The Warriorettes traveled to McMinn County, on Feb. 26, 2021, to play in the first round of the region tournament.
The Warriorettes got the tip, but both teams traded possessions. About a minute in, Mia Murray made a behind-the-head pass to Morgan Quick down low for 2. Both teams turned the ball over, but, at 5:35, Alaina Stiles got an offensive put back to put the Warriorettes up 4-0. Right after, Stiles knocked down a 3. Both teams struggled making shots, especially free throws. Quick got a steal around the three-minute mark and got fouled but went 0/2. McMinn called a timeout. After the timeout, McMinn made a 3. With less than two minutes, Stiles scored 2 and got fouled but missed her free throw. The Warriorettes led 9-3 and then fouled the Lady Cherokees. They went 0/2 from the line and neither team scored for the rest of the quarter.
McMinn scored back to back opening the second quarter, bringing the score 9-7. Murray hit a jumper two minutes in. Soon after, McMinn was fouled and went 1/2. After the free throws, Murray grabbed the rebound and threw it down the floor to Nia Powers for a layup. On the other end, McMinn’s Oliver made a 3. The score was 13-11 White County. McMinn turned it over, and Powers scored off her own offensive rebound. At 4:40, McMinn stole the ball and laid it up, now trailing by 2. They didn’t score but 3 more points before halftime and went 0/4 from the line. After the last bucket, Sparta called a timeout. After the timeout, Murray drove and scored 2, hitting her 1,000th point. Dodgen was fouled and went 1/2 from the line. Around 3:45, McMinn was fouled but went 0/2. The next possession, Murray scored 2 more. Soon after, Celeste Reed got an offensive rebound and fouled. She made both her free throws. The Warriorettes led 22-13 with three minutes to go in the half. Murray got fouled, so Sparta got the ball back. Dodgen scored 2 and was fouled but also missed her free throw. Murray then stole the ball and went all the way for a layup. McMinn called a timeout as they trailed 26-13. After the timeout, McMinn had a chance at a one-and-one but missed the first. With 22.6 left in the half, the Lady Cherokees made a 3 to close out the half 26-16 White County.
The Lady Cherokees had the ball to start the third quarter and got fouled. They went 1/2 from the line. Quick went back door and got a lob from Addison Frazier. On the next play, the Warriorettes got the ball to Murray on a post-up. About 50 seconds later, Murray drove to the lane and scored. At 5:33, McMinn got fouled and made both free throws. Soon after, Dodgen scored and got fouled. She went to the line and completed her And1. A jump ball gave the ball back to the Warriorettes. On the inbound, Powers scored 2. Just under three minutes, McMinn was fouled as they scored and completed their free throw. On the next play, Murray threw it up to Quick for 2. At 1:29, Murray put back an offensive rebound. Fifteen seconds later, Powers ran the floor, and Murray passed it up to her for 2. Murray fouled McMinn’s Oliver, and she went 2/2 from the line. With 3 seconds left, Reed scored 2 to allow the Warriorettes to take a 45-24 lead.
McMinn possessed the ball to start the last quarter of the night and got fouled as they scored but missed the free throw. At 6:34, the Warriorettes turned the ball over McMinn’s Oliver who scored 2. On the other end, Murray hit a jumper. Ten seconds later, Oliver knocked down a 3 for the Lady Cherokees. Three minutes in, Murray scored and got fouled but missed her free throw. The next play, Quick got fouled and went 1/2 from the line. At 4:30, Murray hit a layup. The Warriorettes led 52-31. A minute later, McMinn scored back to back, with a layup and free throw. Just under two minutes, Murray got fouled and went 1/2. McMinn’s Oliver made the next five points around the one-minute mark, and McMinn called a timeout. The Warriorettes led 53-39. K.K. McDonald came in and got fouled for a one-and-one. She went to the line and made both. McMinn had one last chance to knock down two free throws but missed them both.
The Warriorettes finished the game with a 55-39 win.
The Warriors faced off against the Walker Valley Mustangs, on Feb. 27, 2021, for the first round of the region tournament.
