Lady Pioneers down Coffee to close season
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After watching a seven-point halftime lead dissolve in the opening moments of the third, coach Ann Eades’ squad used a stifling defense to hold the Lady Raiders without a point for the equivalent of an entire quarter in the second half.
On the other end of the floor, Warren County spread the wealth on offense, with seven different Lady Pioneers cracking the scoring column and four players finishing with double-digit point totals.
“The best thing about this game is the fact we had four girls in double figures,” said Eades, whose team finished the regular season with a 15-9 overall record.
“The last three or four ballgames, we’ve been hitting, and it seems like the offense has really been clicking. We’re just tickled to death.”
Eades and her club were particularly happen with one achievement Tuesday night, as the win over the Lady Raiders finished a perfect record outside District 7-AAA play.
Eight of the Lady Pioneers’ nine losses this season came in District 7-AAA games, with the ninth coming against league foe Blackman in the Overton Tournament finals.
“That was the challenge I put before the game: We could finish our regular season having just lost to teams that are in our district,” Eades said. “And we had nine losses to those teams, but we’ve played some people tough there, except for a game or two.”
The Lady Raiders proved to be tough competitors early, and trailed just 13-10 in the closing moments of the first quarter before a WCHS surge ended the period with the Lady Pioneers on top 19-12.
Manchester’s girls matched their guests basket-for-basket in the second period, tying the score at 26-26 only to give up a 10-3 run by the end of the half, allowing Warren County a 36-29 lead at the break.
A pair of Cassie Carden free throws followed by a basket from Coffee County’s Jenna Cossey gave Coffee County a 40-38 lead midway through the third, but the Lady Pioneers forced turnovers on Manchester’s next four possessions, and held their hosts scoreless for a span of over four minutes to retake command.
Up 48-44 heading into the fourth, Warren County further expanded its lead with another big defensive stand, this time holding the Lady Raiders without a basket for almost five minutes.
Whitney Pelham and Leah Cunningham led the way for WCHS with 17 points each, while Leanne Pelham had 14 and Tia Williams notched 10. Nikki Griffith chipped in four points, while Vanessa Cornelius and Heather Frazier had two each.
The Lady Raiders were led by Cossey’s 11 points, with Carden chipping in nine. Kayla Thompson and Heather Grose had eight each.
Warren County, which won its last four games, hopes to use that momentum to prepare for the District 7-AAA tournament, which begins Monday night in Sparta. The Lady Pioneers, the tournament’s sixth seed, will face the third-seeded Cookeville Lady Cavaliers Monday at 7 p.m.
“I’m just so pleased with this basketball team right now,” Eades said Tuesday night. “We’re going to take (Wednesday) off, we deserve it, and we’ll take the next four days to get ready for Cookeville.”