By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

HUNTLAND, Tenn. — The Moore County Raiderettes have made no secret of the fact that they are preparing to make another postseason run at the gold ball in 2025. After settling for Class 1A Runners up in 2023-24, the gals in Columbia blue seem determined to find themselves in the Murphy Center again this March and appear on just about every sports reporter’s teams to watch list.

Despite boasting a roster full of double-digit players, a formidable defense, and one of the Class 1A Miss Basketball nominees, Ellie Graham, the Raiderettes are currently playing like a team that doesn’t read their own press clippings.

On Friday, they traveled to nearby Huntland and put an exclamation point on the regular season with a dominating 66-36 win over the Huntland Lady Hornets. The win earned them a spotless 6-0 District 9A record and the top spot in the regular season.

There are only three other teams in District 9A – Eagleville, Fayetteville, and Huntland. All three teams finish the regular season with a 2-4 district record. The closest any District 9A team came to challenging the Raiderettes in the regular season was the January 17 game at Fayetteville in which the Lady Tiger got within 10, 72-62.

In the regular season, Moore County scored an average of 62 points per game, while holding their opponents to just 33 points per game.

Despite that statistical edge, the Raiderettes seem to be taking a one-game-at-a-time mentality. On Friday, and despite the sometimes-bitter rivalry between the two teams, the Raiderettes played smart, methodical basketball.

Raiderettes led 36-17 at the half

They jumped out to an early 14-7 first period leads thanks to points by Katy Fletcher, Emma Sazonov, and Ellie Graham – who combined for all 14 points.

Fletcher continued to dominate inside in the second period, and put up seven more points. She led in the first half with 13 points followed by Graham with nine. Sazonov added seven. Audrey Harder swished two buckets, and Ally Sharpe swished a trey for three in the first half.

Moore County went into halftime with a 36-17 lead and never looked back. They outscored the Lady Hornets by five in the third and six in the fourth to walk aways with a 66-36 win.

Emma Sazonov led for the Raiderettes with 20 points followed by Katy Fletcher and Ellie Graham with 13 points each. Ally Sharpe also contributed double digits points with 10. Other contributing Raiderettes were Audrey Harder (6), Bella Tucker (3), and Anna Harder (1).

Moore County scored 30 from the floor and another 27 from the perimeter including three fourth period treys from Sazonov as well as trey from Sharpe, Fletcher, and Graham. They were nine of 18 from the free throw line for just 50 percent.

For comparison, Huntland scored 18 from the floor and 15 from the perimeter. They were just three of 10 (30 percent) from the line. Coaches will meet today to discuss the seeding and vote on the regular season awards.

We’ll release more District 9A information, as soon as we have it. •

{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. }