WCHS girls lose heartbreaker
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But unfortunately for the Lady Pioneers, that shot refused to fall, and the homestanding Lady Warriors survived to take a 56-54 victory, sweeping the season series between the two District 7-AAA foes.
“It’s tough to lose one like that, but we battled,” said WCHS coach Ann Eades, whose team dropped to 8-10 overall and 2-6 in district play. “I’m proud of our effort, we just came up a little bit short.”
After battling back from a 10-point deficit to take a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, Warren County was called for several late fouls, allowing the Lady Warriors to pull back into a 49-49 tie.
Autumn Haynes gave her team a brief lead with just under five minutes to play, but Leah Cunningham, who had a hot hand all night for the Lady Pioneers, answered with a 3-pointer to put WCHS on top 52-51.
Nikki Griffith scored to make it a 54-53 game with just over three minutes to play, but Riverdale hit three of four free throws in the game’s closing minutes, taking a 56-54 lead.
With 12.9 seconds remaining, WCHS called a time-out, setting up a game-tying play. Brittany Brewer took the ball in along the baseline as the final seconds ticked off, hitting McKenna Rhea under the basket. But Rhea’s attempt was just off the mark, and the final horn sounded with a relieved Riverdale squad celebrating its narrow win.
Friday’s game was marked by scoring runs, as Warren County would have an offensive surge, only to see the Lady Warriors use their defensive pressure to fight back.
WCHS lead 6-0 early, only to fall behind 18-14 by the first-period’s end. They came back to tie the game on a Cunningham 3-pointer midway through the second, but were out-scored 10-2 through the remainder of the first half.
Bouncing back in the third, Cunningham hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the period, tying the game at 43-43, and she, Amanda Locke, Rhea and Griffith combined for a 14-1 scoring run which put the Lady Pioneers on top 49-44 going into the final eight minutes of the contest.
Cunningham led the way for WCHS with a whopping 22-point night, while Griffith had 11 and Rhea finished with nine. Whitney Pelham scored five, while Heather Frazier, Brittany Brewer and Locke had two each. Vanessa Cornelius added one point.
Riverdale was led by Anne Marie Lanning’s 19, while Alex Bivens scored 13 and Autumn Haynes had 12 points.
The Lady Pioneers took on Tullahoma Saturday, and face White County at home Tuesday night.