Lady Cougars look sharp, beat Patrick Henry

By BRIAN BISHOP

The Patriot

The Lady Cougars played their best game of this young season Tuesday.  They were patient on offense and relentless on defensive, which allowed them to control of the game and beat Patrick Henry, 43-33 in the Cougar Den.

Keslyn Secrist and Hannah Keefer got off to a quick start combining for 18 of the Cougars’ 22 first half points, giving Pulaski County a 22-14 lead at the break. The duo would combine for 32 total points for the game.

The Cougars played defense with intensity and a purpose, limiting Jada Cook and Trinity Breedlove to just 14 points combined for the game.

Foul issues, which have plagued the Cougars all season, were kept to a minimum as Pulaski County committed only eight for the game. That resulted in Patrick Henry reaching the charity stripe for only three free throws on the night.

“I thought we really had a great team effort tonight,” Secrist said afterwards. “I think all of us really bonded well tonight and made the right passes and got the win like we needed.” The senior had a game-high 19 points.

Coach Scott Ratcliffe, when asked about the game and the fast start of Keefer and Secrist, replied, “Oh, yes. It’s a big priority for us. I thought the whole team, everybody that played tonight … the bench, were all better. All of our role players did a good job. Tori Vest, I thought, played a great ball game – always hustling. I thought that was a spark for us.”

This is a good River Ridge District win for the Cougars heading into Christmas Break. Pulaski County goes to 7-2 on the season. They are off until next Wednesday, when they face Millbrook in a Christmas tournament in Spotswood.  This game is a rematch of last year’s state semi-final game in which Millbrook won 68-59 in overtime.

The win gives the Lady Cougars a 7-2 mark so far this season.

Leading Scorers:

Pulaski: Secrist 19, Keefer 13, Huff 10, T Vest 1

Patrick Henry: Cook 10, A Gibson8, A Banks 7, Breedlove 4, D Banks 4