By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

WARTRACE, Tenn. — When you play aggressive, leave-it-all-on-the floor defense, you’re bound to – depending on the refs – wander into foul trouble. On Tuesday, the Moore County Raiderettes travelled to Bedford County and tested that theory. They combined inside pressure, money outside shooting, and a bend-but-don’t break defensive strategy to earn a 63-40 road victory over a former Class 1A rival, the Cascade Lady Champions.

By the end of the fourth period, five Raiderettes – Alley Sharpe, Katy Fletcher, Emma Sazonov, Madison Dingler, and Anna Harder –notched four fouls each but none fouled out of the game. Moore County recorded 25 team fouls and handed the Lady Champions 15 points from the charity stripe.

In a lot of high school basketball games, this might create an edge but fortunately for the Raiderettes inside baskets from senior Ellie Graham and hot shot perimeter shooting from junior transfer Ally Sharpe provided an anecdote. The dynamic duo combined for 42 points to help Moore County remain undefeated.

The Raiderettes also beat 3A Portland 68-24 and 4A Page 51-32 during the Hall of Fame Tournament in Coffee County on November 23.

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

Raiderettes play as physical as the refs will allow

Moore County jumped out to a 15-8 first period lead and never trailed in the game. Defensively, they led with an aggressive press defensive that earned Dingler and Fletcher two fouls in the early minutes. It paid off. Moore County limited Cascade to just eight first period points and kept Cascade high-scored Kaegan Young to just four points – all from the line.

Moore County led 15-8 at the end of the first half. Sharpe led with five points — a trey and two from the charity stripe. Graham added a pair of buckets and Sazonov and Anna Harder managed one from the floor and one from the line each.

Sharpe kicked off the second period with a trey to make it 18-8. Interestingly, Cascade answered with treys by Lizzie Keele and Caroline Parker. Parker played with Moore County during their 2024 Class 1A State Championship run and transferred to Cascade after the season. She eventually contributed six against her former teammates – both from the perimeter.

Moore County played as physical as the refs would allow for much of the second period before backing off in the final minute of first half play. They shut down inside baskets from Young – who went scoreless in the second period. She also committed an uncharacteristic four turnovers. Moore County allowed just nine points – all from the perimeter.

Moore County went into the half time locker room with a comfortable 12-point lead, 29-17. Graham and Sharpe combined for all 14 of Moore County’s second period points.

Raiderettes outscore Cascade 19-6 in the fourth

Cascade battled back after the break – putting up 17 points while holding Moore County to 15. Young put up a bucket and Parker swished a trey to go on a five-point run to pull the game within seven in the first minute. Audrey Harder then made one from the line followed by a basket from Fletcher to stretch the margin back to double digits, 32-22.

The two teams traded point through the final two minutes to end the third with that same 10-point margin, 44-34. Graham led in the third with six points. Fletcher added four more. Anna Harder swished a nothing-but-net trey and her sister, Audrey, made one from the line in the third.

Like a boa constrictor playing with its prey, the Raiderettes applied pressure in the final stanza. They put up 19 points – including seven from the line – while holding Cascade to just six points. All but two of Cascade’s fourth period points came from the line. Graham made the final shot of the game.

Graham led with 24 points

Ellie Graham led for Moore County with 24 points followed by Ally Sharpe with 18 points. Katy Fletcher, who was uncharacteristically quiet in the first half, scored seven. She mounted early fouls and sat for much of the second period. Anna Harder added six points and Emma Sazonov swished five more. Madison Dingler – who did much of the defensive heavy lifting — scored two points and Audrey Harder added one from the line. Kaegan Young led for Cascade with 11 points.

Moore County shot 36 points from the floor and 12 from the perimeter. They were 15 of 23 from the line (65 percent). By contrast, Cascade scored 10 from the floor and 15 from the perimeter. They added an identical 15 of 23 from the line.

Moore County will travel again on Thursday to Pisgah, Alabama to take on the Eagles. This will be the first meeting foe the two teams. Tips off will take place at 6 p.m. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally-owned and locally-operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee and one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. It’s owned by a Tulane University-educated journalist with over 20 years of experience. 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. }