It wasn’t supposed to end this way for Louisa County girls basketball.
Not in the midst of a state title defense.
Not with the way the Lions have played of late, finding their stride and rhythm down the stretch.
But when realignment puts the same schools that battled it out for a state championship last season in the same region and then fate and math intervene to put them on a collision course in the Region 4D semifinals, the unexpected can happen.
Louisa fell 63-49 to Pulaski a year after beating the Cougars to win a Class 4 state championship. This time, mistakes in the second half snowballed for the Lions as Pulaski pulled away after leading just 35-33 at the break.
Pulaski used a balanced offense to offset the Lions’ firepower. Keslyn Secrist led the Cougars with 21 points, Paige Huff finished with 17 and Ally Fleenor scored 16 to carry the bulk of Pulaski’s offensive effort.
Sylvie Jackson finished with 15 points, with 14 coming in the first half. The Lions struggled to score in the second and managed just six points in the fourth, with half of that coming on a Janie Smith 3-pointer. Smith finished with 13 points while Olivia McGhee had 11 on the night.
Pulaski advances to the Region 4D championship where the Cougars will face E.C. Glass.
