WCHS splits with Cookeville

The Sparta Cookeville game is always the game everyone looks forward to. The rivalry is historic.

During the Jan. 15, 2021 game, the Warriors started the game with the tip and a completed And1 from Grant Slatten. Cookeville’s Josh Heard got off a 3 right after. Slatten went back the other way for 2. The next possession Cookeville’s Collin Gilliam made a 3. Tanner Paul was fouled on the other end, where he made 1/2 to tie the game at 6. After back-to-back turnovers, Gilliam laid it up. A charge was called on Kade Clark, so the Cavs took possession of the ball. Heard made another 3. The Cavs got up 11-6 three minutes in. Slatten banked in a 2, and, shortly after, Jake Davis stripped a 3 from the corner, tying it 11. Another charge was called on the Warriors. Trey Arnette put back an offensive rebound for Cookeville. Slatten got fouled going up and made both of his free throws. Cookeville and Sparta traded baskets for all of the first quarter and most of the game. Cookeville’s #40 made a layup, and Slatten answered with a nice dunk. Heard got fouled going up and went 2/2. The Warriors traveled down floor, and Tanner Paul put up a 2. The next possession, Slatten was fouled once again but went 1/2. The score was 18-17 White County, and Cookeville called a timeout. Another foul on Clark led to Heard making 1/2 at the line. Heard also pulled a jumper with a minute to go in the first. Tanner Paul made a layup soon after and would end the scoring for the first quarter tied at 20.

         The Cavs had the ball to start the second and #40 put back an offensive rebound. At 6:58, Daniel Gentry nailed a 3. The Cavs went the other way, and Heard also knocked down a 3. Thomas Paul got back-to- back steals that led to Tanner Paul and Slatten both getting layups. Slatten also scored the next five points, which made Cookeville call a timeout. Cookeville’s Bennett Reeves banked in a 3 after the timeout. Shortly after, the Cavs went 2/2 on the free throw line. Clark scored off of a backside layup. With 46.7 left, Cookeville made a shot under the basket from an inbound play. The Warriors missed a few free throws and couldn’t get another shot off within the last seconds of the half. At halftime, the score was 34-32 WC.

Once again, the Cavs had the ball to start the quarter. They made a quick 2 to tie the score at 34. They then added a 3 from Heard to take the lead. After a jump ball, Clark was sent to the line where he made both free throws. At 6:12, Tanner Paul went up with contact and made the shot—no foul called. Slatten then made an incredibly tough shot, allowing the Warriors to take a 3-point lead. Around 5:30, Slatten stole the ball and took it all the way to the paint for 2. The Cavs had the ball inbounded underneath, but Slatten stole it. He then threw a baseball pass up to Tanner Paul for a layup. The Cavs got off a quick 2 and a 3 after a charge was called on the Warriors. One more Cav steal and shot tied the game up at 44. With 3:14 left in the third, Tanner Paul passed the ball to Slatten who finished at the rim. During the next minute and a half, both teams traded baskets. Cookeville’s Manett made a 3, which allowed the Cavs to lead by one, but Tanner Paul aggressively attacked the rim to take it back. Slatten hit 14-footer, with 1:15 left of the third. Both coaches called a timeout one right after the other. The Cavs scored 2, with less than 40 seconds, Slatten scored 2 with less than 10 seconds, and the Cavs scored another 2 right at the buzzer. The score was 54-53 White County going into the fourth.

Cookeville had the ball to start the fourth but didn’t keep it long. It was tied up and given to the Warriors. The Warriors did not convert, so the Cavs took the ball back and made a 2. After a couple of traded possessions, Slatten drew a crowd and was fouled going up. He hit both his foul shots to put Sparta up one. Clark took a charge, the Cavs stole the ball, and then the Cavs turned it over. Slatten got a hand on one of their passes, but Lucas Reeves grabbed and shot the ball. He was fouled on the three-point line, only making 1/3 from the foul line. On the last shot, the Cavs put back an offensive rebound. White County called a timeout, with 4:57 to go in the game, tied 57. After the timeout, Thomas Paul was sent to the line, making 1/2. The Cavs made the next two points, but Slatten went on a run and made the next six of his own. Under two minutes, Davis stole the ball and finished his layup surrounded by Cavs. This brought the Warriors up 65-59. Thirty seconds later, Heard made the next four points for the Cavs, a three and a free throw. Slatten made a move and went up for another 2. Cookeville did not score on their possession, but Gentry put back an offensive rebound from his own foul shot. During the final 30 seconds, Slatten grabbed a rebound from Tanner Paul’s foul shot and put it back up, giving the Warriors a 71-63 lead. The Cavs tried to score within the last fleeting moments, but Tanner Paul rejected it. The Warriors won 71-63. Tanner Paul finished with a double-double (13pt,12rebs).

