The Shadow
On Wednesday night, December 6, the Varsity Lady Cougars hosted their first-ever home game since the merging of the schools and remodeling of the AHS gymnasium. Temperatures dipped below the thirties outside, but inside, the Lady Cougars were on fire!
Kelsey Nicely made history as the first AHS Cougar Varsity female basketball player to score a basket at a home game. Nicely was also the first player in the game to put points on the board, getting the Lady Cougars ahead 2-0 early in the first quarter.
Perhaps one of the most interesting parts about the first quarter was how hard the girls played. Some played a little too hard, resulting in several fouls. There were 5 against Alleghany, resulting in 9 free throws for Roanoke Catholic. However, the Celtics were only able to gain 3 points from foul shots. Meanwhile, the only foul against the Celtics was on Alleghany’s Bryce Leitch, who effortlessly put the ball through the hoop for both foul shots. After the first quarter, fouls were sporadic as opposed to recurrent.
The Lady Cougars eased into the second quarter with a decent 13-3 lead against the Celtics. Early into the second, Macyn Cash then made history as the first AHS Cougar Varsity female basketball player to score a 3-pointer. Cash was also the only Lady Cougar to hit a 3, putting in a second with about three minutes left on the clock until halftime. At half, the Cougars had a solid lead of 31-7.
In the third and fourth quarters, the Lady Cougars continued to pull ahead of the Celtics, constantly distancing themselves from the competition. By the end of the third quarter, the Lady Cougars led 48-8 and at the conclusion of the game, they had demolished the Celtics in a 50-12 victory. Bryce Leitch and Macyn Cash led the team in scoring with Leitch putting 15 points on the board while Cash threw in 10.
The Virginian Review caught up with head coach Jeff Wolfe after the game who said, “Some nights, the results are kind of dependent upon who you play, but it was really nice to come in and get a good win on the first game in the new gym. The kids are really excited. We had a couple kids up from JV that played with us since there wasn’t a JV game, so it was just nice to get everybody in the ball game.”
If the remainder of the season is anything like the first home game, it’s going to be a thrilling ride!
Individual Scoring:
Alleghany- Leitch 15, Cash 10, Nicely 7, Fridley 6, Stayton 6, Bragg 2, Dressler 2, Skidmore 2
