WCMS girls start strong, finish with big win
The seventh-grade girls from Warren County Middle School jumped out to an early lead Monday night and never looked back on the way to a first-round victory over Eastside.
Led by Tiffany Long’s game-high 13 points, the Lady Pioneers scored the first 10 points of the contest and led by as many as 24 on their way to a 40-22 win.
The victory gave coach Jennifer Wilson’s squad a spot in the Warren County Elementary Basketball Association tournament’s semifinals, where they will take on No. 2 seed Morrison Thursday night.
The No. 3-seeded Lady Pioneers came out of the gate strong in Monday’s opening round matchup against the sixth-seeded Lady Bulldogs. Long scored five points in the first quarter, including a free-throw that put her team on top 10-0 before Eastside’s Jamie Vernon scored at the 2:13 mark.
Up 12-2 after one quarter, WCMS slowed its production in the second, and Eastside closed the gap to 13-9 before an 8-1 run from Warren County Middle finished the first half with the Lady Pioneers on top 21-10.
Eastside continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court in the third quarter, while WCMS continued to pad its lead. Long added three more points in the period, including a putback of her own missed free throw, and Lara Kate Haley buried a 3-pointer with 14 ticks remaining in the quarter to give the Lady Pioneers a 31-12 advantage.
A 7-0 run midway through the fourth gave WCMS its largest lead at 38-14, and allowed both coaches to clear their benches for the game’s final minutes.
In addition to Long’s 13, the Lady Pioneers got six points from Macy Broom and five from Jessica Mullican. Linnsay Williamson and Cassie Wanamaker scored four each, while Lara Kate Haley and Kallie Haley had three apiece. Kelly Brown rounded out the winning effort with two points.
Eastside was led by Vernon’s eight points, with Lauren Henderson netting six and Candice Hill scoring five. Becky Najera added three points.
WCMS is scheduled to tip off against Morrison Thursday at 5 p.m., with the winner taking on either Centertown or Dibrell in Saturday’s finals.