Coffee County’s Lady Raider basketball team has either dominated every game or found a way to scrape together a win all season.
That is until Tuesday night in Manchester.
Blackman, widely considered one of the top three teams in the state of Tennessee, came into Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gynnasium and took a 17-4 first quarter lead on its way to a 56-40 win.
“[Blackman] was very physical but we needed that,” said junior Elli Chumley, who finished with 10 points on the night for the Lady Raiders. “Every game is not going to be a piece of cake.”
Coffee County recovered from the sloppy first quarter and trailed 36-24 at the half. But regardless of some offensive improvement, Blackman was able to do what it wanted on the offensive end of the floor to prevent a Lady Raider run. Victoria Page finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Kaylee Odom was solid in the paint with 13 points.
“That was my first time in four years here that I thought we played a team that was quicker than us in every position,” said CHS head coach Joe Pat Cope. “That’s a good basketball team. We knew they were athletic, they eliminated us [in the region] last year. We’ve got to watch film, get in here tomorrow and get to that level.”
Miss the game Tuesday? Listen to the Thunder Radio broadcast replay here.
Senior Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in points with 18, Jalie Ruelhing added 10 and Chumley 10. But CHS struggled to get contributions outside of its big three – getting two points from Alivia Reel and everyone else was held off the board.
The loss drops Coffee County to 4-1 on the season. The Lady Raiders will host Warren County at 6 p.m. Thursday. That game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio, beginning with pregame at 5:45 p.m.
