Pulaski County fans made a it feel like a true home game Friday against Sherando.
With under two minutes in the fourth quarter, the issue was still undecided Friday at Christiansburg High School. Pulaski County had led, then trailed, then led again. Each time they began to build a lead, Sherando found a way to close the gap. Three different Sherando Warriors finished the game with huge three pointers that kept the game within a few points.
Then ... with 1:42 remaining in the game and Pulaski County leading by just three points ... it happened. Covered up and guarded closely all night, Paige Huff found herself open outside of the three-point line. She sent her shot. When the ball found nothing but the bottom of the net, every Pulaski County fan within two miles erupted.
“Man! That was the shot right there,” Lady Cougar Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said. “That gym went wild. The place went wild! We were feeling a little nervous until that shot, but then our girls took it over.”
Leading 54-48, the Lady Cougars dropped back on defense. Tori Vest found herself with the ball and put up a shot, earning the plus one after her basket was true, again getting the Cougar faithful on their feet. She sank the extra shot to put Pulaski County up 57-48.
Vest was called for a foul on the other end of the court, but the Warrior shooter only hit one of the two attempts to move the score to 57-49.
And then ... after being forced to play gently with three fouls the entire second half ... there was Jaden Lawson. She put up a shot and was fouled but missed the first attempt. She went on to hit the second. With 35 second remaining in the game, the junior drew another foul and stepped calmly to the line. She sank both free throws to put Pulaski County up by the final score of 60-49.
“We did a lot of things out there tonight that made it tougher for us than it needed to be,” Coach Ratcliff said. “We missed free throws and we missed wide open, easy layups. That’s not going to cut it. Sherando was on fire from outside and it kept them in the game, but we could have done a lot better on the little things that we work on every day. It was good to see us gut it out though. Hopefully this will wake us up a little bit before Monday. I’m proud of our girls, but we’ve got to do better.”
The Lady Cougars outscored Sherando 14-13 in the first. Each team added 14 points in the second to send them to the locker room with Pulaski County up 28-27. The Lady Cougars added 14 while holding Sherando to 11 points in the third, leaving the score at 42-38 heading into the fourth.
Despite how hard Pulaski County tried to put the game away, Sherando kept coming. They opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to come within four points. After the Lady Cougars added a basket, Sherando hit another three-pointer to make it 44-43. Pulaski County added another basket, but Sherando hit from outside again to make it 46-44. With 4:22 remaining, the Warriors tied the game then took a one-point lead, 46-47. Then the final drama played out for the Lady Cougars to send them to the State Semifinals.
Sherando was led by Aliza Murray with 17 points, including four three-pointers. Grace Burk added 14 points that included three big three-pointers. Asia Williams had seven points. Josie Willett added six points with two three-pointers. Jaiden Polston was good for three points. Emma Clark added two. Altogether, the Warriors hit nine three-pointers on the night.
“I’m glad we got the win, and I’m glad we’re playing again Monday,” Coach Ratcliff said. “I know we want to really thank all the fans that came out to support us. This was another great atmosphere for a high school basketball game. I hope we can pack the gym again Monday when we play the semifinal game. This will be the biggest game of the year for us and it will be against one of the toughest teams we’ve played yet. Tuscarora is big, strong and fast. They can shoot the lights out. We’re going to need our girls to play their best game yet.”
Tuscarora will come into the game with a record of 26-2. Pulaski County now has a record of 25-3. The Tuscarora Huskies lost a game to 20-4 Spotswood 59-42 back at the end of December. They also lost a game to 20-7 Millbrook in December by a final score of 48-52. Tuscarora defeated Sherando in the Region C Championship game last week 43-29. The only other common opponent the two teams share is Millbrook, who Pulaski County defeated 57-36 back in late December at a tournament.
On the other side of the bracket, Region A runner-up King’s Fork defeated Region B Champion Matoaca 78-42 Friday. Class A Champion Hampton defeated Class B runner-up Hanover 45-28 Friday. That sets up a semifinal game on that end of things between the 20-6 King’s Fork Bulldogs and the 23-3 Hampton Crabbers Monday. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Pulaski County versus Tuscarora game for the Class 4 State Championship Thursday, March 9, in Richmond.
Game time Monday for Pulaski County versus Tuscarora has been set for 7 p.m. at Christiansburg High School. Ticket information will be posted later this weekend.