Central High School’s Lady Raiders knew what they needed to do Thursday night in Tullahoma. And they took care of business.
In a game that was never even as close as its final score, the Lady Raiders cruised past Lady Cats of Tullahoma 47-26 and clinched first place in the District 8-AAA regular season standings.
The win completes an 11-0 regular season for CHS. Friday’s game at Lawrence County will not be played because it does not affect the district standings, meaning the regular season is over for CHS as the Lady Raiders now prepare for the postseason. With the no. 1 seed, CHS will host any district tournament games, beginning on Friday, Feb. 19.
“We want to spend this week off working on our game and getting better at what we do and give 100 percent on both sides of the ball,” explained senior Bella Vinson following the Tullahoma win, adding that the team’s ultimate goal is to reach the state tournament.
Thursday night in Tullahoma, CHS led 9-3 after one quarter and 23-12 at the half on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Vinson, who finished with 18 points.
The Lady Raiders were outstanding at the charity stripe, going 13-of-14 at the line and slowly put their foot on the Lady Cats’ throat in the second half. CHS led by as many as 25.
Sophomore post Chloe Gannon added 10 points – 8 coming in the second half when CHS focused on getting her the ball under the basket. Junior Elli Chumley added 9, Jalie Ruehling 6 and Emma Fulks 4. Fulks also picked up a couple of big steals late in the first half.
“Emma played really well for us tonight,” said CHS head coach Joe Pat Cope.
The Lady Raiders close the regular season 24-1 and ranked no. 3 in the state AP poll.
