Third-quarter drought dooms WCHS girls
MURFREESBORO — A scoreless stretch of nearly six minutes during the third quarter of Friday night’s game proved costly for Warren County’s girls, as they fell in district action at Murfreesboro Siegel, 57-48.
Trailing just 28-24 at halftime, the Lady Pioneers (7-9, 1-5 in District 7-AAA) went without a point for the first five minutes and 56 seconds of the third period, before Heather Frazier finally got them back on the board at the 2:04 mark.
But by then, Siegel’s Lady Stars had turned their four-point advantage into a 37-24 edge, and carried an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter that Warren County’s girls would never be able to overcome.
With the win, Siegel improved to 11-3 on the season, and ran its district record to 4-2.
Friday’s game began with Leah Cunningham nailing a 3-pointer, and the Lady Pioneers built a quick 9-5 lead while hitting four of their first five shots.
Siegel pulled itself back into the game behind Carrie Parrott and Danielle Spurlock, who combined for eight of their team’s 13 first-quarter points, and trailed the Warren County girls 16-13 after the first period of play.
Kristen Siegenthaler took over for the Lady Stars in the second, scoring 10 of her eventual 17-point total in the period, including a single-handed 7-point run which put Siegel on top early in the quarter.
Warren County swapped baskets with its hosts for the remainder of the period, but a three-point play from Anna Grace Gerhart gave the Lady Stars their four-point halftime lead.
Down by as many as 13 points early in the fourth, the Lady Pioneers tried a late comeback, and cut their deficit to six points (47-41) on back-to-back Vanessa Cornelius buckets with just over five minutes to play in the game. But Siegel sealed the win at the free-throw line, hitting 8-of-12 down the stretch.
Leah Cunningham’s nine points led the way for WCHS, while Cornelius had eight, despite fouling out with 4:15 to play.
Brittany Brewer, Frazier and Rhea scored six each, while Elizabeth Kennamer and Amanda Locke chipped in five apiece. Whitney Pelham finished with three points.
In addition to Siegenthaler’s big night, Siegel got 11 points from Spurlock, 10 from Tikedra Jones and eight from Parrot.
Warren County returns to 7-AAA action Tuesday night, hitting the road to take on Lebanon.