The Pulaski County Lady Cougar basketball teams scored early, often, and repeatedly as they shocked the highly touted Jefferson Forest Cavaliers Tuesday, ending their seven-game winning streak with a 69-44 loss.
For the Lady Cougars, it was business as usual.
“We still made some mistakes, but we played pretty good tonight,” Lady Cougar Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said. “Seeing Morgan and Tori Vest play like they did was great. Andi Ratcliff and Kenzlee Jones showed up too. Points aren’t all that matter. Those guys all put in a ton of work tonight.”
The Lady Cougars led 22-9 at the end of the first quarter. That lead was largely due to a hot streak by Tori Vest, who hit three big three-pointers on her way to 11 points in the period. Paige Huff also hit a three, Keslyn Secrist added four. Jaden Lawson and Andi Ratcliff added two point each in the first.
Pulaski County outscored the Cavaliers 15-9 in the second quarter to take a 37-18 lead into the halftime break. The Lady Cougar defense simply denied Jefferson Forest the opportunity to score regularly.
Jefferson Forest pumped up their numbers in the second half, scoring 11 points in the third and 15 in the fourth, but it was too little, too late as the Lady Cougars added 18-14 to secure the 69-44 win.
Paige Huff led the way for Pulaski County with 18 points. Keslyn Secrist added 15 points. Tori Vest scored 11 points. Morgan Vest came in to score 10 points. Jaden Lawson scored five points. Andi Ratcliff added four. Hannah Keefer and Kenzlee Jones added three points each.
Moriah Tate led the Cavaliers with 21 points. Kennedy Hancock added 11 points and A’Zoula Dawkins scored seven. Bella Hill added three and Sarah Ferrell scored two.
“Hey, you never know who it’s going to be from one night to the next,” Coach Ratcliff said. “One night we see one of them step it up, then the next night it’s another one. I think we’ve seen they all have it in them to get the job done. No question it’s an asset for us. If we can play a clean game and have everybody show up, I think we can play with about anybody. Winning will come down to who wants it more and who makes the least mistakes.”
The Lady Cougars will now hit the road to take on top seed Louisa County for the Class 4, Region D Championship. The win over Jefferson Forest guarantees Pulaski County a spot in the State Playoffs, but their path will start based on how the region title game ends. A win would give the Lady Cougars a home game. A loss would put them on the road.
The Championship game at Louisa County High School is set for Friday, February 24, with a 6:30 p.m. tip off.