By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNNVILLE — It’s hard to beat a good team twice in one season. It’s nearly impossible to do it three times and unheard of to win four out of four. But that’s exactly what the Moore County Raiderettes accomplished Wednesday night in the Region 5A Championship game.
Junior Emma Sazonov came off the bench and made a clutch jump shot with 12 seconds to play to give the Raiderettes a one-point lead. Then, fellow junior Katy Fletcher made one of two from the line with 2.8 seconds to play to seal the win.
Raiderette D holds Lady Eagles scoreless for seven minutes in first half
Eagleville’s Meah Thompson kicked off the scoring with a trey on the Lady Eagles’ second possession. Moore County walked on the next play, then Anna Harder got a takeaway. She passed to Ellie Graham, who went up on the left side for Moore County’s first points, 3-2. The dogged Anna Harder got another steal on the Lady Eagle’s next possession but Moore County couldn’t convert it to points.
Brinli Bain swished another trey to give Eagleville a 6-2 lead, but it would be the Lady Eagles’ last points of the first quarter. Audrey Harder – who was due a breakout game and got it on Wednesday – answered with her own trey out of the time out, 6-5.
Madison Dingler followed with another trey and then a basket in the final two minutes to give Moore County a 10-6 first quarter lead.
Those five points led to an nine-point run that lasted halfway through the second quarter with Katy Fletcher and Anna Harder piling on. The tenacious Raiderette defense kept the Lady Eagles from scoring for nearly seven minutes from the 2:45 mark in the first until 4:32 in the second quarter when Isabella Sawyer ended the drought with one from the line to make it 19-7.
Eagleville then pieced together their own five-point run thanks to points by Eliza McClaren and Bain. Emma Sazonov spotted a wide-open Anna Harder for the final score of the first half. At halftime, Moore County led Eagleville 21-13.
Emma Sazonov comes off the bench for the go-ahead points
Eagleville battled back in the third period – scoring 10 while holding Moore County to seven points. Dingler made a basket and Audrey Harder scored a trey and put back points. The Raiderettes continued to lead Eagleville 28-23 at the end of the third.
Both teams played loose and fast in the final stanza with many struggles for possession bordering on heavyweight matches. For the most part, the refs let them play.
Anna Harder fouled Shelbie Mooneyham on Eagleville’s first possession earning her fourth foul. The understandably upset high school athlete expressed some thoughts to herself about it and the grown man standing next to her took exception – calling her for a technical. That gave Harder her fifth foul and sent her to the bench. Mooneyham and McClaren both went to the line for two shots each but managed only one apiece – an uncharacteristic misstep for a team that usually shoots better than 70 percent from the line.
Sawyer made a trey on their next possession to tie the game at 28-28 with seven minutes to play in the game. Dingler answered with her own trey to earn back the lead, 31-28, then Sawyer went right back for three more points to tie the game again, 31-31.
As the Eagleville student section yelled “defense, defense,” Bain leapt onto the back of a rebounding Graham and drew the foul. The two teams traded turnovers, then Dingler set up at the top of the key as the Moore County student section now taunted “offense, offense.” Fletcher went up for a basket and got the foul. She made both to give Moore County back a two-point lead. McClaren immediately fouled her again – earning foul number four. Fletcher went back to the line and made one of two shots, 33-32 with 3:47 to play. Thirty seconds later, Jules Weese sent Fletcher back to the line and she scored one more to make it 34-32.
Thompson answered from the line 30 seconds later to tie the score again 34-34 with 2:25 to play.
Moore County and Eagleville traded turnovers then Sawyer headed inside looking for points. Fletcher said “no ma’am” – blocking her shot and handing Moore County back the ball with 1:11 to play. McClaren fouled Audrey Harder with 32 seconds remaining. She went to the line and made one giving Moore County a one-point lead with 32 seconds remaining, 35-34.
The Raiderettes then returned the favor sending Sawyer to the line. She made both – giving the Lady Eagles back a narrow one-point lead – prompting a quick Lady Eagles time out.
Emma Sazonov is what we call the Raiderettes sixth starter. Her name may not get called in the opening line up but she’s usually on the court in the first eight minutes. She’s as experienced a backup as you are likely to find on any high school girls’ basketball team.
With less than 30 seconds to play, Sazonov spotted a gap and went up for a jump shot. It landed, and Raider Nation exploded. Moore County led 37-36 with 12.4 seconds to play.
Then enter Katy Fletcher. Fletcher’s been clutch all year on both offense and defense for the Raiderettes. In the Region 5A Semifinal against Cornersville, she made an off-the-backboard, as-time-expired layup to give Moore County a 45-43 overtime win over the Lady Bulldogs to advance.
On Wednesday, she did it again. With both teams now in the bonus, Fletcher went up to rebound the Lady Eagle shot and drew the foul by Mooningham. She calmly walked the length of the court, set up and the free throw line, and made one of two to give Moore County a 38-36 lead with 2.8 eight seconds to play. Sawyer – who connected on a buzzer beater in the District 9A Championship game against Moore County –attempted another buzzer beater as time expired but it went well left of the basket.
Moore County beat Eagleville for the fourth time in the 2024 season – earning this year’s team the first Region 5A Championship since February 28, 2018, when the Raiderettes beat Huntland 67-36 before making it all the way to the Class 1A Quarterfinal.
The Region 5A Tournament MVP Madison Dingler led for Moore County with 12 points. She scored 13 against Cornersville and eight against Culleoka. Audrey Harder followed with nine points and Anna Harder scored seven. Katy Fletcher made the All Region 5A Tournament Team and scored six points. Ellie Graham also made All Tournament Team and scored two against Eagleville. Emma Sazonov added two points. Isabella Sawyer led for Eagleville with 11 points.
The gals in Columbia blue will now move on to a Class 1A Sectional game against McEwen on Saturday. As the Region 5A winner, they’ve earned a home game. Tip off will happen at 7 p.m. {To view the complete Class 1A West bracket, click here.} •
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