Lady Pioneers finish second at Overton
NASHVILLE — The Lady Pioneers went into the Overton Christmas Tournament looking to defend their 2002 championship, but had to settle for second after falling short in an all-District 7-AAA final Monday night.
Facing off against the Blackman Lady Blaze, the Lady Pioneers suffered an early scoring drought, allowing their Murfreesboro foes to leap ahead on the way to an eventual 61-49 victory.
Leanne Pelham tried to single-handedly keep her WCHS teammates in the game, finishing with a game-high 20 points, but a first quarter during which Blackman held the Lady Pioneers to just one field goal and a pair of free throws, taking a 16-4 lead in the process, spelled doom for the defending champs.
The Lady Pioneers out-scored the Lady Blaze 15-14 in the second period, but six points from Niki Hughes, who finished with a team-high 19, helped Blackman carry a 30-19 lead into intermission.
Pelham was the only Lady Pioneer able to find the basket in the third, as she posted 11 points over the eight-minute span. Five different Blackman players cracked the scoring column, however, for 15 points to give the Lady Blaze a 44-30 edge heading into the game’s final stanza.
Hughes went 4-for-5 in the fourth, and Jennifer Gregory added seven more points as the Lady Blaze held off the Lady Pioneers to seal the victory.
With the loss, which broke a three-game winning streak, Warren County fell to 7-2 overall. Because it occurred during a tournament forfeit, the loss did not count against the Lady Pioneers’ district record.
In addition to Pelham’s 20, the Lady Pioneers got 10 points each from Amanda Locke and Leah Cunningham. Whitney Pelham posted three while Tia Williams had two.
Hughes’ 19 led Blackman, while post Devin Thompson powered her way to 15 points. Alana Hicks and Gregory had nine each, while Thierre Patterson scored five. Megan Scott and Megan Carter had three each.
• The Lady Pioneers reached the finals in impressive fashion, downing the host squad from Overton 44-29 on Saturday.
Ahead by a mere 23-20 margin at halftime, WCHS went to a full-court press in the second half, and capitalized, holding the Lady Bobcats to just two points in the third quarter and six in the fourth. Overton suffered a scoring drought of over seven minutes between its first two baskets of the second half.
Leanne Pelham led all scorers with 17 points, while Williams had nine. Cunningham and Whitney Pelham scored six each, Vanessa Cornelius added four and Heather Frazier chipped in two.
Carmela Daniel’s 11 led Overton, which got nine from Chassity Ardoin and four from Ashley Gordon. Kaneka Brown had three and Brittany Johnson scored two.
The Lady Pioneers return to action Jan. 6 at home against Coffee County, and will have a chance to avenge Monday’s loss when they travel to Blackman Jan. 9.