FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. — Sometime to be the best, ya gotta play the best. That seems to be the strategy of Moore County Raiderettes Head Coach Chad Spencer when it come to scheduling. This season, Coach Spencer stacked the first several weeks of the season with match ups against ranked teams at much larger schools including the AAA Lincoln County Falcons, who have been ranked as high as the number 16 team in the state.

The Falcons (5-1, 0-0) used hot three-point shooting by sophmore phenom Abby Bryan in the first half to coast to a 68-54 win over Moore County (6-2, 0-0). Bryan made five treys for 15 total points in the first period and led all scorers with 28 points on Thursday.

Lincoln County used Bryan’s hot streak and unyielding defense to build a 28-7 lead against Moore County in the first period. The Raiderettes scored just seven points in the first stanza including treys by Maecy Fletcher and Madison Dingler. At the end of the first period, the Falcons led Moore County 28-7.

Maybe a little shell shocked, the Raiderettes came alive in the second period while also managing to force the Falcons into a bit of foul trouble. Eleven of Moore County’s 15 second period points came from the line. Three different Lincoln County starters eeked into the final buzzer with four fouls each.

At halftime, Lincoln County led 45-22.

Fourth quarter come back falls short

The Raiderettes came out of the break swinging. Treys by Katy Fletcher and Madison Dingler as well as baskets by Paisley Logan and Ava Butts allowed Moore County to outscore the Falcons in the third.

Moore County put their foot firmly on the accelerator in the fourth quarter – scoring 20 points against Lincoln County’s second string but it was a little too little too late.

At the final buzzer, Moore County lost 68-54 and dropped their regular season record to 6-2.

On Thursday, senior Paisley Logan and sophomore Ellie Graham led with 10 points each. Katy Fletcher followed with eight points and Ava Butts scored another seven. Both Maecy Fletcher and Madison Dingler scored six points each. Audrey Harder added four points and Emily Burks scored three. Abby Bryan led for Lincoln County with 28 points.

The Raiderettes will play Forrest at home next Tuesday. Tip off will be at 7 p.m. District play will begin on January 10 with a home game against perennial rival the Huntland Lady Hornets on January 10. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus on public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}