Lady Pioneers down Dibrell
There is strength in numbers, and Warren County Middle School’s seventh-grade Lady Pioneers took advantage of moving up several players from its sixth-grade team for Thursday’s match up with the Lady Wildcats of Dibrell.
The beefed-up Lady Pioneers downed Dibrell’s seventh- and eighth-grade squad 25-17 at the WCMS gym.
First-period action started slowly for both teams, as the first five points in the game came from the free-throw line. Ashley Welcome put the Lady Wildcats on the board first, hitting one of two from the foul line at the 3:27 mark. Lea Montgomery scored six of the Lady Pioneers’ eight points in the period, and Kelsey Nowlin added a basket just before the buzzer for an 8-1 Warren County lead.
Dibrell struggled with the Lady Pioneers’ back-court pressure, which resulted in just four points in the period. Warren County got hot from the floor as Montgomery, Chancerie Martin and Laura Beth McKinley gave the Lady Pioneers a 16-5 lead at the break.
Warren County scored the first four points of the third quarter. Defensive pressure held the Lady Wildcats off the scoreboard until the 1:19 mark, when Virginia Prater hit for two, and then Sarah Roller added a free-throw, but Dibrell still trailed 25-17 by the end of the period.
In the final period Martin hit back-to-back baskets for the Lady Pioneers, and Montgomery added a basket with 1:07 left to play. Dibrell tried to make a run with baskets from Prater and Meagan Crowe, but five missed opportunities from the foul line gave the Lady Pioneers the victory.
For the Lady Pioneers, Montgomery hit for 12 points, Martin had seven, McKinley scored four and Nowlin added two points.
Leading the scoring for the Lady Wildcats was Prater with nine, while Roller had three, Shelby Holland and Crowe had two points each and Ashley Welcome added one point.