Coffee County girls claim title

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Saturday night Coffee County Middle School claimed the championship trophy in the Warren Lodge Elementary Tournament by beating Cannon County Eastside 42-18.

In the first period Jenna Swanson hit five of Coffee County’s seven points in the period and with aggressive defense the Lady Raiders held Cannon County to just two points in the quarter.

In the second period both teams became very aggressive on the offensive glass. Cannon County made a run early in the period and hit for 11 points in the quarter. But the Lady Raiders held their ground and answered with 13 of their own to take a 20-13 lead at the break.

Coffee County broke the game open in the third period as Jessica Taylor and Swanson helped the Lady Raiders to 18 third-quarter points. Pressure defense in the backcourt created many problems for Cannon County, which had few shot attempts in the period and by the end of the quarter had scored only one point and trailed 38-14 going into the final period.

Coffee County, with such a big lead, used the clock to its advantage as it spread the court. Cannon County worked hard on defense to create the badly needed turnovers, but Cannon only managed four points in the fourth quarter. Coffee County added four points to their lead and closed out the game with a 24-point victory.

Swanson led all scores with 14 points for Coffee County. Jessica Taylor had 11 points, Katie Hillis hit for eight, Alex Davis had three points. Beth Sizemore and Nicole McWhorter had two points each with Paige Foster and Merideth White added one point each. For Cannon County, Jessica Prater had six points. McKenzie Solomon had five, Savannah Grandey hit for four and Candice Couch added three points.

PHOTO INFO:
The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raiders pose with their championship trophy after downing Cannon County Eastside in the finals of the Warren Lodge Tournament. (Photo provided)