WCMS advances in CTC

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The White County Middle School girls traveled to Shelbyville to compete with West Tullahoma in the CTC Conference tournament. The girls placed second in the regular season with a 7-2 conference record and 11-3 regular season.

White County won the tip and found Bella Winningham in the corner for 3. Their press presumed deadly as they got many tips and steals. Marian Swindell stole the ball and advanced it to Winningham for 2. The Warriorettes were ahead 5-0 within the first three minutes. West had trouble converting their possessions to points. Both teams traded their fair share of turnovers.

Around the 2:47 mark, Kennedy Billings stole the ball, which led to a foul for Ava Jones. Jones went one of two from the line. Forty seconds later, West was fouled and contributed one free throw to the board for their first points. At 1:35, Lakelyn Gratsy dribbled down and made a spin move for 2. This changed the score 8-1. Winningham stole it and passed the ball to Jones for a layup. Right after, Winningham stole the ball in the press and laid it up. West called a timeout with a minute left. Neither team scored after, so the score was 12-1 end of first.

A minute into the second, West pulled up with a 2. A foul on West called for a White County inbound. A shot went up, and Jones got the rebound and put it back. A lot of traded possessions happened until a minute left, and Jones hit a free throw. Kyra Fox got a steal and Jones put the ball up for another 2. The Warriorettes went into halftime 17-3.

Sparta had the ball going into the third but did not score until two minutes in. West tried to catch up during this quarter. A long rebound was grabbed by West, and they were fouled going 2/2. This brought the score to 17-5. The Warriorettes got the ball down the sideline and got the ball to Jones for 2. West went the other way with it and knocked down a 3. A foul called on West allowed for an inbound play for White County. Jones scored 2 off the inbound. The next time down, Jones got an offensive put back. The Warriorettes led 23-8 with three minutes left in the third. Jones got a steal and passed up to Gratsy, who then completed her And1. Gratsy also drove to the rim on their next possession and got fouled, making 1/2. West scored from the high post for the last of the quarter. It was 27-10 at the end of third.

Sparta outscored West 9-4 in the last quarter. West scored 2 a minute into the fourth. Gratsy went the other way with the ball and was fouled going up. She completed 1/2. Addison Dodgen stole the ball and passed up to Jones where she was fouled going up. She made both. West called a timeout with just under four minutes left. The score was 28-12.

After the timeout, Dodgen tied it up, and the Warriorettes gained the ball. Gratsy had the ball in her hands and drained a 3. West was fouled but missed both free throws. The Warriorettes were sent to the line as well and missed, but Kennedy Billings got the offensive rebound and kicked to Winningham for 3. Within the last minute, Kyra Fox passed to Dodgen for a 2 down low. West was fouled again, but this time went 2/2. The final score was 36-14.

The Warriorettes advance to the semi-finals and play 6:30 p.m., Jan. 14.

The WCMS boys had a tougher game, playing South Franklin. They trailed during the first half of the first quarter but were up 13-7 by the end of it. During the comeback, Gage Stephenson and Lucas Dickerson both drained a 3. Kason Seal also contributed a 2. At the end of one, the Warriors were up 13-7.

Opening the second, Nate Griffin was fouled going up and made 1/2. South turned it over and Dickerson took advantage and fired another 3. The Trojans took the ball down the floor and made a 2. They were also fouled on the next possession and went 1/2 from the line. At the 2:37 mark, Tripp Pinion got fouled and completed 1/2. The Trojans made it down the floor and knocked down a 3. During the last minute, Stephenson made one free throw and then stole the ball and laid it up. Seal also made a shot from the short corner, making the score 23-13 ending the second.

South had the ball starting the third, and they pushed the ball to catch up with the Warriors. They did not score off the bat, but instead made some late shots during the third. Both teams traded possessions, missing shots until 4:18 when the Trojans made a short 2. Moments after, Pinion took the ball to the rim and was fouled going up. He made both free throws, and the Warriors still led by ten. A jump ball gave South the possession, which allowed them to score 2. White County got the ball and Pinion went to the left side for a layup. The Trojans made a free throw and then went back down the floor for a 3 to end the quarter, 27-21.

Warriors opened with the ball and after five offensive rebounds, Keaun Lewis was fouled going up and completed 1/2. White County got a steal and passed it to Stephenson for a jumper. The Warriors fouled the Trojans, and they made 1/2. After the free throws, they started pressing the Warriors. A jump ball was called, and South got the possession. South made a 3 and was also fouled but missed the free throw. The Warriors now led by five, with 3:30 left in the game. Thirty seconds later, Stephenson hit another jumper. He also stole the ball and got fouled for one-and-one. He made his first but missed the second. The Trojans went the other way and made a 3 right before the one-minute mark and called a timeout. The Warriors were fouled and sent to the line but didn’t make the free throws. South went the other way and nailed another 3 to bring it to a three-point game. Dickerson was fouled and went to the line going 2/2. Lewis blocked a shot and South called a timeout. The Trojans inbounded the ball with 15.9 seconds left and got fouled going 1/2. The score was 36-32 with less than 12 seconds left. Pinion got fouled on his way up and made one of his two. South tried to get a shot off but there was not enough time.

The Warriors pulled out the win and play again at 5:15 p.m., Jan. 14.

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