you win out and win it all, there are only so many games left in the season. It’s going to end no matter what, so we might as well it giving it everything we’ve got."
Ratcliff also mentioned the support the team has gotten.
"We're so excited to be here," Ratcliff said. "This is what you want. We work hard to be in big games like this. We're also hoping for a great crowd Friday. Every time we've gone up there, it's been a packed gym. I couldn't believe the student section we had up there the last year. We packed one entire end of their gym with our students! That's the way I like to see Cougar Pride shown. We're proud of our girls, our school, and we're proud to be a part of Pulaski County.”
The game was originally set to tip off at 6 p.m. Friday, but transportation issues for EC Glass have forced that to be backed up to 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door or $6 online through Ticket Spicket by credit or debit card with an .80 convenience fee. Winter Sports Passes are NOT VALID for Tournament Games.