The Lady Cougar basketball team will have a tough road ahead of them as they enter the Virginia High School League Class 4 State Playoffs Friday.
Pulaski County (24-3) comes into round one as the Region D Champions after defeating Louisa County last Friday 66-52. They will be considered the home team when they lock horns with Sherando Friday at Christiansburg High School.
The Sherando Warriors (22-4) lost to Tuscarora in the Region C Championship game last Friday by a score of 43-29. The Warriors have wins during the regular season over Martinsburg, WV (9-12), Petersburg, WV (12-9), James Wood (16-8), Liberty-Bealton (6-17), Skyline (10-15), Kettle Run (11-9), Musselman, WV (5-12), Broadway (14-10), Fauquier (3-19), Warren County (1-19), and Handley (8-15). The suffered one loss to Millbrook (20-7), but also defeated them once. Then they lost to them again in the playoffs, but continued on to defeat them in the opening round of the region playoffs. Sherando went on to defeat Heritage-Leesburg (15-9) to get to the Region C Championship, where they lost to Tuscarora.
On the other side of the bracket are four very tough squads. The Matoaca Warriors are 18-6 and are the Region B Champions. They will play the Region A runners-up, the King’s Fork Bulldogs, who come into the game with a 19-6 record.
The Region A Champions are the 22-3 Hampton Crabbers. Hampton will play the Region B runners-up, the 19-8 Hanover Hawks.
The path to the big dance is a tough one. It’s supposed to be. Each game will be a tough one. They’re supposed to be. Any team that has made it this far has chance to beat any of the other teams on any given night. The final determination will be played out on the floor, as it should be.
The winners of the games Friday night will advance to the State semi-finals, set to be played March 6 or 7, depending on any weather issues between now and then. The winners of those games will travel to Richmond and the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. The State Championship game will be played on the floor of the Siegel Center on Thursday, March 9.