         Slatten: 43pt-3ast-1stl-8rebs

         Ta.Paul: 13pt-8ast-2stl-12rebs-3blks

         Gentry: 5pt-1ast-6rebs

         Davis: 5pt-1ast-1stl-1reb

         Clark: 4pt-4stl-3rebs

         Th.Paul: 1pt-4ast-3stl

         Richmond: 1reb

The Warriorettes jumped out early on the Lady Cavs. Cookeville won the tip, but Addison Frazier stole it and passed it up to Morgan Quick for a layup. Mia Murray turned the Lady Cavs over, but soon got called for an illegal screen. Cookeville took the ball the other way, but Alaina Stiles got a steal and passed up to Gracie Dodgen, who got fouled going up. She made 1/2 to put the Warriorettes up 3 in the first minute. Cookeville grabbed a layup from an inbound, and Stiles blocked a shot after the Sparta had turned the ball over. Sparta missed another shot, but Stiles blocked a shot again, and Quick passed it up to Murray for 2. A Cookeville walk led to Murray stepping back for another 2. The Lady Cavs missed another scoring opportunity. Quick got an offensive rebound and passed right under to Nia Powers for 2. The Warriorettes led 9-2, with 3:34 remaining, and a Lady Cav timeout.

After the timeout, Dodgen fouled, so the Lady Cavs got the ball under the goal. The shot was blocked by Quick. Both teams turned it over, but once the Warriorettes got the ball back, Dodgen got fouled going up. She made both. Around 2:10, Cookeville’s K.K. Graves drove and did a spin move for a 2. The Lady Cavs now had 4 points on the board compared to the Warriorettes’ 11. Sparta missed a shot, and Cookeville tried to snowbird, but the shot was blocked again by Stiles. She threw a long pass to Dodgen for a layup. Cookeville’s Cassie Gallagher made a shot as she was fouled but missed her free throw. On the other end, a foul on the floor called for a Sparta inbound. Powers got fouled off of the inbound and went 2/2. Cookeville had the ball for the last 45 seconds of the game, but the Warriorettes played great defense, and they didn’t score. The end of first score was 15-6 White County.

The Lady Cavs possessed the ball, and a 2 was put up by Graves. The Warriorettes missed a shot, and Cookeville’s Gallagher knocked down a 3. The Lady Cavs got a steal and their own rebound. Gallagher was fouled and made 2/2. The score was now 15-13, with the Lady Cavs trailing by 2. Sparta didn’t score until less than four minutes to go, but, before that, Graves hit back-to-back shots, which allowed Cookeville to take the lead of 17-15. The Lady Cavs’ Emma Webb was also fouled and went 1/2. Quick made a 3 down the floor to tie the game at 18. Cookeville found Liv Shipman on the backside for a layup. Both teams traded possessions, and, at 1:21, Cookeville called for a timeout. After the timeout, Graves was fouled and made 1/2. With 45 seconds left, White County’s Celeste Reed grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked out to Dodgen for a 3. This tied it up at 21 and would end the half. The Lady Cavs outscored the Warriorettes 15-6 in the second quarter.

The Lady Cavs started off the third  quarter, with Graves on a backside layup. After not scoring for almost two minutes, the Warriorettes called a timeout. Shortly, Murray got an And1 and completed her foul shot. Cookeville turned it over, so Sparta possessed the ball. Murray got her own offensive rebound and was fouled going up. She hit both free throws. Sparta led by three, with 4:15 to go in the third. About 10 seconds later, Gallagher scored two more for the Lady Cavs. She was also fouled on the next possession and made 1/2 to tie the game at 26. Just under three minutes, Powers posts up and makes a move for a 2. This would be the last time the Warriorettes led in the game. The Lady Cavs’ Bailey Gillies knocked in a long 3. Soon after, Jordan Gillies was fouled and completed 1/2. Sparta didn’t score for a minute, but, before that, Shipman went to the line for 2. Powers posted again, and Frazier lobbed it to her for 2. It was a two-point game, 30-32 Cookeville, with less than two minutes left in the third. The Lady Cavs got two offensive rebounds, and Graves finished it for 2. Cookeville got the ball back and B. Gillies made another 3. J. Gillies got another layup 20 seconds after. To finish the third, B. Gillies shot faked and drove for a jumper. The Lady Cavs led 41-30 going into the fourth.

Sparta got the ball to start, and Quick drained a 3. Cookeville’s Gallagher got another offensive put back. Off of a Warriorette inbound, Quick got fouled and went 2/2 on the line. Cookeville turned it over, but Sparta couldn’t convert the shot. The Lady Cavs made the next five points. Just under six minutes, Murray bounced back with another 3. The Warriorettes trailed by 10, but Graves put another offensive board back to lead by 12. After a five-second call on Sparta, they called a timeout. Cookeville had the ball, and Shipman got fouled and went 2/2. Shipman was fouled again but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Stiles got fouled on the other end and made one of hers. Cookeville again went 2/2 from the line. Powers put the next four points up for the Warriorettes, two free throws and a layup. Graves was left wide open on the backside for a Lady Cav layup. The Lady Cavs got the ball back and B. Gillies hit a 2. Cookeville held the ball for most of the last minute. Graves made a layup to close out the game with a 56-43 win over Sparta.

         Murray: 12pt-2ast-1stl-2rebs

         Powers: 12pt-1ast-1reb

         Quick: 10pt-2ast-3rebs-2blks

         Dodgen: 8pt-1reb

         Stiles: 1pt-4ast-3stl-6rebs-3blks

         Frazier: 3ast-3rebs

         Reed: 1stl-2rebs