(The Lady Cougars rallied from behind to earn a win over the Princeton Tigers Tuesday)
It was ugly at times, and there were times that it seemed like the Lady Cougar basketball team was ready to call it a night, but after what may have been the worst half of basketball in Lady Cougar basketball history, Pulaski County rallied to pull out a come-from-behind 51-34 victory over a scrappy Princeton Tiger squad.
“It blows my mind,” Lady Cougar Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said. “We were completely flat in the first half. It was like we were just going through the motions after the first minute or so. They got the lead on us and we just dropped off. Thankfully we had a few players step up in the second half to bring things back to where they needed to be, but we just can’t play like that.”
Pulaski County took a quick 5-0 lead after Taylor Goble hit a three-pointer and Andi Ratcliff added a short jumper.
Then Princeton woke up, going on a 12-point run before Hannah Keefer hit one of two free throws to move the score to 6-12 in favor of the Tigers. Goble added another bucket to leave the Lady Cougars behind 8-12 after the first period.
In the second period, Pulaski County couldn’t seem to buy a bucket. The single point of the quarter came when Goble hit one of two free throws. Meanwhile, the Tigers added eight points to bring the halftime score to 20-9 for Princeton.
The halftime speech must have been a good one, as the Lady Cougars came out in the second half and slowly began to build momentum. Throughout the third quarter, Pulaski County slowly chipped away at the Princeton lead. With just over two minutes remaining, they got within five points, 20-25, but Princeton added another basket to go back up by seven. A three-pointer by Jaden Lawson and then a basket by Morgan Vest and free throw by Keefer moved the score to 26-27 heading into the final period. The Lady Cougars outscored Princeton 17-7 in the third.
Keefer had been held mostly in check in the first half, only scoring one point. That changed in the third quarter, as she put up eight points to help the rally. She added seven more in the fourth, as the Lady Cougars took their first lead since the opening minutes.
The rally started when Pulaski County led 30-27. A quick turnover by the Tigers left Goble open outside. She buried a three-pointer. Another bucket with an and-one put Pulaski County up 36-30. Four more points increased the lead, then Pulaski County started to feel it.
At this point, nobody felt it more than Morgan Vest. After being held scoreless in the first half, Vest hit her first bucket in the third. She went on to add 10 crucial points in the fourth quarter to help led the way. At the final buzzer, Pulaski County had earned the 51-34 victory.
“I’m proud of the way we battled back, but we never should have been in that situation to start with,” Coach Ratcliff said. “I know we’ve been through some things this season. We’ve got players out with injuries. Nobody we play cares about that. They don’t care if we’re hurt or missing girls. They just want to beat us. We’ve got some games coming up to finish out the regular season that are going to really be tough. Christiansburg, Blacksburg, and Salem have all taken losses from us the past few seasons and they are chomping at the bit to get us back. Our program has that bullseye on it. We have to own that and take it as a challenge every night. It doesn’t matter who we don’t have. What matters is who we do have and what they can get done. It’s time to step up to the challenge.”
Keefer led the Lady Cougars with 16 points. Vest finished with 12 points. Goble hit 11 points. Andi Ratcliff added seven. Jaden Lawson scored three points and Reece Nolen scored two points.
The Tigers were led by Kaylee Wright with 15 points and Maddie Stull with seven.
In JV action, the younger Lady Cougars also found themselves in a cat fight but eventually pulled out a 62-52 victory. After leading 18-10 at the end of the first quarter, Princeton won the second quarter 19-10 to take a one-point lead, 29-28, heading into the halftime break. The Lady Cougars outscored the Tigers 21-10 in the third to expand their lead. Each team added 13 in the fourth to bring on the 51-34 final.
Palyn Sweet led the way with 17 points. Ellie MacDonald scored 16 points. Ellie Russell, despite fouling out, backed her up with 15 points. Kaliyah Green added six points. Lylah Minnick added four. Peyton Harper and Kayonna Lewis added two points each.
With their win, the JV Lady Cougars are now 17-0 on the season. The varsity squad improved to 10-8 with their win.
The Lady Cougars will hit the road Friday with a matchup at Christiansburg High School. Saturday, Pulaski County will host Blacksburg with an early game. The regular season will finish up Tuesday, February 6, with a road trip to Salem.
