Abby Morgan of Lady Raider Basketball
A pair of 2nd half rallies fell short on Saturday afternoon in McMinnville as both Coffee County basketball teams closed out the regular season with losses to Warren County. Coffee County fell 55 to 37 in the girls game, while the Red Raiders dropped a 60 to 45 decision.
The Lady Raiders saw a 5 point 1st quarter lead disappear in the 2nd quarter as they were held without a field goal and went to the locker room trailing 23 to 12 at intermission. Warren County built a 15 point 3rd quarter lead only to see Coffee County amp up the pressure and cut the deficit to 9 points with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game. The Lady Pioneers were able to seal the game at the line as they hit 5 of their last 8 free throws to earn a season sweep over the Lady Raiders. Coffee County was led in scoring by Abby Morgan who finished with 13 points as she was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. Holli Smithson added 10 points for Coffee County which finished the regular season with a record of 10 and 14. . The Lady Raiders will travel to Franklin County to take on the Rebelettes on Thursday night in the opening round of the District 8AAA tournament. That game begins at 6 PM. As always, Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all of the action as we begin with the Powers Storage pregame show at 5:50.
Garrett Eldridge of CHS Basketball(Photo by Jay Bailey – Manchester Times)
The Red Raiders saw Warren County build a 13 point halftime lead as Coffee County shot a disappointing 2 of 10 from the free throw line in the first half. Coffee County hit an amazing 12 of 15 free throws in the 2nd half to make a strong 3rd quarter rally that saw them cut the Pioneer lead to 3 points with 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. But Warren County was able to push the tempo over the course of the next 6 minutes leading to numerous 4th quarter turnovers in the defeat. Coffee County was led in scoring by Garrett Eldridge who had 16 points as he was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. Kohl Young added 8 points for Coffee County as the Red Raiders finished the season with a record of 8 and 16. The Red Raiders will open the District 8AAA Tournament on Tuesday night as they travel to Tullahoma to take on the Wildcats in the district play-in game. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM and Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all of the action as we begin with the Powers Storage pregame show at 7:20
