The Coffee County CHS basketball teams rolled up Highway 55 on Tuesday for a renewal with their fiercest non-district rival, Warren County.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Lady Raiders crushed the Lady Pioneers 67 to 32.  The Red Raiders fell to Warren County 67 to 49

In the girls’ game, Coffee County got off to a red hot start as they went on a 12 to 0 run in the 1^st quarter to open up a 14 point lead heading to the 2^nd quarter.  Leading by 21 at the half, the Lady Raiders padded that lead 41 points in the 3^rd quarter to run away with the win.  Bella Vinson was the leading scorer for Coffee County as she had 28 points.  Jenna Garretson came off the bench to play her best game of the year, finishing with 10 points.  The win moves the Lady Raiders to 7 and 1 on the season. 

In the boys’ game, Coffee County battled back from an early deficit to tie the game at 9 going to the 2^nd quarter.  In the 2^nd stanza, Warren County found their long range shooting touch as they took a 13 point lead into the locker room at intermission.  In the 3^rd quarter, the strong outside shooting and dominance on the board by the Pioneers thwarted any Coffee County rallies.  The loss drops the Raiders to 5 and 2 on the season.  C.J. Anthony was the leading scorer for the Raiders as he had 13 points.  Jaxon Vaughn finished with 7 as 11 different Red Raiders scored in the game. 

Coffee County will hit the road again on Friday as they make the trek to Sparta to battle White County in a rematch from last week.  The girls’ game is set to tip off at 6 PM with the boys’ game to follow.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action beginning with the Char-El Apartment and Home Rental pregame show at 5:50.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.Thunder1320.com/downloads

The Westwood Middle School 6^th grade basketball teams hosted Morrison on Tuesday night at the Joel Vinson Gym.  The Lady Rockets fell by a final score of 28 to 16.  The Rockets lost to Morrison 29 to 19. 

The Lady Rockets were held to 4 points in the first half by Morrison’s stingy defense.  Maddie Meacham led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 8 points.  Maggie Brei and Hayley Potts each finished with 3 points for Westwood. 

The Rockets struggled with the defensive pressure all night as they came up short on the boys’ game.  Blake Cummings led Westwood in scoring as he netted 8 points.  Matt Moore added 4 points for the Rockets. 

The 6^th grade teams will travel to Dibrell on Tuesday.  The girls’ game will begin at 6 PM. 

Kyle Turris scored on the power play, and Nashville’s penalty kill was perfect, but it was the Tampa Bay Lightning, who ultimately defeated the Predators in overtime by a 3-2 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.

The result sees Nashville extend their overall point streak against Tampa Bay to 14 games, but it was the lack of an extra point in the standings that left the Preds disappointed at the end of the evening.

“We got a point, so that’s good, but we lost another game, and that’s the bad,” Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “It was a good team we played against, but I still feel like we can find another level, or another gear… The guys played another hard game, and it’s just disappointing when you come out on the losing side.”

“That’s a tough loss,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “You battled back and you kill some penalties at the end, you get yourself in a position for overtime, so I think the loss is tough. You want to walk away with that second point. I thought we started OK, didn’t get the lead, were a little bit sleepy in the second period and I thought we played pretty good 5-on-5 in the third period and killed the penalties. Peks made some big saves, and we couldn’t put it away.”

Tampa Bay had a 1-0 lead through the first 20 minutes courtesy of Victor Hedman, but Calle Jarnkrok countered for the Preds in the second when he potted his 10th of the season to even the score. However, less than a minute later, Ondrej Palat gave the Lightning the lead again, and the visitors could have had more if it weren’t for Nashville’s penalty kill.

Midway through the second stanza, Ryan Johansen was assessed a five-minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct, putting the Preds shorthanded for a quarter of the middle period. Nashville only allowed one shot on the penalty kill, and they finished it off with some chances of their own to bring the home crowd to their feet.

“We have it inside of this locker room [to reach another gear], but it’s a tough League,” Rinne said. “We did a really good job climbing our way back from being down 1-0 and then a 2-1 game. We did a really good job in the third and our penalty kill was tremendous and unbelievable. That five-minute kill, they maybe had one shot.”

Then, on a power-play chance of their own in the third period, Turris one-timed his fifth goal of the season home to even the score and force OT. Midway through the extra session, Nikita Kucherov ended it for the Lightning, a frustrating end to an emotional game.

The Predators now have a few days to digest this one with their next game not coming until Saturday against New Jersey.

“It’s disappointing we didn’t get a win,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I don’t think we played well the first two periods. There wasn’t much going on, and then I thought in the third we played better and got a push, some huge saves, but we have to find a way to win it in OT.”

Notes:

Turris re-entered the Preds lineup on Tuesday after being scratched for the past seven games and finished with a goal and an assist, as well as three shots and 12 wins in the face-off circle in 15:42 of ice time.

Forward Mikael Granlund missed Tuesday’s game due to a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.

Nashville’s three-game homestand continues on Saturday night when P.K. Subban and the New Jersey Devils come to town.