WCHS Warriorettes state bound for the first time since 1997

The White County High School Warriorettes haven’t made it to state in 28 years, but all of that changed on March 8 when they defeated the Lenoir City Lady Panthers by a score of 52-28. The Warriorettes joined the Elite 8 AAA girls' basketball teams and will make the trip to the Glass House in Murfreesboro on Thursday.

The March 8 game, one the Warriorettes fought to earn the right to play at Roy Sewell Gymnasium, started out looking like White County was going to be faced with another tough challenge, as tournament games should be. The opening tip went to White County, and they quickly scored the first 6 points before Lenoir City began challenging them. The Warriorettes built a 3-point lead by the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers chipped away at that over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to a single point. But that was all of the fight Lenoir City brought to the floor. Within the final minute of the first half, the Warriorettes' offense got hot, and they extended their lead to 21-15 by the time they headed to the locker room.

When the second half started, it was all White County. The Warriorettes scored 17 in the third quarter while holding Lenoir City to just 2 points – and those coming late in the frame – while the Lady Panthers saw one of their top shooters foul out before. While the Lady Panthers did score a few more points – 11 to be exact – in the fourth quarter, the damage had already been done.

With the Warriorettes knowing they were firmly in control and that they were going to get to cut down the net at Roy Sewell Gymnasium, they didn’t let off the gas in the final quarter. White County added another 14 points to their side of the scoreboard in the final eight minutes of play and were able to dribble the final seconds off the clock before the celebrations began.

Ava Jones, playing in her last game on the Warriorettes' home court, was a force to be reckoned with. She sank nine of 11 free throws, including two when the Lenoir City coach was called for a technical, on her way to 15 points. Jones had seven rebounds, five of them defensive, and, despite getting in foul trouble early, she had six huge blocks of the Lady Panther’s attempted shots at the basket.

Gracie Clark was the Warriorettes' leading scorer, netting 18 points – all but 2 of which came from the floor. Clark also grabbed eight boards, five of which were offensive, and gave the Warriorettes more shot attempts. Clark also had a pair of steals and a pair of assists while blocking a shot as well.

Bella Winningham scored 10 points, Lakelyn Grasty scored 6, and Keely Mullins sank a single 3-pointer to round out White County's scoring on Saturday.

While the Warriorettes started out slow in the rebound category, they dominated the boards in the second half to end the game with 28 rebounds. Once again, Clark led the way with 8 rebounds and Jones had her 7. Kyra Fox pulled down 5 boards, all of them on defense, while Grasty and Mullins each had 3. Winningham and Sarah Winfree, who came in at the end of the game so that Jones could get her much deserved final applause from the home crowd, each had a single rebound.

The White County Warriorettes will play in Murfreesboro, on March 13, where they will take on the 27-4 Dyersburg Lady Trojans at MTSU’s Murphy Center, AKA “The Glass House.” The game is scheduled to tip off at 12:45 p.m., with the winner advancing to Friday’s state semifinal round.