EAGLEVILLE, Tenn. — The Raiderettes gave the Lady Raiders all they wanted — especially on defense — through all four periods, but got behind in the second period and couldn’t catch up on Monday night at the Region 5A Tournament. They ended their season against the Richland Lady Raiders by nine, 49-40

The Raiderettes hung with the Richland Lady Raiders in the first eight minutes. Richland put up the first of three first period perimeter shots on their first possession to get on the board first. Moore County’s Ally Sharpe answered with a left side jumper, then Richland’s Hollis drained her second trey to make it 6-2.

Two possessions later, the Raiderettes got their first three-ball — a left side perimeter swish from Ellie Carter to pull with one. Richland missed on their next trey attempt and then Bella Tucker snagged the rebound — setting up Carter for another trey and the lead, 8-6.

Richland answered with a jumper to tie the game then Sharpe drove back inside to regain the lead, 10-8. Richland then set up on the deep right side for a trey by Mary Avery McNeese to regain the lead with less than a minute to play in the first.

Tucker then muscled inside for a basket to give Moore County back a 12-11 lead before the end of the period. At the end of the first, Moore County led 12-11.

Richland put three treys — two more by McNeese and another from Baylee Hollis — to help build an 11 point halftime lead. They score 17 second period points while holding the Raiderettes to just five — baskets by Sharpe and Emma Dye plus one from the line by Carter. The Raiderettes when into the locker room trailing 28-17.

Moore County couldn’t overcome the second period deficit

Moore County came out of the locker room with a lot of defensive intensity. They matched the Lady Raiders point-for-points thanks to a pair of perimeter shots by Sharpe and two from the line by Dye. At the end of the third, they continued to trail by 11 points, 36-25.

Moore County outscored Richland by one in the final stanza and got as close as five, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the second period gap. Sharpe singlehandedly tried to put the team on her back — going inside time-after-time for determined points. She managed three from the floor plus and and-one shot. The Lady Raiders also fouled her on a perimeter shot and she made one of three from the line. Dye added two more and Carter swished another trey. Richland pulled away down the stretch with a little help from the charity stripe. They made nine of 10 from the line in the fourth period.

Ally Sharpe led for the Raiderettes with 20 points followed by Ellie Carter with 10. Emma Dye added six and Bella Tucker scored four more.

The Raiderettes ended their season with a 16-8 overall record and they finished third in District 9A. They will lose three seniors Mackenzie Goodwin, Ally Sharpe, and Bella Tucker. They are coached by Coach Chad Spencer. •

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