By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — Defense wins championships. Ask any coach who leads a team at any level of play from youth leagues to the WNBA, and they’ll tell you the same.

On Wednesday, in the Region 5A Championship game, Coach Chad Spencer saw what he needed to see and made halftime adjustments to help lead his gals in Columbia blue to their second consecutive regional title.

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

Richland gets three ball hot in the first period

Lady Raiders three ball shooters looked like they were going to become a problem in the first period. On the first Richland possession, Shelby Higgins drained her first of three first period treys. In fact, combined with a trey from teammate Bailey Blair, 12 of the Lady Raiders 16 first period points came from the perimeter.

A Chad Spencer-coached defense has developed a bit of a reputation in Class 1A girls’ basketball circles and many opposing coaches think the antidote is to match Moore County’s pressure and intensity. Most, however, can’t match the Raiderettes’ disciple.

This played out in the first period of Wednesday’s game. Just two minutes into the game, Raiderette Ally Sharpe went up for three and Lady Raider Shelby Higgins knocked Sharpe to the ground – accumulating her second personal foul of the game. Sharpe made all three from the line to tie the game, 5-5.

In fact, six of Moore County’s first period points came from the line.

Around the six-minute mark, Richland made the mistake of leaving Emma Dye unguarded along the left perimeter, and she swished the first Moore County trey of the game to earn back the lead, 8-7.

Higgins answered with her second trey of the game. In total, she put up 11 of Richland’s 16 first period points. Uncharacteristically quiet in the first period was Richland’s Baily Blair, who contributed just three points in the first eight minutes.

High school girls’ basketball is just fun to watch and the Raiderettes managed plenty for the highlight reel on Wednesday. With 4:03 to play in the first period, Dye snagged a rebound, passed to Katy Fletcher, who handed off to Graham.  She dribbled down and then spun through Richland’s Katelyn Bass for two points to earn back the lead, 12-10.

Richland scored their final points of the first at the 2:49 mark with another trey from Higgins. Dye answered with her second three ball to make it 16-15 with 2:29 remaining in the period.

Richland got the ball back with less than a minute to play in the first. They played keep-away until the 21 second mark then turned over the ball with a travel. With 18 seconds remaining, Graham drove on the left side and drew the foul. She made one of two to tie the game.

Moore County started to find their offensive groove in the second period. On their first possession, Graham bounce-passed the ball to a wide-open Fletcher for two. Richland answered, then Sharpe set up for a trey and got run over by Blair. Undaunted, she dribbled around the Lady Raider for the jumper to make it 20-18.

A few minutes later, Sharpe missed on a three and Emma Sazonov crashed the boards with put back points to give Moore County back the lead, 24-21. Blair three balled to tie it back at 24-24. Several plays later Sazonov drained a three to give the Raiderettes a 27-26 lead with 1:05 to play in the half.

Moore County went into halftime leading by one, 27-26.

Raiderettes defense tightens late in the second half

Moore County and Richland paced each other in the third period but you could feel the momentum oozing out of the Richland bench as the Raiderettes continued to make plays on offense.

At the 3:53 mark, Fletcher snagged a rebound, pressed down court, passed to Sharpe, who then fed her back the ball for a smooth two to make it 33-31. Moments later, Dye shot, missed, fought for the rebound, then put it back up for two, and got the and one. She made it to give Moore County their biggest lead of the game, 36-31, with 2:57 to play in the third.

On the inbound, Graham and Fletcher trapped Richland’s Higgins in the student section corner – prompting a quick Lady Raider time out. On the next Richland possession, the dynamic duo caught Higgins again – forcing a jump ball that went Moore County’s way.

Higgins made her final trey of the game at the 2:36 mark in the third, then Moore County held them scoreless through the final two minutes of the period. Moore County ended the third leading 36-34.

Audrey Harder swished a trey on the first possession of the fourth period. She’s been a key contributor in the past two games with not only points but a lights out defensive effort. Her three points gave Moore County back a more comfortable five-point lead, 39-34.

It’s difficult to execute when the opponent pressures, harasses, and attempts to intercept every pass. It wears on teams and as the fourth period ticked down, the Lady Raiders appeared to get visibly frustrated. They threw the ball away, misjudged passes, and committed turnover after turnover. Around the seven minute mark, Richland’s Bass threw a shoulder and elbow Graham’s way, and received an offensive foul for her efforts as the student section taunted with cheers of “You can’t do that.” With four fouls, she came out of the game.

Free throws ended up being the difference maker of the game. Richland continued to foul – sending Sharpe, Dye, Graham, and Audrey Harder to the line for 11 of Moore County’s 18 fourth period points. Moore County shot 20 of 24 from the line against Richland. Sharpe shot a perfect nine of nine and Fletcher as four or four.

Four Raiderettes score double digits

Class 1A Miss Basketball nominee Ellie Graham led on Wednesday with 14 followed by three other Moore County double-digit scorers: Ally Sharpe with 11, and Katy Fletcher and Emma Dye with 10 each. Emma Sazonov subbed in early and contributed five points. Audrey Harder also came alive in the second half with four points and several key defensive plays.

The Raiderettes earned the right to host a TSSAA Sectional on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. They’ll play the McEwen Warriors (24-5, 6-0) who lost to highly ranked Wayne County 63-38 on Wednesday.

The Richland Lady Raiders will now travel to Wayne County on Saturday. To view a full Class 1A West Regional Bracket, click here. •

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