(The Lady Cougars and their fans celebrate as they realize they're heading to the State Championship game in Richmond Thursday.)
To say that the past four days have been an absolute emotional roller coaster for Pulaski County would be an incredible understatement.
Friday night, the Lady Cougar basketball team defeated Sherando to advance to the state final four. Saturday morning, Pulaski County learned of the passing of legendary former Head Coach Joel Hicks. And then, just when we needed something good to lift our spirits, the Lady Cougar basketball program provided it in the form of a 54-53 win over the Tuscarora Huskies to advance to the Class 4 State championship game Thursday.
“It was a team effort,” Lady Cougar Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said in a crowd of celebrating students and fans. “Tuscarora had a heck of a second quarter, then we had a heck of a second half. We’ve got three seniors in Keslyn Secrist, Tori Vest, and Paige Huff that came into the locker room at halftime and made the decision that they were going to get it done. They led this team. Then Hannah Keefer absolutely battles under the net to give us some huge points. Jaden Lawson played lights out defense and puts up some points for us. Then to see Morgan Vest, Andi Ratcliff, and Kenzlee Jones come in and put in the work they did was just the topper. What a comeback!”
Things looked good for the Lady Cougars at the end of the first quarter. They built up a 20-12 lead and seemed to be hitting on all cylinders. Then Tuscarora found their groove. After hitting two three-pointers in the first quarter, the Huskies saw three different players score from behind the three-point line as they scored 23 points while holding Pulaski County to just five points in the second. The teams went to the locker room with Tuscarora up by 10, 35-25.
The Pulaski County woke up. The Lady Cougars hit to quick buckets to move within seven points. Paige Huff got the ball outside and popped a three-pointer to move the score to 32-35, but the Huskies replied with a three of their own. The Lady Cougars added two more buckets to move within two points, 36-38, but the Huskies scored again to move back to a four-point lead, 36-40.
Sophomore Morgan Vest came into the game to give her sister Tori a break and missed a jumper. Seconds later she got the ball again and sent it up, hitting a three-pointer to make it 39-40. Tuscarora hit another basket before the end of the quarter to leave the score 39-42 heading into the fourth.
The Huskies added a basket to open the fourth quarter, but no one was paying attention to Morgan Vest. She replied by hitting two three pointers in a row, giving the Lady Cougars their first lead since early in the game. The Huskies scored again to take a one-point lead, but Pulaski County wasn’t having it. With 5:07 remaining the Lady Cougars hit a bucket to lead 47-46. They never trailed again.
The game was tied at two different points heading into the final seconds. With 8.2 seconds remaining, Tuscarora hit a basket to tie the game at 52-52. Secrist replied by taking the ball on the inbound pass and driving the distance. She missed the basket but was fouled, then hit both free throws to put the Lady Cougars up 54-52 with just 2.1 seconds remaining.
Then the drama of the night. The Huskies threw the ball inbounds and tried to get off a long shot, but with no time left on the clock, the shooter was fouled near center court. The officials put half a second back on the clock and sent the Huskies leading scorer, Colette Morris, to the free throw line. Down by two points, she would have three free-throw attempts.
“I thought the gym was going to blow up,” Coach Ratcliff said. “That place got louder than I’ve heard it in a long time. Our fans came out and I’d be surprised if any of them have a voice left in the morning. It was a great thing to see.”
Morris hit the first of her three free-throws, but missed the second, leaving only the chance to tie the game. A time out was called by Pulaski County. With the crowd from both teams going crazy, the third shot bounced off the rim and Pulaski County had the win.
The Lady Cougars were led by Secrist with 20 points, despite not being selected as the Region D Player of the Year. Hannah Keefer backed her up with 13 points that were earned in the trenches. Morgan Vest, coming in off the bench, hit three huge three-pointers for nine points. Jaden Lawson, despite not being recognized on the All-Region D team at all, turned in a stellar defensive performance and six points. Paige Huff helped distribute the ball around the court while adding four points. Kenzlee Jones came in to add two points.
The Huskies were led by Morris with 18 points, including five three-pointers. Lilli Scheivert added 10 points and Alysa Carrigan added nine. Grace Middleton scored eight points. Shay Rivera-Jones added five points. Jessica Owens scored the final three.
“Man, what a game,” Coach Ratcliff said. “That was a tough team. We still made some mistakes we could have avoided, but man what a way to come back. I’m proud of these girls. I’m proud of this team. I’m proud of our school and I’m proud to be from Pulaski County! We can’t thank these fans enough for all this support. There’s a lot of Cougar Pride running through these fans! This is how it’s supposed to be! This is great!”
The Lady Cougars are now 26-3 on the season and will advance to the Class 4 State Championship game, scheduled for Thursday, March 9, at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center. That game will see the Lady Cougars taking on the 24-3 Hampton Crabbers, who defeated the 20-7 King’s Fork Bulldogs 55-49. Game time Thursday is set for 6 p.m.