By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNCHBURG — At first there were 16 and now there are eight. On Saturday night in Lynchburg with a sea of former MCHS Raiderettes standing behind them, the 2023-24 Moore County girls basketball team proved that they are one of the top eight Class 1A teams in the state with a 44-32 win over the McEwen Warriorettes. They’ll join North Greene, Greenfield, Clay County, Cloudland, Pickett County, Wayne County, and South Fulton at the Murphy Center this week for a chance at the gold ball. {To view this year’s Class 1A Playoff bracket, click here.}
It’s an unlikely storyline for a team without a single senior. Few who haven’t watched the Raiderettes in person would have picked them as a contender for the state title, but this is no Cinderella story. The Moore County team made their way to postseason success with grit and determination, not luck.
Raiderettes jump out to an early 11-5 lead
Saturday night’s game was the first meeting of Moore County and McEwen since the 2009-10 season, when Moore County beat the Warriorettes in the Region 5A Semifinal.
In 2024, the Raiderettes beat Eagleville by two points to earn the Region 5A crown and the right to host the TSSAA Sectional Game. McEwen lost to Wayne County 64-28 and settled for the Region 6A runner up.
Moore County jumped out to an early 11-5 lead against McEwen on Saturday. The two teams opened with turnovers then Audrey Harder swished a trey for the first points of the game. Anna Harder got a steal on the next Warriorette possession and drove it in for two more. It’s was the perfect opening for the twins, who celebrated their seventeenth birthday on Saturday.
McEwen’s Shana Bohanon scored their first basket of the game around the six-minute mark. Moore County immediately answered when Madison Dingler passed down low to Katy Fletcher. She took one dribble and went up for a right-side layup to make it 7-2. Two possessions later, Ellie Graham made the exact same basket on the opposite side to give the Raiderettes a seven-point lead.
Moore County ruled the rebound game in the first quarter. Rarely did a ball go the other way. They jumped, scrambled, and fought for possessions.
McEwen got the second and last score of the first period when Ellie Littlejohn swished a trey. Then with 11 seconds remaining, Fletcher went up for a layup as time expired. Moore County led McEwen 11-5 at the end of the first period.
Moore County never looked back and McEwen never got closer than six points down the stretch. Moore County put up 12 points – including treys by Fletcher and Anna Harder in the second period – while holding McEwen to seven. Moore County went into the halftime break leading McEwen 23-12.
Warriorettes battle back in the third
Every Raiderettes game we’ve watched this season follows a predictable four act play. Moore County usually comes out strong in the first half, then the other team attempts a comeback in the third. Saturday night’s McEwen game followed that same storyline with McEwen managing 12 points while holding Moore County to just seven – four points by Fletcher, a basket by Emma Sazonov, and one from the line by Dingler. At the end of the third period, Moore County continued to lead 30-24.
The two teams traded turnovers to start off the fourth quarter. The Warriorettes then missed a shot, Fletcher snagged the rebound. On the Moore County side, Graham drove down the lane and scored two to make it 32-24. It would be Graham’s first points of the night. McEwen double and sometimes triple-teamed her for much of the night but she came alive in the fourth quarter – scoring all but two of her eight points in the final stanza.
On the next play, Dingler stole the ball but missed the layup. Anna Harder went up for the rebound and tripped on her own feet, tumbling to the court and barely making incidental contact on her way down. The left side ref called her for a foul much to the chagrin of Harder, the Raiderette bench, and the home crowd. Then to add to the head scratcher, the ref called a double technical – one on Harder and one on McEwen’s Layken Dodd. Neither went to the line, and the refs gave the possession to the Warriorettes.
Harder came out of the game, then three plays later came back in and scored. She got the rebound on a missed three and went inside on the left for two points as the crowd exploded. Moore County led 34-27 with 5:31 to play.
McEwen fouled Audrey Harder on their next possession and she made one of two, 35-27. The two teams then traded turnovers for the next minute, then Dodd fouled Graham – sending her to the line. She made both, 37-27.
The Raiderettes and Warriorettes traded missed shots from the line. Both teams enjoyed the bonus for the final two minutes of the game. A determined Dingler then drove from the top of the key and down the right side for two more, 39-27. McEwen’s Abigail Harrington answered with two to bring it back to a 10-point game.
With around 1:30 to play, the McEwen sent Dingler back to the line. She made one and missed the second to make it 40-29. Dodd answered with two, 40-31.
On the next play, a wide-open Graham used the glass to make two more points, 42-31. Dingler made two from the line and Davidson made one of two to arrive at the final score, 44-32.
Katy Fletcher led for Moore County with 13 points followed closely by Madison Dingler with 10 points. Ellie Graham added eight and Anna Harder swished seven more. Audrey Harder scored four and Emma Sazonov managed a basket.
The win was the first Sectional appearance for Moore County since the starting five’s freshmen year in 2022. They lost to McKenzie that year by a final of 60-53. The win marks the Raiderettes first Sectional win since 2018 when they beat Clay County 56-40 before going on to lose to Huntington by four, 44-40, in the State Quarterfinal game.
The Raiderette will now move on to the Class 1A State Tournament at MTSU’s Murphy Center on Wednesday with a game against Clay County. Tip off will take place at 5:30 p.m. If you can’t travel with the Raiderettes, you can watch live on the NFHS Network or The Times will post live score updates on our Facebook page. •
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