By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER 

HUNTLAND, Tenn. — It felt like all business on Tuesday at Huntland High School as the Moore County Raiderettes took the first step in a hopeful repeat state tournament run with a dominant 57-26 win over Eagleville in a District 9A semifinal game.

The Raiderettes also swept the Lady Eagles in the regular season — winning 55-42 on January 10 in Eagleville and 53-16 on January 31 in Lynchburg. 

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

Raiderette D heats up in the second period

Moore County came in with a methodical first half game plan. They applied pressure inside with Ellie Graham and Ally Sharpe and perimeter pressure from Anna Harder to slowly pull away. The Lady Eagles kept pace with the Raiderettes in the first three minutes, then Anna Harder hammered them with back-to-back treys to give Moore County an early 10-5 lead. She went on to lead in the first period with eight points. 

Eagleville then turned over the ball, and Miss Basketbsll nominee Ellie Graham went in for two. Eagleville’s MC Whitt answered then Sharpe swished her first trey to give Moore County an early 15-7 lead. 

Graham scored on the next possession, then Ryle Warbritton went up for Eagleville’s last points of the first period to make it 17-9. Katy Fletcher and Anna Harder put together a four-point run to end the first, 21-9. 

The Moore County defense then began to coil around the Lady Eagles like a boa constrictor. They held Eagleville scoreless in nearly the first four minutes of the second period until Brinli Bain ended the drought with two from the line. Whitt added two more to make it 25-13. 

Sharpe answered with a basket, then a visibly frustrated Bain charged into Sharpe drawing the charge and sending Moore County to the line. She made both to make it 29-13. Thompson then made Eagleville’s first field goal of the second period at around the 2:15 mark to make it 29-15. 

Emma Sazonov, Graham, and Makenzie Goodwin pieced together an eight-point run to send Moore County into the locker room leading 36-15. 

Out of the break, the Moore County defense squeezed. The Raiderettes put together a 16-point run to make it 52-15. Eagleville scored their first basket of the period at the 1:38 mark. Coach Spencer then started to substitute heavily — sending in Emily Burks, Hannah Martin, and Bella Tucker. 

The Lady Eagles managed just four third period points to end the period trailing by 33 points. 

Ellie Carter, Ella Burks, Lily Hoagland, and Alexus Hornaday substituted in the fourth to earn valuable playing time that will prove crucial down the stretch. Ella Burks made a fourth period trey to end the fourth period scoring. 

At the buzzer, the Raiderettes earned a decisive 57-26 win.

Graham led with 18 points

Ellie Graham led for Moore County wit 18 points followed by Ally Sharpe with 11 and Anna Harder with 8. Other contributing Raiderettes were Katy Fletcher (6) , Makenzie Goodwin (4), Ella Burks (3), Emma Sazonov (3), and Emma Dye (2). 

Moore County will play Fayetteville on Thursday in the District 9A Championship game. The Lady Tigers edged the Lady Hornets in overtime on Tuesday after Fayetteville drained a trey at the buzzer to tie the game 56-56. In OT, the Lady Tigers got up by four with 30 seconds to play and held on for a narrow 64-58 win. This will be the first District 9A Championship game for Fayetteville since their inception.

The Lynchburg Times will provide live sideline coverage with live score updates during the game. Tipoff will take place on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. following the Eagleville versus Huntland consolation game. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We’re the only newspaper that publishes new stories every morning at 7 a.m. plus 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. }