The first quarter started off a little rocky. The Warriors won the tip but missed their first couple shots. Walker Valley made a 3 within the first 20 seconds. Twelve seconds later, Walker Valley turned it over, and the Warriors missed their shot. A jump ball got it back to the Warriors, and, on the inbound, Jake Davis hit a jumper to get the Warriors on the board. At 4:37, Tanner Paul got a deflection and took the ball all the way to the basket. Walker Valley made the next 5 points. Around 3:10, Grant Slatten knocked down a jumper. A minute later, Slatten dribbled all the way down and dumped it off to Cameron Stephens for 2, tying the score at 8. On the next play, Slatten stole the ball and slammed it home. The Mustangs made a 3 around the one-minute mark and then got an offensive rebound on the next play to score 2 more. This ended the first quarter, with Walker Valley taking a 13-10 lead.
The second quarter consisted of trading baskets. To start off, Walker Valley had the ball and scored on a layup. A few seconds later, Thomas Paul drove and got fouled. He went to the line and made both of his free throws. The Mustangs hit another 3. The score was 18-12 a minute into the second quarter. A ball got hit out of bounds, and Thomas Brock saved it. He was able to get it to Slatten who shot and made it in the middle of the paint and was also fouled on the way up, completing his And1 at the line. On the next play, Brock got a steal and advanced it to Slatten. He scored, and Walker Valley was called for an intentional foul. Slatten went to the line and knocked down both. The Warriors took a 1-point lead of 19-18. Slatten drove again and passed it off to Japheth Richmond for 2. As the Warriors increased their score to 21, the Mustangs called a timeout. After the timeout, Slatten nailed a jumper. Around 4:17, Walker Valley made another 3. About a minute later, Davis answered with a 3. Walker Valley made a turnover, and Slatten hit another jumper, 26-21. Walker Valley hit a three after that, but Slatten couldn’t be stopped and hit another jumper. At 1:39, Walker Valley made another 3 to bring it to a 3-point game. A few seconds later, Slatten drove in and was fouled as he made his basket. He also made his free throw. On the other end, the Mustangs made a jumper. With about 10 seconds left in the half, Slatten drove in and kicked it out to Brock, who missed, but Richmond tipped it to Thomas Paul who made a layup at the buzzer.
White County had the ball to start the third, but both teams had a few turnovers. It wasn’t until 6:19 that the first bucket of the second half would be scored, and it was Walker Valley with a jumper. At the six-minute mark, Slatten threw an alley-oop to Tanner Paul. Thirty seconds later, Walker Valley made another 3. Soon after, Slatten scored 2 more. Walker Valley then made back-to-back 3s. Slatten scored 2 again. After a few traded possessions, the Mustangs stole the ball and laid it up. They took a 1-point lead, 42-41. Slatten scored 2, then Walker Valley scored 2. At 48.8, Slatten got fouled and went 2/2. He also scored the last 4 points of the quarter. The Warriors led 49-44.
The Mustangs had the ball starting the fourth and missed. At 7:10, Tanner Paul made a layup. Walker Valley called a timeout as they trailed 44-51. After the timeout, the Mustangs took the ball to the hole. Three minutes in, Tanner passed to Thomas Paul for 2. Under the five- minute mark, the Mustangs made another 3. Slatten hit a jumper and Walker Valley turned right around and made another 3. It was a 3-point game with four minutes to go, 52-55 White County. Slatten made a spin move to get to the rim and scored 2 more. After a few iffy calls and some missed free throws, the Warriors passed around the ball until Tanner Paul got fouled and went 2/2 from the line. At 1:57, Walker Valley was put on the line and went 1/2. Thirty seconds later, Brock got fouled for a one-and-one and made both shots. With one minute remaining, Walker Valley got three offensive rebounds but missed the scoring opportunities. They then fouled Tanner Paul, and he made both of his shots at the line. The Mustangs called a timeout, and, after the timeout, they knocked down a 3 and called another timeout. With 40 seconds to go, Slatten went to the line and made both of his free throws as well. The Mustangs missed their shot, and the Warriors held the ball for the last 16 seconds. They won 65-56 and will advance to the region semis at Cleveland High School, on March 2. Slatten led the Warriors with 38.
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