CCMS Sectional State Title Bid Comes Up 4 Seconds Short

Mt Juliet got a short jumper from Emma Palmer with 4 seconds remaining to hand the Coffee County Middle School Lady Raiders their first loss of the year 43 to 42 on Saturday afternoon in the TMSAA Middle School Sectional State Finals in Murfreesboro.  A Coffee County rebound under the Mt. Juliet goal was tied up with the possession arrow belonging to the Lady Bears with 9 seconds showing on the clock.  That set up the last second in-bounds play to the taller and more physical Lady Bear post player who sank the shot and the Red and Black’s state title dreams.

Coffee County, which trailed by 5 points at the half, roared back to take the lead with 69 seconds remaining behind the support of a huge Lady Raider cheering section.  A pair of 3 pointers helped Coffee County tie the score with 4:35 left in the 3rd quarter and set up an exciting final 10 minutes of basketball as each team swapped the lead down the stretch.  The loss broke a 34 game winning streak for Coffee County stretching back to 2014.   The Lady Raiders finished the season with a mark of 25 and 1.

Coffee County was led in scoring by Julia Duncan who had 16 points.  Jenna Garretson added 9 points, including 7 in the 4th quarter.  Ellie Graham and Bella Vinson each finished with 6 points.  Following the game, Duncan, Garretson and Vinson were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

Thunder Radio was on hand to record the finals match-up and that game will be broadcast on Monday night at 8 PM.  A copy of the podcast will be available at our website, beginning on Monday evening at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/  The Lady Raiders will also be guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show at 10 AM here on Thunder Radio.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live from Al White Ford/Lincoln.