WCHS gets scalped at 7-AAA tournament
MURFREESBORO — Warren County High School’s girls faced a daunting task Wednesday night, when they faced defending 7-AAA champion Riverdale in district tournament action.
And although the Lady Pioneers never backed down from the challenge, they fell short in their quest for an upset, losing to the Lady Warriors 65-32 at Blackman High School.
“We played decent the first half, then the cream rose to the top,” said coach Ann Eades, whose squad ended its season with a 12-17 record.
The Lady Pioneers played tough early, but went cold from the field as the first period drew toward its end, missing their last five shots and falling behind 15-9 by the conclusion of the quarter.
Riverdale’s Mosheda Pettus buried a 3-pointer to open the second, and Warren County managed just three field goals — a pair of inside shots from Jasmine Ware and a trey by Whitney Pelham — as they trailed 31-16 going into the halftime break.
“The one thing we didn’t want to happen was have a tough time scoring, and that’s been tough on us all year,” Eades said. “When we weren’t hitting, we got where we didn’t want to shoot. That, and blocking out, are two things you have to do to win a basketball game — and we failed to do both of those.”
Pettus helped her team expand its lead in the third quarter, nailing three 3-pointers and scoring 11 of her eventual 19 points as Riverdale went on top 46-23 before a Pelham 3-pointer cut the lead to 20 going into the fourth.
The Lady Pioneers had to play the fourth quarter without senior post Linsey Cornelius, who drew her fifth foul with just over a minute to play in the third.
“We started her with three fouls in the second half because she’s so vital to this basketball team,” Eades said of Cornelius, “and that’s the one thing that’s going to be tough to replace next year, is Linsey Cornelius at the five.
“She’s such a battler, and she’s meant so much to this program, it’s going to be tough without her next year.”
Without Cornelius providing her strong post defense, the Lady Warriors’ standout center Krystle Horton took over in the final stanza, scoring eight quick points to give her team a 55-28 lead before reserves from both sides played out the game’s remaining minutes.
Horton finished with 20 points to lead all scorers, while Pettus had 19 and Scarlett Lanning scored nine.
For the Lady Pioneers, Pelham finished with 13 points, including three treys, while Ware posted 10. Katie Simpson and Sallie Slatton had a 3-pointer each, Linsey Cornelius had two and Kara Youngblood had one.
After the game, Eades reflected on a Lady Pioneer season that had its share of ups and downs, including the loss of junior leader Leanne Pelham to an injury midway through the 2002-03 campaign, and talked about the contributions of her outgoing seniors Ware, Cornelius and Simpson.
“Jasmine, Linsey and Katie are very dear to my heart, and special young ladies,” she said. “They’ve played through a lot of adversity — when Leanne went down, it sort of destroyed a good thing that was going when we were 12-5 — but we knew deep down, all of us did, that it was going to be tough the rest of the year.
“But they’ve come to practice every day, and worked just as hard as if nothing had happened. That’s a compliment to them. They’re outstanding young ladies, and whatever they do in the future, they’re going to be a success.”
Eades also expressed her thoughts on having so many of the Lady Pioneers’ younger players see action late in Wednesday’s game, and her plans to help the county’s basketball players improve over the off-season.
“I think they understand after tonight what a move it’s going to be,” she said. “Getting some playing time as a freshman at the district tournament, that’s even more pressure than in the regular season. But it’s very good for them. It shows them what kind of work we’ve got to do, and we’re going to work hard and continue.
“We’ve got five AAU teams going in our county, and we’re going to start March 4 working,” she added. “I’ve got some great people that have volunteered to help me, and we’ve got to do whateverybody else has been doing for years. That’s one step we’re going to take, starting these AAU teams and getting hold of these kids early.”
With their win, Riverdale moved on to face White County in Thursday night’s semifinals. The tournament championship game is scheduled for Friday.