WCHS pounded by Lady Pats’ pressure

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

Lady Pioneer point guard Katie Simpson looks to get rid of the ball while being trapped by Oakland’s Quiche Fletcher (23) and Alicia Humes during the first half of Friday night’s District 7-AAA contest at WCHS. (Rob Nunley photo)

Oakland’s defensive pressure proved to be too much to handle for the Lady Pioneer basketball team Friday night, as Warren County lost its second straight district game, falling to the visiting Lady Patriots 53-34.

WCHS, which fell to 12-7 overall and 1-4 in District 7-AAA play with the loss, committed 25 turnovers in the contest, allowing Oakland to build an early lead which continued to expand throughout the game.

“I give Oakland a lot of credit, they make some things happen,” said WCHS coach Ann Eades. “But until this basketball team has more than one person step up a night, we’re going to continue to struggle.”

Whitney Pelham was the lone bright spot for the Lady Pioneers, scoring 21 points, including five 3-pointers. But WCHS struggled to find any other offensive weapons, while Oakland used its potent inside-outside combination to widen the scoreboard gap for the game’s first three quarters before killing off the clock for much of the fourth.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Oakland, I thought they played well,” Eades said. “But it’s going to be like this until we can get it together.

“When you only get three points from your posts — and we had looks and shots — you’re going to be in trouble.”

The Lady Patriots began pulling away early in Friday’s game, and a 7-1 run late in the first helped them to an 18-11 lead by the end of the period.

With the combination of strong outside shooting from Jenna Webb and inside play from Quiche Fletcher, the Lady Pats continued to build on their scoreboard edge throughout the first half, taking a 34-22 lead into the break.

Tight defensive pressure throughout the contest proved to be the biggest key to the Lady Patriots’ success, however. Through the second half, Warren County managed just 12 points — and turned the ball over 12 times.

“We made some decent defensive stops, and forced several turnovers by putting a little more pressure on the ball,” Oakland coach Missy Blissard said. “We rely on our tempo a great deal, and we try to establish it with our defense. That worked out for us tonight.”

With the win, Oakland’s girls snapped a two-game district losing streak, and evened its District 7-AAA record at 3-3 while improving to 11-5 overall.

Webb finished with 17 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead the Lady Patriots to the victory, while Fletcher posted 15 points and Taren Hayes had nine. Sarah Riddle helped her team’s cause with eight points, while Alicia Humes had four.

In addition to Pelham’s 21, the Lady Pioneers got a pair of 3-pointers from Leah Cunningham, four points from Tia Williams and three from Jasmine Ware.

Warren County was scheduled to face Tullahoma Saturday night, and travels to Riverdale Tuesday.