WCHS basketball sweeps Cumberland County

 On Jan. 12, the other team from the mountain came down to play. The Warriorettes and Warriors played host to the Cumberland County Jets in another important district matchup.

The highly ranked Lady Jets came into the game with a 10-4 record overall and 1-0 in the district. The game was anticipated to be a back- and-forth contest that could potentially be won within the last seconds. However, the Warriorettes came out ready to play and perhaps a bit frustrated with their last performance and took out their frustrations on the Lady Jets.

The Warriorettes jumped out to a big 23-11 lead after the first quarter and ended the half with a 13-point lead. The Lady Jets did pull to within 9 with about a minute left, but it never felt as if the Warriorettes were in any kind of trouble. They cruised to a big district win with a final score of 71-61.

It was a total team effort which showed in the stats book. Sophomore Bella Winningham led the Warriorettes with 20 points, shooting 4-5 from the floor and 4-9 from beyond the arc. Senior Celeste Reed picked up another double-double scoring 19 points and pulling down 10 boards. Junior Ava Jones poured in 15, had seven rebounds, and four blocked shots. Sophomore Gracie Clark scored 9, secured four rebounds, made three assists, and had two steals. Sophomore Lakelyn Grasty scored 4 and led the Warriorettes with four assists. The win improves the Warriorettes overall record to 19-2 and 2-1 in district play.

The Warriors picked up where the Warriorettes left off and dominated the Jets. The first quarter was close as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out and trying to find a rhythm, but, once the Warriors found it, it was over. The Warriors took a 10-point lead into halftime and stretched that lead to as many as 26 in the third quarter. The Warriors left no doubt and closed the game out winning by a final score of 49-31.

Senior Jackson Young had a big game, leading the Warriors with 16 points shooting 2-2 from the floor and 4-7 from behind the 3-point line. He also had three boards, two blocked shots and a steal on the night. Freshman Cole Sims scored 8, had three rebounds, two steals, a blocked shot, and an assist. Junior Tripp Pinion scored 6, secured four boards, made five assists, and had two steals in the game. Junior Lucas Dickerson scored 6, pulled down four rebounds, made two assists, and had a steal. Junior Gage Stephenson led the Warriors with six rebounds and blocked a couple of shots on the night. The win improves the Warriors district record to a perfect 3-0 and their overall record to 8-7.