Warriorettes’ 18-point win over Livingston Academy advanced them to championship game

The White County Warriorettes were the number one team in their district, 7AAA, which garnered them a bye in the first round of postseason play. They faced off against the Livingston Academy Wildcats in the semifinal round, on Feb. 22, and their double-digit victory set up a date with Upperman in the finals.

Things started out slow in the semifinal game, with the two teams being tied at just 8 points apiece after the first quarter of play, but a strong second quarter sent the Warriorettes to the locker room with a 28-17 lead at the half. White County continued to build on their lead, keeping the momentum going when they returned to the court. They added 3 points to their lead in the third quarter and another 4 in the fourth to be on the positive side of a 49-31 scoreboard at the final buzzer.

Gracie Clark led the Warriorettes with 16 points and added 12 rebounds to walk away with a double-double in tournament play. Clark 6 for 15 from the floor, including 1-for-2 from 3-point range, and sank all three of her foul shots.

Lakelyn Grasty was the other White County player in double-digit scoring as she hit her only attempt from beyond the arc and her solo free throw attempt while adding four more field goals to her scoring line Saturday night. Bella Winningham just missed out on the double-digit scoring category but was the third Warriorette to be perfect from the free throw line on her way to nine points as she added a pair of free throws, a pair of field goals, and a three-point basket to White County’s side of the scoreboard.

Ava Jones went six-for-eight from the free throw line and netted a single basket from the floor as she scored 8 of the Warriorettes 49 points. Kyra Fox rounded out White County’s scoring with 5 points from two field goals and a free throw.

Jones was a force to be reckoned with on the boards. Like Clark, she was in the double digits, pulling down nine defensive and one offensive rebound while recording three blocks. Clark, who led the team in rebounds as well as scoring, had eight defensive and four offensive boards while also adding a pair of steals and a block to her defensive game. Winningham had two rebounds, Grasty and Fox each had one, and Kennedy Billings-Sullivan added three more to bring White County’s total to 29 boards.

The Warriorettes win, on Feb. 22, meant they would be playing in the District 7AAA Tournament Championship game for the second straight year with a chance to double up their Regular Season Championship with a tournament championship and advance to the Regional Tournament where they would host a first round game.