Warriors seal first place district standing after defeating Rhea Co.

By Jerry Lowery

On Feb. 11, the Warriors and Warriorettes traveled to Rhea County High School to play the Golden Eagles in a big district basketball game.

The Warriors were holding the top spot in the district heading into the game.  The Warriors came out firing and outscored Rhea County 20-4 in the first quarter to take an early 16-point lead.

In a tale of two quarters, the Golden Eagles took flight and outscored the Warriors in the second quarter 23-10 to cut the lead to only three points at halftime.

Coach Eric Mitchell and the Warriors came out of the locker room in the second half and outscored Rhea in the final two frames to win the game 70-57. The 13-point win keeps the Warriors in first place in the district.

Grant Slatten led the Warriors with 27 points.  Masyn Winningham added 18 points, and Kegan Dodson scored 16 points.  Tanner Paul added five points, and Kade Clark scored five 5 points in the win.

The Warriors shot 44 percent from the field hitting 25 of 57 shots.  They shot 35 percent from beyond the arc hitting 10 of 29 three-point shots.  The Warriors remain solid from the charity stripe hitting 10 of 12 for an 83 percent average from the free-throw line.  The win seals first place for the season district with a 6-1 record.

The Warriorettes fell to Rhea County 51-60 in their district contest.

The Warriorettes were outscored in the first three quarters and could not catch Rhea in the fourth to take the 11-point loss.

Gracie Dodgen led all scorers with 24 points.  Julia Curtis added 13 points, and Morgan Quick added five points in the game.  Jensine Lane, Kanden Reeves, Alania Stiles, and Kendreah Reeves each added two points in the contest.

The Warriorettes shot 43 percent from the field, hitting 20 of 47 shots.  They hit seven of 24 three-points shots for a 29 percent average.  The Warriorettes hit 14 of 27 free throws for a 52 percent average from the charity stripe.

The Warriorettes remain in a tie with Cookeville for third place in the district heading into Friday night’s game with Stone Memorial.  Stone Memorial has sealed the district regular season championship with a 7-0 record heading into Friday’s game.