By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

FAYETTEVILLE  — The 2024-25 Moore County Raiderettes have made no secret of the fact that they intend to make another run at the gold ball this spring at the Murphy Center. Last year’s Class 1A State Runners Up seem determined to play it one-game-at-time while using each game as an opportunity to get better.

One of the facets of the game they’ll need to depend on if they hope to be successful in the post-season is free throw shooting and on Friday the Raiderettes shot an impressive 14 of 18 from the line. Money, dependable points from the charity stripe will be key as the season progresses.

Friday night’s game was the first meeting for the two District 9 teams this season. Last year, the Raiderettes won the first game of the series at home by a 65-35 margin, but the Lady Tigers came for the Raiderettes on their home turf – edging them by one point, 46-47.

In that game, the Lady Tigers fouled Audrey Harder with 20 seconds to play but she couldn’t connect on either shot from the line. Fayetteville then turned the ball over and Graham attempted a buzzer beater from the half court line, but it bounced just right of the goal. {To read our complete coverage of that game, click here.}

{Editor’s Note: This year’s Raiders basketball coverage is free to all readers thanks to our community partner, Woodard’s Market.}

Fletcher drains a buzzer-beater trey at the half

Moore County freshman Emma Dye transferred from Fayetteville to Moore County in the offseason, and made her presence known in her former home gym on the tip off with a steal and a fast break for the Raiderettes for two points. Katy Fletcher and Ellie Graham added baskets of their own to give Moore County a quick 6-0 advantage.

TeAsia Ewing scored Fayetteville’ s first points of the game around the five-minute mark, then followed with a trey to make it, 6-5. Moore County answered with a 12-point run including treys from Dye and Ally Sharpe as well as baskets from Fletcher, Dye, and Graham. Ewing scored back-to-back baskets to end the first quarter. Moore County led 18-9 at the end of the first eight minutes.

In the second quarter, the Raiderettes used hot perimeter shooting from Sharpe, Fletcher, and Emma Sazonov to build their lead. Fletcher drained a buzzer-beater trey as time expired to send Moore County into the halftime locker room leading 36-21.

Lady Tigers attempt a second half comeback

Fayetteville didn’t lay down without a fight. They came out of the break and matched Moore County point-for-point in the third period. The Lady Tigers Kayden Parks, and Casyn Gentry pieced together a seven-point run at the end of the third to keep Fayetteville within the same 15-point margin.

Fayetteville outscored Moore County by five points in the final quarter to pull within 10 points – ending with a trey from Clark.

At the final buzzer, Moore County earned their second district win by a final of 72-62 improving their record to 15-3 and 2-0. The loss drops Fayetteville to 2-12 and 0-2 in district play.

Senior Ellie Graham and junior Ally Sharpe led for Moore County with 16 points each followed by senior Katy Fletcher with 14 points. Emma Dye and Emma Sazonov followed with nine points each. All nine of Sazonov’s points came from the perimeter. Other contributing Raiderettes were Anna Harder (4), Bella Tucker (2) and Emily Burks (2).

Moore County shot 14 of 18 (77 percent) from the line. They managed 34 points from the floor and another 24 from the perimeter.

The Raiderettes will play a non-conference home game against perennial Alabama 2A darling Pisgah on Tuesday. It’s the second of a regular season series for Moore County. They beat the Lady Eagles 52-38 in Jackson County on December 5. In that game, three Raiderettes – Sharpe, Fletcher, and Graham – put-up double-digit points to manage the 14-point win over a team with 10 state championships under their belts. {To read our full coverage of that game, click here.}

Tuesday’s game will tip off at Moore County High School at 6 p.m. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We’re the only newspaper that published twice a week with editions every Sunday and Wednesday as well as breaking news as it happens. It’s also one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. We’re supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }