The Lady Cougar basketball team has had a season of success. There have been big wins that were over at halftime. There have been nail biters that left fans on the edge of their seats. There have been a few disappointing losses. But with their 54-53 win over the Tuscarora Huskies Monday, Pulaski County will now have just one final game on the schedule this season.
Thursday, at 6 p.m. at the VCU Siegel Center in Richmond, the Pulaski County Lady Cougars will take on the Hampton Crabbers for the Class 4 State Championship. This will be the fifth trip to the big dance for the program. It will also be the third time in the past five seasons that Pulaski County has reached this goal. Each time, to this point, the Lady Cougars have come up short and finished their season as the State Runners-Up.
Support for the team has been tremendous in the community. The fan base has shown up at games to cheer the team on. The student section has been respectful but loud and supportive. Even at the games that required several hours to get to, the crowd support has been as big or bigger than that of the home teams.
Different groups have taken turns feeding the team a pregame meal each night. For the State Championship game, a pregame meal is being provided for the team by the Insurance Center of Dublin, which includes PCHS alumni Brad Alley, Lynn White, Karen Tuggle, and Larry Nipper. Roger Caudell provided a banner for the team recognizing their “4-Peat” at the Class 4, Region D Champions. As has also been the case in the past, an anonymous donor has provided funding to help fund the student “Spirit Buses” to transport the Cougar Crazies to the title game.
Pulaski County has earned a River Ridge District Regular Season and Tournament Championship this season, along with a Class 4, Region D Championship. These things are not unusual for the program. They are now 26-3 on the season and have won 18 games in a row. Other than two losses to Carroll County early in the season … and yes, Carroll County will be playing for a State Championship this weekend as well … the last time Pulaski County suffered a loss was to Briar Woods during a holiday tournament at Spotswood High School December 29. That team finished the season 22-4 with a loss to Massaponax in the Class 5, Region C tournament last week.
Hampton comes into the game with a record of 24-3. They finished their Peninsula District schedule with a record of 16-2. The team has recorded wins over Woodside (15-9), Warwick (17-8), Gloucester (4-17), Bethel (13-8), Phoebus (6-17), Deep Creek (18-6), Edison (21-6), Landstown (13-11), Denbigh (0-20), Heritage-NN (8-14), Kecaughtan (7-14), Deep Creek (18-6), Hanover (19-9), and most recently King’s Fork (20-7).
The last loss for the Crabbers came January 20 when they dropped a 57-75 decision to Menchville (24-2). That team lost Monday night in the state semifinals to Princess Anne. Before that, the Crabbers lost a late December game to St. Anne’s-Belfield. That team lost in the state semifinals also Monday. Their only other loss of the season came against Menchville in their second game of the season.
The Crabbers have 10 players on their roster. Seniors (4) Kennedy Harris, (1) Asya Johnson, and (11) Jayla Stratton are joined by juniors (44) Dajanelle Robinson, (21) Jaiden Hunter, (3) Kyra Pulley, (5) Corynn Tynes, and (2) Dreyanna Foster. Two sophomores, (32) Kaliyah Perry and (14) Simora Prince, round out the varsity squad. The Crabbers are coached by Head Coach Shanda Bailey.
According to stats listed online out of their last nine games Harris had led the team with an incredible offensive effort, averaging 31.9 points per game. Johnson has added an average of 9.6 points per game. Perry backs them up with an average of eight points per game and Robinson and Stratton come in at 4.4 points per game each. Hunter has contributed just over four points per game. Pulley, Tynes, and Foster are averaging just over three points each per game.
Game time Thursday at VCU is set for 6 p.m. Fans can watch online with a paid subscription to NFHSnetwork.com. Live updates will also be provided on the PCPS Facebook page throughout the game. Tickets are on sale now for the VHSL State Basketball Finals at VCU at https://vcutickets.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=VHSL&linkID=vcu&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=. Tickets MUST be purchased online and WILL NOT be sold at the door.