LOCAL SPORTS | Fayetteville — Tuesday’s MCHS girls’ basketball game was a bit of a David and Goliath tale as tiny single A Moore County traveled to AAA Lincoln County High School. The Moore County girls team put up a battle going into the locker room tied at 16-16 but the Lady Falcons pulled away in the second half for a 40-27 win.
Tuesday’s game was the first faceoff for the Raiderettes and Lady Falcons in the 2021-22 season. They will play again on Friday, February 11 in Lynchburg. In last year’s game, the Raiderettes beat the Lady Falcons by one point in overtime. Even though almost a whole calendar year had past, player’s memories are long and the Lady Falcons looked to turn their home crowd into an edge and extract a little pay back.
Moore County (5-2) came into the game hot off a big home win against Forrest last Friday. The Raiderettes played aggressive defense and tenacious offense in the paint to earn a 26-point win over the Lady Rockets. Olivia Richards led for Moore County against Forrest with 19 points followed by Ellie Graham and Chloe Brazier with 10 points each. Lincoln County (4-1) came into Tuesday’s game fresh off a six-point loss against Franklin County. The Lady Rebels handed LCHS their lone loss of the 2021-22 season on Saturday winning by six – 44-38. Prior to December 6, no one’s gotten closer than 20 points to the LCHS girls team with a 81-44 victory at Giles County, a 77-41 win over Elkmont, a 52-28 win against Hatton.
Ballgame tied at halftime but Lady Falcons pull away in the fourth period
The Raiderettes put up a slow and steady effort in the first half despite an aggressive, full court man-to-man pressure defense from the Lady Falcons. Moore County put up eight points in each of the first two periods. By contrast, Lincoln County got out to a quick start – besting the Raiderettes by 14 points in the first period but only scoring two points in the second. The two teams went into halftime knotted at 16-16. Olivia Richards and Ellie Graham combine for 14 of Moore County’s 16 first half points.
Olivia Richards scored a quick basket on the Raiderette’s first possession of the second half to give Moore County the lead. Then, shots finally started to fall for Lincoln County in the third period. Anna Kate Cooper and Abby Bryan swished two quick treys to pull Lincoln County ahead. With seconds remaining, Katie Fletcher scored a basket to pull Moore County back within three point. The third period ended Moore County 25, Lincoln County 28. Near constant defensive pressure from the Lady Falcons seemed to mount up in the final stanza. Turnovers and missed shots told the story down the stretch with Moore County’s Katie Fletcher scoring the lone Raiderette basket of the fourth period.
Olivia Richards led for the Raiderettes with 13 followed by Ellie Graham with six points. Katie Fletcher swished four points and Charlotte Ray and Chloe Brazier added a basket each. Annalise Malone led for the Lady Falcon with 17 points.
The Raiderettes will face off with another AAA team on Friday when they take on the top-rated Tullahoma Lady Wildcats (4-0) on Friday in Lynchburg. So far this season, the Tullahoma girls’ have mounted wins over Rockvale, Mt. Juliet, Warren County and Franklin County. The game tips off at 6 p.m. at the MCHS Gym. You can watch the Moore County Sports Network’s live broadcast on the NFHS Network or follow The Lynchburg Times live blog of the game on our Facebook page. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}