‘Cooked’: Cavaliers sweep twin bill with WCHS

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

Whitney Pelham puts up a jump shot while being defended by Cookeville’s Leslie Tallent during the closing seconds of the first quarter Tuesday night. (Rob Nunley photo)

A third-quarter collapse resulted in the third-straight district loss for the Lady Pioneer basketball team Tuesday night, as Warren County’s girls fell to the visiting Cookeville Lady Cavaliers 52-39 at the Charlie Dalton Gym.

Trailing by a slim 21-19 margin at intermission, the Lady Pioneers (8-4, 2-3 in District 7-AAA play) managed just one field goal and three free throws in the third period, while Cookeville, led by Cara Reed, who managed a double-double for the night, took command with a 20-point frame.

“They don’t take any bad shots,” WCHS coach Ann Eades said of the Lady Cavs, who improved to 13-6 overall and 4-1 in league play.

“In the first half I thought we played well, but in the second Reed took over, and like they say, the cream rises to the top. In my opinion she’s the best player in our district, in all phases of the game, and she proved that tonight.”

Reed, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Lady Cavs, was assisted by 3-pointers from teammates Ashley Martin, Megan Allen and Meredith Redus as her squad went up 41-24 by the end of the third quarter.

WCHS tried to fight its way back into the game in its final period, as back-to-back Leanne Pelham baskets and a pair of 3’s from Amanda Locke made it a 43-34 game with just under four minutes to play.

But Redus came through in the clutch, scoring eight of her team’s final nine points to seal the win.

Tuesday’s game began with the Lady Pioneers — who were attempting to bounce back from a tough district loss at Blackman — seemingly in firm command.

Whitney Pelham hit a 3-pointer midway through the first period, giving WCHS a 6-2 lead, but Cookeville came charging back, and a three-point play from Reed gave the Lady Cavaliers a 10-8 lead before Whitney Pelham scored again to end the first period in a 10-10 deadlock.

A five-point run from Cookeville opened the second, and the Lady Cavaliers led by as many as six in the period before another Whitney Pelham 3 and a basket from Tia Williams closed the gap to one. Lacie Bell hit a free throw to give CHS a 21-19 lead at the break.

In addition to Reed’s 21 points, the Lady Cavs got 13 from Redus, while Martin had nine — all on 3-pointers. Allen scored four, while Kellye Jolley and Dani Green had two each and Bell added one.

Leanne Pelham paced the Lady Pioneers with 11 points, while Whitney Pelham had nine and Locke scored six. Vanessa Cornelius posted four, Williams had three and Alysa Lankford had two.

The Lady Pioneers will look to get back on the winning track tonight, when they play host to Murfreesboro Siegel. The Lady Stars are 4-11 overall and 0-5 in district play after suffering a 59-40 loss to Riverdale Tuesday night.