CHILHOWIE, Va. – Patrick Henry High School junior Jaymee Copenhaver shares the same sentiments as most everybody else in the Hogoheegee District when it comes to PH star Cadence Wilmoth.

“She’s pretty unstoppable,” Copenhaver said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Copenhaver’s teammate certainly came up with another virtuoso performance Tuesday night.

Wilmoth collected 26 points and 13 rebounds as Patrick Henry cruised to a 52-33 victory over Chilhowie and in the process clinched the Hogoheegee District regular season girls basketball title.

Patrick Henry (18-3, 9-0) extended its winning streak to 17 games and claimed an outright district championship for the second straight season.

The Rebels did it with near-flawless execution.

“I think it was definitely our best performance,” Wilmoth said. “We worked really hard on defense and that really opened things up for us on offense. … It feels great to come out here with a win.”

Patrick Henry ended any suspense early thanks to a 19-2 run that bridged the first and second quarters. Chilhowie (15-5, 7-2) went nearly six and a half minutes without scoring while the Rebels were pouring it on.

“We never settled down. … We forced some shots,” said Chilhowie coach Mark Halsey. “We needed to do a better job of taking care of the ball on offense and we definitely didn’t do a very good job of that tonight. Defensively, we broke down a couple of times.

“Wilmoth’s a good player. You’ve got to play hard every second because she’s always a threat. We missed some defensive situations that we could have handled better.”

Copenhaver added 13 points for Patrick Henry, continuing her string of solid showings against the Warriors. She had a 14-point outburst in the Rebels’ 52-45 win over Chilhowie on Jan. 13.

“I don’t know; I think it’s just I know they are good competition and I have to play my best against them,” Copenhaver said. “I get pumped against them.”

Copenhaver might have a more personal reason to always bring her best against the Warriors. Chilhowie was actually picked ahead of Patrick Henry in the Hogoheegee preseason coaches poll.

“We weren’t picked to win this year and I think that really got us motivated,” Copenhaver said. “So we knew we had to win to prove everybody wrong.”

Cold-shooting Chilhowie received 19 points from sophomore Danielle Catron. However, no other player for the Warriors scored more than six points.

The frustration continued for Halsey, whose team has now lost the last seven meetings with Patrick Henry.

“We’ve shown at times we can play with them,” Halsey said. “Then again you’ve got a dominant player like Wilmoth and that whole team is just a seasoned team and has a lot of experience and play well together.

“We have a good team. These girls have played a lot of basketball together and I’m not taking anything away from us. We just have to be smarter at times with the basketball and it’s the same way on defense.”

Patrick Henry coach Tommy Thomas on the other hand, couldn’t be happier. Earning the Hogoheegee crown will certainly help his team earn a favorable seed in the upcoming Region C, Division 2 tournament.

“Our region is packed with good teams,” Thomas said. “Anything that gives you an advantage is definitely worth working for.”