Damascus was recently rated as the one of “America’s Coolest Small Towns,” by Budget Travel Magazine.

The coolest people in the tiny Washington County community on Friday night were members of the visiting Patrick Henry High School girls basketball team.

Jaymee Copenhaver scored a season-high 16 points and the red-hot Rebels ran their winning streak to 13 games with a 57-23 Hogoheegee District victory over homestanding Holston.

PH (14-3) won its third game of the week and remained atop the Hogoheegee standings. The Rebels haven’t lost since Dec. 3.

“Right now we’re playing really tough basketball defensively,” said PH coach Tommy Thomas. “We’ve had several games in a row where just different people have stepped up and scored. Every night it’s somebody.”

It was Copenhaver’s turn in the spotlight Friday night. The junior knew it would be her time to shine when one of the first shots she attempted bounced high off the rim before falling through.

“I love those shooter’s rolls,” Copenhaver said. “I just kept taking my shots.”

With Cadence Wilmoth (17 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks) patrolling the paint and point guard Kasey Uecker (10 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds) running the offense, Copenhaver thrived from the perimeter.

She connected on three 3-pointers.

“Jaymee’s a very good outside shooter,” Thomas said. “She’s had some games where she’s struggled this year but she keeps working hard. We keep her confidence up. She keeps shooting and I told her it’d come.”

The performance came one week after Copenhaver’s clutch shots down the stretch helped Patrick Henry claim an important win over Chilhowie.

“Whenever the pressure is on she seems to come up big,” Thomas said. “The more pressure she has on her, the better she shoots.”

There was no pressure for PH on Friday as the Rebels raced out to leads of 11-1 and 17-3 and were never threatened.

Holston was led by Taylor Doss’ 11 points on a night when the Cavaliers struggled offensively. The Cavs scored just three points in the opening quarter.

Meanwhile, Copenhaver is confident in her shooting stroke.

“My coach told me that I needed to start getting warmed up on 3s more,” Copenhaver said. “He pretty much gave me the green light and I took it.”

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