The Lady Cougar basketball program hosted the Christiansburg Blue Demons Tuesday at the Cougar Den. The end result was a big win for Pulaski County in the varsity game. Pulaski County took a loss in the junior varsity contest, but it was a much better and determined effort by the younger Lady Cougars.
“I think our JV team is showing a lot of heart and improvement,” Pulaski County Head Coach Scott Ratcliff said. “They’re right there. If we can get them to improve their free throw percentages and make more of their layups, this could have been a much different game. Our varsity girls are growing up too. We’ve got some young players out there in our starting lineup, but they’re making a big impact on our team.”
The varsity contest began with Pulaski County jumping out to a six-point lead, 17-11, at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Cougar bent but didn’t break, and on the offensive side of the court the shots fell. By halftime, Pulaski County led 38-24, outscoring Christiansburg 21-13 in the second period.
Pulaski County kept the pressure on in the third, outsourcing the Blue Demons 21-10 to lead 59-34 heading into the fourth. Working to milk the clock, the Lady Cougars only added three points in the fourth, but the 12 points by Christiansburg weren’t enough, and the Lady Cougars came away with the 62-46 victory.
Cha Cha Ratcliffe-Calfee led all scorers with 18 points. Palyn Sweet added 14 points. Ellie McDonald hit three big three-pointers on her way to adding 12 points. Kaliya Green chipped in eight points. Dayonna Lewis was good for six points. Olivia King and Ellie Russell scored two points each in the win.
The Lady Cougars hit five three-pointers in the game. McDonald hit three, Sweet was good for two, and Ratcliff-Calfee hit one. Pulaski County also made good on eight-of-twelve free-throw attempts. With the win, the Lady Cougars are now 11-2 on the season. Christiansburg drops to 5-6 with the loss.
Christiansburg was led by Lauren Massey with 14 points and Jasmine Coleman with 13. JC Coleman added 11 points. Mia Robinson added six. Alva Haley scored the final two points for Christiansburg. The team was seven-of-fifteen from the free-throw line.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Coach Ratcliff said. “We’re doing some good things, but we’ve also got a few issues. At times, we seem to play down to competition we should be able to handle much easier. That’s a habit we can’t afford to have. There are too many good teams on our schedule to take anybody for granted. We need to play every minute of every game like it’s the only game that matters. We’re growing up pretty quick, and I’m seeing a lot we like, but we can’t be satisfied. We’ve got to get better every day.”
The Blue Demons were able to win the JV game 44-36, but Pulaski County put up a much better effort than has been seen recently. The Lady Cougar JV squad moves to 2-9 with the loss. Christiansburg’s JV team is now 7-4.
The Lady Cougars will hit the road Friday, as they travel to Salem to take on the Spartans. The Spartans are currently 13-1 with wins over William Byrd, Northside, Patrick Henry, Lord Botetourt, Cave Spring, Wren (Piedmont), Farragut (Knoxville), Blacksburg, Hidden Valley, and Christiansburg. Their lone loss to this point came against Gatlinburg-Pittman, 51-58, in a holiday tournament in Tennessee. That team is now 13-3.
Salem leads the River Ridge District at this point with a 6-0 record. Pulaski County is second at 4-1 in district play. Blacksburg is 2-2. Christiansburg is 2-2. Cave Spring is 2-3. Hidden Valley is 1-3. Patrick Henry is a surprising 0-6 in district play and 1-12 overall. Their only win so far was a 45-36 game against Albemarle in early December.
“We better buckle up and get ready for what’s coming,” Ratcliff added. “We’ve got a lot of tough basketball left on the schedule. We can’t afford to take a night off or overlook anybody. I like what I’m seeing so far, but we need to keep the pressure on.”