A season sweep over any team is good.
But two wins over White County tastes just a little bit sweeter for Coffee County.
Coffee County’s Lady Raiders hit 16 free throws in a row and were perfect at the charity strip in the fourth quarter to pick up a 52-43 win over the Warriorettes in Sparta Friday night (a game you heard live on Thunder Radio).
“We executed so well down the stretch, and that is a challenge I gave them this week,” said Lady Raider head coach Joe Pat Cope.
The Lady Raiders trailed 22-20 at the half and 32-20 entering the final quarter. Execution was nearly flawless in the fourth quarter for Coffee County.
Sophomore guard Jalie Ruehling didn’t score in the first three quarters and was forced to sit with foul trouble in the second half, but she stepped up and perfectly handled pressure in the 4th quarter and went 8-for-8 at the free throw line.
“I knew what I had to do for the team,” said Ruehling.
Lady Raider senior Bella Vinson was steady throughout for Coffee County. Vinson finished with 22. She also dropped 8 consecutive free throws in the second half.
Junior Elli Chumley scored 10 of her 12 in the second half – including 4 at the free-throw line.
“Coach (Rece) Chumley identified a mismatch and we were able to really use Elli in the second half,” explained Cope.
Vinson, Chumley and Ruehling were named tri-players of the game by Thunder Radio.
Chloe Gannon added 6 points and Aliia Reel 4. The Lady Raiders attacked the paint all night. In fact, they didn’t hit a single 3-pointer.
Defensively, Coffee County smothered the Warriorettes most of the night. Star outside shooter Gracie Dodgen was limited to 2 points. Nia Powers scored 15 for White County off the bench.
The loss was just the third of the season for the Warriorettes – two coming at the hands of Coffee County. The Lady Raiders first beat the Warriorettes on Nov. 24 in Manchester (69-65 in overtime).
The win improves Coffee County to 13-1 on the season. The Lady Raiders will host Goodpasture at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 in a girls only game. You can hear that game live on Thunder Radio.
