The season started with a tough loss at Carroll County, but since that loss the Pulaski County High School Lady Cougar basketball team has rolled out three straight wins over Radford, William Fleming, and Princeton.
It started with a home matchup with the Radford Bobcats. The Lady Cougars took an early lead and never looked back against a Radford squad that has clearly gone through a rough patch. The program didn’t have enough players for a JV squad and several players expected to be key starters are no longer on the team. The end result was a 65-3 win for the Lady Cougars.
The JV Lady Cougars faced off that same night against the Floyd County JV team. While the result was a little closer, the end result was an impressive 45-20 win for Pulaski County.
Next up came a much bigger test for the Lady Cougars, at least at the varsity level. The JV squad made quick work of the Fleming Lady Colonels, earning a 52-20 win that was never in doubt. Emma Ritter led the way for Pulaski County with 12 points. Sophia Hanson earned nine points. Taylor Goble and Caroline Bishop added eight points each. Sara Ritter chipped in seven points. Brooke Millirons and Ellie MacDonald added four points each. Sydney Phibbs and Morgan Price didn’t add any points to the total, but they did provide outstanding defense and excellent passing to other players.
The varsity matchup was much closer, requiring a come-from-behind effort by the Pulaski County girls.
After leading 13-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Cougars found themselves with several players in foul trouble early in the second quarter. William Fleming took advantage of the issue, outscoring the Lady Cougars 19-8 to take a 28-21 lead into the halftime break.
The two teams played even in the third quarter, scoring 15 points each to bring the score to 43-36 in favor of the Colonels. Trailing heading into the fourth quarter, Pulaski County locked down on defense. The Lady Cougars outscored William Fleming 15-7 in the fourth to earn the 51-50 victory.
“Our girls got a little overwhelmed at first, then a few got into foul trouble and left us in a bind,” Lady Cougar Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said. “Fleming might be a young team, but they were really aggressive and put the pressure on us. That’s normally what we do. Our girls kept after it and eventually got things back under control a little bit. We didn’t help ourselves with some missed easy shots and only getting 20 of 29 free throws, but that’s one of those early season things you see. We just need to keep working hard in practice and keep getting better.”
The Lady Cougars hit the road again Thursday night, traveling to Princeton, West Virginia, to take on the Tigers. Once again, the JV squad put in a solid night of work, earning a 52-31 win. The varsity squad, not wanting to be outdone, won their matchup 53-30.
With their wins at Princeton, the JV squad moves to 4-0 on the season and the varsity team moves to 3-1.
The Lady Cougars are scheduled to be back in action Saturday as PCHS hosts Carroll County in a JV/varsity day of basketball that includes both the Cougars and Lady Cougars. The JV boys team starts things off at noon. Tuesday, Dec. 13, the Lady Cougars will host Christiansburg.