WCHS girls hold on for first victory
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But this time the Lady Pioneers held tough, and picked up their first victory of the season with a 45-42 win over the Lady Jets.
“We got in the same situation, and pulled it out,” Eades said after Friday’s win, which saw the Lady Pioneers lead by eight points midway through the fourth before CCHS cut that edge to just one point with 59 seconds to play. “That’s what they needed.”
“They stepped up, and I think this will give this team some confidence.”
Eades was understandably disappointed Tuesday night, when the Lady Pioneers fell short to Cannon County 50-48. But after some intense work on the practice floor, she noted how proud she was of her squad’s performance in their second straight close contest.
“In my 27 years of coaching, I’ve never put a team through a workout like Wednesday’s, and I’m glad they got a win out of it,” she said. “They worked very hard, their attitudes were great, and they responded tonight.”
WCHS senior Katie Simpson helped keep things close early, nailing a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers to help send the Lady Pioneers out of the quarter with a 12-10 lead.
Momentum see-sawed back and forth throughout the rest of the first half, which ended with WCHS holding a slight 21-20 edge that would be erased less than two minutes into the third quarter, when the Lady Jets tied the score at 23-23.
Despite being able to match the Lady Pioneers’ point total four times in the third, Cumberland County was never able to take over the lead, and a three-point play followed by a 3-point basket from Whitney Pelham sent WCHS into the fourth quarter holding a 35-29 advantage.
A Leanne Pelham trey gave WCHS a 38-31 lead early in the fourth, but late in the period Cumberland County’s Lauren Elmore and Bethany Hollingsworth combined for a 6-0 run to pull the Lady Jets within one point, 41-40.
Clutch free-throw shooting pulled the Lady Pioneers through, however, as Linsey Cornelius connected on one of two attempts at the line and Pelham made three of four in the game’s final 20 seconds.
Leanne Pelham led the way with 12 points for WCHS, while Whitney Pelham finished with 10. The Lady Pioneers also got six each from Linsey Cornelius, Simpson and Jasmine Ware, who was almost a scratch from Friday’s lineup.
“Jasmine had another good game, and we didn’t even know if she’d be able to play for us,” Eades explained. “She didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday because of a blister that was just terrible, and she was questionable up until game time. But she gutted it out, stepped up and played, and did a great job.”
Brittany Brewer added three points to the winning tally, while Vanessa Cornelius rounded out the scoring with two.
Cumberland County was led by Kristyn Williams’ 12 points, while Elmore had 11 and Hollingsworth scored six. Amanda Harville had four points, Casha Foster had three, and the Lady Jets got two each from Stacey Oakes, Kat Morrow and Jennifer Hood.
Eades noted the Lady Jets were similar to many teams her Lady Pioneers will face this season.
“They’ve got two big post girls inside, they’re loaded up with quickness, and that’s something we’re going to face every time we hit the floor,” she said. “We’re going to be not as quick as other teams, and not as tall, but we gutted it out tonight, and I’m proud of them.”
WCHS plays host to the Papa John’s Classic next weekend, with games on Friday and Saturday night.