By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — There’s a sign in the Raiderettes locker room that reads Cause Moore Chaos Raiderettes. On Saturday, in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, the vaunted Raiderettes defense continued to do just that. They blocked shots, stole passes, double teamed, trapped, and eventually wore down the visiting McEwen Lady Warriors — much to the visible frustration of their Miss Basketball nominee Laila Downs-Darden, who threw more than one elbow and fouled out in the fourth period.

In fact, two of the three TSSAA Class 1A Miss Basketball nominees faced off on Saturday with Moore County’s Ellie Graham and McEwen’s Laila Downs-Darden facing off at the tip. The 5’11” point guard recently scored her 1,000th career point as a sophomore and has been known to score 30 points a game. On Saturday, the dogged Moore County defense held her to just 16 and stymied her in the second half to her visible frustration.

And that’s the thing about this season’s Raiderettes squad. They possess poise and maturity. No matter what their opponent throws their way, they just keep on ballin’ unfazed. In fact, one might argue they play better when their opponent gets slightly rattled like Columbia Blue Land Sharks that smell blood in the water.

As they head back to Murfreesboro this Wednesday for another shot at the Class 1A Gold Ball, they’ll need to stay focused, set the tone, and play their game.

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

Raiderettes led by double digits the entire game

The Moore County offense set the tone on Saturday. They put up 23 points in the first period, while the Raiderettes D held McEwen to just nine points to jump out to an early 14-point lead.

McEwen scored the first two points of the game on Saturday, then Emma Dye answered with a trey on Moore County’s second possession of the game. Anyone who’s watched Raiderettes basketball in person this year knows that if you spot the freshman unguarded behind the perimeter, it’s money in the bank. The talented transfer led at the half with 12 points.

McEwen tied the game with one from the line to make it 3-3. Then the Raiderettes pieced together an 11-point run with points from Graham, Dye, Katy Fletcher, and Anna Harder, who swished a trey with 2:41 to play in the first to give Moore County an early 14-3 lead.

Harder showed grit and tenacity on Saturday as she fought for rebounds and loose balls. Not only did she give her teammates lots of chances at points, she also put up 14 of her own.

McEwen’s Shana Bohanon ended the Lady Warrior drought with one from the line, then Moore County managed seven unanswered off points from Ally Sharpe, Dye, and Graham. The run ended with Dye’s second trey of the first period.

The first period ended with the Raiderettes leading by 14, 23-9. Moore County maintained a double-digit lead throughout all four periods and sent the Lady Warriors home for the season with a 20-point loss, 57-37.

Richland upset Wayne County on Saturday, which means fellow Miss Basketball nominee Blair Baugus is also done for the season. Only Graham remains active as the Elite Eight at the Murphy Center looms.

Graham, Harder, and Dye combined for 42 points

Ellie Graham led against McEwen with 16 followed by Anna Harder with 14 and Emma Dye with 12. Katy Fletcher swished seven and Ally Sharpe added six more. Emma Sazonov put up a bucket.

Moore County is now headed to The Glass House for the second year in a row. Last season’s Class 1A Runner Up will play the Coalfield Yellow Jackets (31-5) on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in an Elite Eight game.

Coalfield beat Unaka 44-44 on Saturday to punch their ticket to the state championship. This will be the first meeting ever between the two teams.

For those who are headed to the game, general admission tickets will be on sale at the gate or you can purchase them online at this link. The Murphy Center does have a Clear Bag Policy. For the specifics, please click here. •

{Community newspapers like The Lynchburg Times serve an important role to high school athletes. Players use links to our articles in college applications and the TSSAA keeps up with Moore County star athletes through our coverage. That leads to more awards and recognition. Please consider supporting our work. Click this link to sign up.}