LOCAL SPORTS | Lynchburg — The Raiderettes played aggressive defense and tenacious offense in the paint to earn a 26-point win over the Forrest Lady Rockets on Friday.
It was the first meeting of the two teams in the 2021-22 season. They will play again on Tuesday, December 14 in Chapel Hill.
Moore County entered the game hot of a recent win. The Raiderettes beat Culleoka on Tuesday in Lynchburg by a final score of 67-31. Moore County mounted a big 27 point third period including a hot streak of swishes from the three point line to edge the Lady Warriors. Sophomore Olivia Richards led against Culleoka with 31 points.
Forrest entered the game following their first loss of the 2021-22 season – a 51-36 thrashing by Eagleville earlier in the week. The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 20-point lead against the Lady Rockets and never looked back last Tuesday in Chapel Hill.
Raiderettes mount big first half lead
The Raiderettes jumped out to a early first period lead thanks in part by hot shooting from freshman Ellie Graham. Graham put up over half of Moore County’s 11 first stanza points. Moore County point guard sophomore Olivia Richards got Moore County on the boards first with a three point shot three possessions into the game. The Raiderettes managed seven unanswered before the Lady Rockets scored around the three minute mark. The first period ended with the Raiderettes leading 11-5.
Moore County managed to double Forrest’s points in the second period. With less than three minutes remaining in the half, senior Erica Clifton swished a three pointer to make the score Moore County 20, Forrest 10. Richards managed to score the first and the last points of the first half. Her one-and-one from the charity stripe sent Moore County into the locker room with a 26-13 lead.
Raiderettes outscore Lady Rockets down the stretch
Moore County held the Lady Rockets to just eight third period points while piling up 17 of their own. Midway through the period, aggressive defense from the Raiderettes kept the Lady Rockets on the perimeter and Lady Rocket three point shots just would not fall. By the end of the period, Moore County continued to lead 43-21.
The fourth period kicked off with a six point run by the Raiderettes. Paisley Logan, Chloe Brazier, and Olivia Richards all managed baskets before the next Lady Rocket basket fell. Moore County outscored Forrest again in the fourth period by a 12-8 margin.
By the final buzzer, the MCHS Raiderettes grounded the Lady Rockets 55-29 and improved their overall record to 4-2. Moore County will not kick off district play until January 11 at Huntland.
Olivia Richards led for Moore County with 19 points followed by Ellie Graham and Chloe Brazier with 10 points each. Maecy Fletcher and Erica Clifton added five points each. Paisley Logan, Charlotte Ray, and Katie Fletcher all added a bucket each.
The Raiderettes will travel to nearby Class AAA Lincoln County on Tuesday to take on the yet undefeated Lady Falcons. So far this season, no one’s gotten closer than 20 points to the LCHS girls team with a 81-44 victory at Giles County, a 77-41 win over Elkmont, a 52-28 win against Hatton.
The game tips off at 6 p.m. at Lincoln County High School located at 1233 Huntsville Highway in Fayetteville. You can watch the Moore County Sports Network’s live broadcast on the NFHS Network or follow The Lynchburg Times live blog of the game on our Facebook page. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}