sports@southwesttimes.com
ROANOKE – As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”. Thus did the Lady Cougar basketball team’s seven game winning streak on Saturday, as the Hidden Valley Titans defeated Pulaski, 55-54, in what was yet another classic chapter to their River Ridge District rivalry.
“I know some things we did tonight were good and some things weren’t so good,” said Lady Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “We missed 14 free throws. We’ve got to get better at that. We had 18 turnovers. We’ve got to get better than that. We out rebounded Hidden Valley, but we shot 38% and they shot 44%. Those were the keys to the game for us. We have to come in here and work on our shooting percentage, work on our free throws, and work on playing a little more cautiously on offense without turning it over.”
The Titans (6-4, 2-0) would get off to a great start in the game, scoring six of the first eight points to take a 6-2 lead. Pulaski (7-8, 2-1) would play from behind in the first six minutes before clawing back at the end of the quarter with a strong performance by Daisy Ball.
She would score seven straight Cougar points and nine points in the quarter, which tied the game 11-11. Raiven Patterson would add a floater shot before the end of the quarter, as Pulaski led by two, 13-11, after the first.
Foul trouble would build quickly in the first quarter though, as Kasey Holcomb would pick up two fouls in a span of 24 seconds, taking a key defender and ball handler out of the game for Pulaski. The Cougars would have seven fouls in the first quarter, putting the Titans in the bonus early.
To make matters worse for Pulaski, Ball would pick up an early foul in the start of the second and the Titans continued to make their foul shots. Before the quarter was over, Ball and Holcomb would add their third fouls.
“We’ve got Kasey Holcomb, Raiven Patterson, and Daisy Ball as our returning leaders on the court,” Grubb said. “They are kids who started for us last year. We had all three of them in foul trouble in the first half. Kasey and Daisy were in foul trouble the whole game. Raiven wasn’t so much in the second half, but that is frustrating because it changes the way you play. It changes the kids play defense, hustle, and the way kids make decisions on the court. It also changed the way we rotated. We had to play kids in different positions. Sometimes out there we had some mismatches out there. Unfortunately we weren’t able to play people we wanted to for the right reasons all the time. We had to think about their foul situations. That is something we had to deal with.”
Hidden Valley would capitalize on the foul trouble by not only making their free throws, but began building a cushion between them and the Cougars. A two point lead grew to three, then four, and finally six, 26-20.
The Cougars once again showed resolve, pulling back with a Holcomb three just before she picked up her third foul. Though she exited the game, Pulaski would continue to get key contributions from both Patterson and freshman Sydney Anderson.
Both would score before the end of the quarter, as they created baskets and free throw attempts. A 27-23 Titan lead quickly turned into a 31-30 halftime lead for Pulaski.
“Sydney has done a good job for us all year long,” Grubb said. “She has been a starter. She had some real big games for us early in the season. She has been a little quieter because she is such an unselfish player. We’ve played a lot of games where we’ve had some lopsided victories. A couple times this year, she has stepped up her game. She did a good job. I think she realized she needed to be the one to step it up. They were keying on Raiven’s pentration and Daisy’s post up. She did a great job of taking the ball to the hole. She is proven before that she is capable of being a big scorer. Tonight was just a huge example where she did a great job.”
As it had played out in the first half, the momentum would switch, this time in favor of Hidden Valley. The Titans started out the quarter on an 8-0 run and took a 40-31 lead. They would get three lay ups from Jordan McDonald during the run. That forced Grubb to take a timeout and regroup
Pulaski would come back out and play aggressive, but the shots wouldn’t fall. Ball would pick up her fourth foul just 48 seconds into the half. Holcomb would also pick up her fourth and Patterson picked up her third just before the end of the quarter, as the foul trouble continued to mount. The Titans would make 13 of their 17 free throw attempts in the game.
However, Pulaski would manage to keep pace with the Titans and stay in the hunt for a win heading into the final quarter, as the lead remained nine, 48-39.
An early fourth quarter run would propel the Cougars back into the game. Anderson would hit two free throws, Patterson would make a lay up, and returning for the Cougars was Holcomb and Ball. Their impact was immediate, as Holcomb would drive and pass to Ball for a lay up, cutting the Titan lead to just three, 48-45.
Hidden Valley added another lay up from Lindsay Divers, but the Cougars would roll off five straight points and tie the game, 50-50. Ball would make a lay up. Anderson would hit a free throw after picking up the foul on a made lay up attempt to make a three point play.
The game was going to go down to the wire with the team making the biggest run at the end taking the victory. Meth Conner, who had been placed in the game to combat Ball’s size and try to get her to commit that final foul, added a late key basket. Hidden Valley left the door open though, as Jordan McDonald would hit just one of two free throws on the next Titan possession.
Anderson would get fouled on the next Cougar possession, but miss both free throws. However, Patterson was there for the rebound and put back, as the Titan lead was just one, 53-52, with under a minute remaining.
The Cougars would need to foul quickly and put the Titans on the foul line for a chance to tie or win. With just five team fouls, they would need two fouls to get Hidden Valley into the bonus. Pulaski would get the first with Holcomb and the second with Ball, as both fouled out of the game with just 13.2 seconds remaining.
“They [Holcomb and Ball] did a great job of playing with those fouls,” Grubb said. “They knew it was time to step up to the play. At the very end, they fouled out because we had to foul at the side in-bounds. It was unfortunate that those were the two kids that fouled out. They did a fine job playing with that many fouls. It’s tough trying to play with that kind of defense and having that many fouls.”
Jordan McDonald went back to the line with a chance to redeem herself. She would do so, making both free throws and Hidden Valley took a timeout to set up their defense. The ball would be in-bounded and get into the hands of Raiven Patterson. She would attempt to find a teammate open for three, but there was nothing there, so she decided to drive the lane for a quick score.
The clock would not stop though, as the remaining four seconds ticked away before the Cougars could foul and the game was over.
Sydney Anderson scored a game-high 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had five steals. Patterson added 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Ball scored 13 points as well for the Lady Cougars.
The Cougars must now shake off the tough loss and set their sites on the week ahead. Before a Friday encounter with the 12-1 Salem Spartans on the road, Pulaski will face their second River Ridge hurdle against the Blacksburg Bruins on Wednesday at home.
“We have a resilient bunch of kids who know how to bounce back and do bounce back,” Grubb said. “They understand there are only two ways to handle a loss and that is to come back with an attitude that you are going to work hard, make improvements, and get better or get frustrated and let it hold you back. I know that our kids are going to come in here on Monday and work hard, watch a little film, and be ready to play against Blacksburg.”
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