Lady Cougar Basketball News > Varsity

DUBLIN -- Movie stars and Hollywood types lined the red carpet earlier this week at the Academy Awards.

Yet it was a performance right here in the New River Valley a few days ago that drew "Raiven" reviews.

That would be Pulaski County High School basketball player Raiven Patterson, whose sensational three-game performance helped carry the Cougars to an upset victory in the River Ridge District tournament.

A sophomore, Patterson scored in double figures in all three games including 18 and a career-high 22 rebounds in the 54-52 semifinal victory over two-time defending VHSL Group AA state champion Hidden Valley and 13 in the finals against Blacksburg.

The Cougars won the tournament for the first time since 2000. It could not have come at a more opportune time. It's been a hugely challenging year for first-year coach Jason Grubb and squad.

"We talked about it a lot and I know it affected us," Grubb said. "It never seemed we could catch a break."

That started before Grubb even arrived.

Former Pulaski County coach Brenda King had announced unexpectedly after last season she was taking the same job at rival Hidden Valley. That was emotional for all concerned, but nothing compared to what came next.

It was revealed last autumn not long before preseason basketball workouts were scheduled to start that King had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer.

The Cougars team was at the heart of community efforts to help raise money for the beloved former coach's medical care and family expenses. King fights on, an inspiration to all.

"The news of coach King, well it really affected us even though she wasn't our basketball coach anymore," Patterson said. "She is loved by all of us and we still want to play hard for her."

Basketball served as a relief from such grave concerns. There was more bad news to come in basketball, too, though.

The season was near when it was discovered leading returning scorer Ambrose Jones was moving with her family to Tennessee. That was on top of the loss of another key player from last year's Region IV playoff team who opted not to play this season.

That was a ton of lost firepower.

Enter Patterson, who had averaged more than nine points a game as a freshman.

When Pulaski County needed her most this year, she blossomed, leading in points (13.8), rebounds (7.6), assists (2.6) and steals (2.0) going into Tuesday night's Division 4 Region IV quarterfinal.

Patterson scored 19 points in the Cougars' 57-53 win over Bassett to advance to the regional semis.

Pulaski County played Hidden Valley in one semi Wednesday night, while host Carroll County played Blacksburg in the other. The winners play in the title game Friday night in Pulaski County.

Patterson acknowledged that the early season was tough. The team never lost sight of its lofty goals.

"I know not having Ambrose and adjusting to a new and different coaching style was going to be difficult, but I thought we had the ability to win all of our games," she said.

Patterson has been the team catalyst.

"What has really helped us, especially in the last few games, is she has been able to get her teammates involved," Grubb said.

That's been key to Cougars success, especially of late. Pulaski County was 15-11 and had a four-game winning streak going into Wednesday's action.

"In order to be a great player you have to make your teammates better," Grubb said. "She has shown that potential and keeps getting better at it. It is hard to stop a good player. It is even harder to stop a good player that is unselfish and gets their teammates involved."

Team first, Patterson says.

"If you don't get your teammates involved then you are not really a team." she said. "I vibe off my teammates and my teammates vibing off me has made me the player I am. It takes the whole team, including the coaches to win."

Her teammates know how valuable she is a player. That's not her only impact, though.

"She makes me laugh," senior Ariel Long said. "I remember we were at a convenience store and the bus was ready to go but she wasn't on the bus. She came running out of the store full speed trying to catch the bus. The bus wasn't going to leave her but she was running like it was."

It would be hard to leave Patterson the way she's been playing.

"We each have a role on this team and she is a big part of this team. She does what she needs to do to help us win," Long said.

With a district tournament title secured, the Cougars were in high spirits going into regionals. The girls believe in limitless possibilities.

"I think if we leave everything on the court on the court and everything off the court off the court, I think we can win the state," Patterson said. "If you don't have confidence in yourself and your team then who will?"

Long concurred.

"I think the strength of this team is in its bond. I think we can win the state and if there were nationals we could go win that, too."

It's been quite a past few weeks for the new coach.

"It started the Friday before the district tournament when we defeated the No. 1 seed in our region, Carroll County," he said. "Then we beat Salem by a point.

"I looked at the girls when we were down 11 going into the fourth quarter against Hidden Valley and said we were going to win this game. I wasn't sure how we were going to win, but we scored 24 points in the quarter. Finally, we played our most complete game of the year against Blacksburg."

Talk about being excited, that's been the Cougars.

"They were relentless in their pursuit and that has kind of put of on a high especially coming back to school and getting greeted with 'Good jobs' from the teachers, students and staff," Grubb said.

"It is going to take a lot of hard work and the same type effort to win this week."