Tuesday night, the Coffee County basketball teams hosted Lincoln County in District 9-AAAA games at “The Patch” in Manchester.
In the first half of the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders held a slim 2-point lead, 24-22 at halftime.
The Lady Falcons hit a 3-pointer just a few seconds to take a 25-24 advantage, and the Coffee County ladies said that was enough as they took control from that point forward. The Lady Raiders scored 23 in the third quarter and dominated Lincoln County with fantastic defensive pressure.
In the fourth, Coffee County continued to cruise, and Coach Joe Pat Cope was able to play every player on his team except for Ava McIntosh, who is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. The 59-43 win improves the Lady Raiders to 25-3 overall and 9-0 in the district play. The win gives Coffee County the #1 seed in the upcoming District Tournament and the regular season title.
The Lady Raiders were led by Dr Jay Trussler/Rooster 101.5 Player of the Game Natalie Barnes with 20 points. Jules Ferrell added 14, followed by Olivia Vinson with 11, Channah Gannon with 8, Ella Arnold with 6, and Audri Patton with 2 points.
After being upset by Lincoln County on Saturday in Fayetteville, the Red Raiders boys were not going to let that happen again.
Coffee County led by 20 at the half, 32-12, and led by 30 in the second half, and went on to win by 28, 60-32.
Cooper Reed had a big game on Senior Night as he led Coffee County with 19 points and was named the Dr. Jay Trussler/Rooster 101.5 Player of the Game. Senior Jackson Shemwell added 11, and the team’s other senior, Camden Hunt, scored 4 points. All Raider players played in the game. Other scorers included Brady Wright, 9; Jayden Carter, 7; Jaiden Warren, 6; and Cayden Trail and Courtland Farrar added 2 points each.
Raider basketball travels to Spring Hill on Thursday. A win by the boys will give them the regular season District 9-AAAA championship and, like the lady’s team, a first-round bye and a guaranteed berth into the Region 5-AAAA tournament.
Top photo: #24 Cooper Reed inside the yellow box plays defense against Lincoln County on Tuesday night. The Raiders held the Falcons to only 32 points. Staff photos by Clay Turner.
