Shorthanded WCHS girls dropped by Coffee County

With one starter out of action and another seeing just limited time, the Lady Pioneers struggled to get into any offensive rhythm Tuesday night, and fell to a hot-shooting Coffee County squad, 70-31.

Senior guard McKenna Rhea was on the bench, after suffering a knee injury during Saturday’s win over Springfield. Additionally, Heather Frazier was out of the starting lineup, and saw less action than normal due to an illness.

The Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, holding Warren County scoreless until the 4:19 mark of the first period, when Amanda Locke connected after stealing the ball. Brittany Frazier had her team’s only other field goal, a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining which ended the first with Coffee County holding an 18-5 edge.

The second quarter was a more even match, with Coffee County posting nine points and WCHS answering with eight, including the first varsity basket from freshman Brooke Bowman. Sarah Elam scored for the Lady Raiders in the final minute of the half, and the Lady Pioneers missed two chances just prior to the horn, trailing at the half 27-13.

Woo Baugh, who finished with a team-high 15, scored back-to-back buckets to open the second half, and Jana Hollins and Melissa Gamble completed an 8-0 run which allowed the CCHS lead to grow to over 20 points. Warren County was held scoreless for the final 3:40 of the period, while Manchester closed out the frame with another long run, scoring 12 unanswered to led 53-21 entering the fourth.

The game’s final period saw Bowman add five more points for WCHS, while Kayla Bond knocked down a 3-pointer and added another basket. But the Lady Raider lead was much to large to overcome, and grew ever larger down the stretch.

Jessica Taylor had 13 points for the Lady Raiders, who saw all 12 of their players enter the scoring column. Hollins added eight, while Kayla Thompson had six.

Brittany Frazier’s nine points led WCHS, which got seven from Bowman and five from Bond. Heather Frazier had four points, while Locke, Elizabeth Lavoie and Lauren Patterson scored two each.

The Lady Pioneers are scheduled to take on Murfreesboro Siegel tonight, with tipoff at the Charlie Dalton Gym scheduled for 6:30.