sports@southwesttimes.com
RADFORD – The Radford Bobcats just had a little more “Pip” in their step than Auburn during Wednesday’s girl’s basketball contest.
Cortney Pattison, known collectively as “Pip” for her close resemblance to storybook character “Pippi Longstocking”, scored a team-high 20 points in the final home game of her high school career, as the Bobcats notched their sixth district victory, 51-24, in Radford.
The game marked the final home contest for five seniors – Pattison, Jesslyn Mundy, Rachel Wright, Sarah Hale, and Ave Bell. Coach Kevin Conner was concerned about his team’s mentality going into such an emotional game.
“On ‘Senior Night’, I’m always kind of worried about what mindset we are going to have and whether we are worried about celebrating the seniors than the actual basketball game,” Conner said. “I thought we were focused. We came out with a lot of energy. That is our main thing. If we can come out with some energy, then we can put a lot pressure on some people like we did tonight. I was really proud with how we started.”
“It was a big moment for all five of us,” Pattison said. “I think we came out and stepped it up. It’s not really all about us. It is more our team and how we play.”
Radford (16-2, 6-2) would quickly break out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter, as Pattison scored seven of those 13 points. The Eagles (11-7, 4-3) struggled during the opening moments of the game because of tough full and half court presses by Radford. Auburn stormed back towards the end of the quarter with three straight scores, but the Bobcats still held a 13-8 lead after the first.
The Bobcat’s strong performance continued in the second, as Maryah Sydnor would get in on the action. The junior scored six points in the quarter and Pattison added four points. Auburn would only scored five points in the quarter as Radford extended their lead, 26-13, at halftime.
“We are athletic,” Conner said. “We are pretty athletic up front with Pip [Pattison] and Elizabeth [Carter]. Then we are tall and long in the back. Those girls are also athletic too. We just move so fast. I think it wore Auburn down a little bit and they got tired. They are a young basketball team too, so I think some of those things got to them a little bit. Those are the types of things we want to do. It’s the energy level too. We have tried to do that before and didn’t have the energy level to do it. Our energy level was so high that I think that is what made it effective for us.”
That energy continued to pour out in the third quarter, as Radford once again held the Auburn offense in check and continued to pile on the points offensively. Pattison once again had a big quarter, scoring seven points. Junior Elizabeth Carter would add in five points during the quarter.
The final quarter of play saw all five seniors on the court at the same time, as Conner gave them one last moment together on the home court. He would call a timeout with 3:04 remaining in the game and give his players one final curtain call before subbing them out. The Bobcats were ahead and would stay that way, sealing the victory.
Conner took a moment after the game to reflect on this senior class and his final moments with them on the Radford home court.
“This bunch has been with me the last two years,” Conner said. “Anything I ask them to do, they will do it for us. They are a very together group. Sometimes you get seniors and they forget about the underclassmen and they will be all about themselves. Not this bunch. It has been about all 12 girls and not just the five seniors. That has got to start with them. They’ve been great leaders for us and I just love them.”
Pattison scored 20 points and had eight assists, while junior Maryah Sydnor scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory.
Radford must now quickly turn around from this touching win and travel to Glenvar tomorrow for another Three Rivers district game. They will look to avenge one of their two losses on the season, as the Highlanders won on Jan. 19 in Radford, 41-35. For the Bobcats, it is all about continuing their current run.
“We like to think we are trying to get ourselves into a momentum pattern here,” Conner said. “We are trying to build some momentum up for the postseason. Glenvar plays really tough. They were the better team when we played them that night. I like to think we have improved since then and they have too. It’s going to be a tough ball game for us, but it is a good test. Going on the road like that is like a postseason playoff game. We are really looking forward to the challenge.”
“I think we just have to go out there and play our hardest, just like we did tonight,” Pattison said. “We all just need to step it up from last time. I think our team didn’t play very well. I know that this time we are going to go out and just be ready to play.”
No comments:
Post a Comment