Manchester and surrounding communities packed “The Patch” on Saturday night. Basketball fans were thoroughly entertained as the Coffee County Lady Raiders hosted the Hendersonville Lady Commandos in the sectional round of the TSSAA playoffs.
The Lady Raiders were on fire from the opening tip as they dominated the first quarter, jumping to a 22-0 lead. Hendersonville did not score until they made a free throw with 7:28 to go in the second quarter. The Lady Commandos had difficulties getting clean looks for shots because of the tremendous Coffee County defense. They made their first shot from the field with 2:43 to go in the quarter. At halftime, the Lady Raiders took a commanding 33-9 lead into the dressing room.
Head Coach Joe Pat Cope and the Coffee County ladies looked confident as they took the court in the third. The defense continued their hard work as they held back any comeback Hendersonville had in mind, taking a 46-19 advantage into the final quarter. The game would end up going into the mercy rule in the fourth quarter as the Lady Raiders rolled to a 63-30 win.
Jules Ferrell had a terrific game but had her best quarter in the fourth. She finished the night as the game’s leading scorer with 16 points. Ferrell was named the Dr Jay Trussler/Rooster 101.5 Player of the Game. Regular season district MVP Olivia Vinson finished with 15, region MVP Channah Gannon scored 13, followed by district tournament MVP Natalie Barnes with 11. Audri Patton finished off her solid night with 8 points.
Coffee County (32-3) will take on Dobyns-Bennett from Kingsport (24-8) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the TSSAA state playoffs on Wednesday afternoon at approximately 12:45 PM. This will be the Lady Raiders’ first trip to the state tournament since 1993, when they won it all. The Lady Indians earned their first state tournament berth since 1995 on Saturday with a road win at Farragut.
Locally, Moore County and Lincoln County girls’ basketball teams also earned berths to the state tournament. Moore County in Class 1-A and the Lady Falcons will join Coffee County in Class 4-A.
Hear each Coffee County game on The Rooster 101.5, www.rooster1015.com, and the Rooster 101.5 app.
