2017 Coffee County Basketball Seniors with cheerleaders and Dance Team members
A packed and partisan crowd at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Friday night saw Coffee County get a pair of convincing wins over Tullahoma to end the regular season on Senior Night. The Lady Raiders scored the first 13 points of the game in a 57 to 36 declawing of the Lady Cats while The Red Raiders used a 25 point 4th quarter to tame the Wildcats 62 to 35.
A smothering Lady Raider defense forced five Tullahoma turnovers in the first 3 minutes as Coffee County raced out an early 13 to 0 lead. Seniors Bailey Morgan and Holli Smithson set the tempo early with their strong guard play and built a 20 point halftime lead to coast home to the season sweep of their cross county rivals.
Smithson finished the game with 17 points to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Bailey Morgan added 9 points while fellow senior Aerial Williams added 8. The win gives Coffee County a final regular season record of 19 and 6 overall and 8 and 4 in district play.
After struggling against the Tullahoma zone defense in the first half, the Red Raiders made the necessary adjustments at the half to outscore the Wildcats 42 to 24 in the second half to capture a sweep in the boys’ game. The Red Raiders hit a trio of 3 pointers in the 3rd quarter to open the driving lanes in the 4th quarter and salt away the pesky visitors.
Senior Garrett Eldridge had 12 of his team high 21 points in the second half to lead the offensive assault. Fellow senior Grant Sadler had a pair of 3 pointers as he finished with 10 points along with senior Stephen Sullivan who added 10. Eldridge was tabbed the Crazy Daisies player of the game. The win gives Coffee County a final regular season record of 21 and 7 overall and 7 and 5 in district play.
Both Raider teams will open District 8AAA tournament play on Friday night when they will travel to Franklin County. The Lady Raiders will take the floor at 4 PM as they will battle the winner of Tuesday’s play-in game between Columbia and Tullahoma. The Red Raiders will play in Friday’s nightcap as they take on the Lincoln County at 8:30 PM. Both games will be held at Franklin County High School.
2017 Dist 8AAA Basketball Tournament bracket. Click to enlarge
