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The Lady Raiders utilized a scorching offensive start to down Warren County 66-32 while the Red Raiders couldn’t escape a ferocious Shelbyville defense in a 55-39 loss in the 4A District 9 Semifinals on Saturday night in Shelbyville.

Coffee County Red Raiders: 39, Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles: 55

After two close battles with the Golden Eagles in the regular season, the No. 3 seed Coffee County Red Raiders struggled to score in their latest meeting with No. 2 seed Shelbyville in the District Semifinals.

Scoring came at a premium in the first quarter, and the Golden Eagles would assume a 9-6 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

The Red Raider offense had a tough time finding some open shots in the second quarter, only managing four points against a stifling Shelbyville defense as the Eagles took a 19-10 lead into the second half.

Both teams would pick up the pace offensively in the third quarter, but the Golden Eagles still outscored the Red Raiders 14-10 to take a 33-20 lead into the final frame.

Coffee County would cut the deficit to as low as seven points in the fourth, but the Eagles piled it on in the final few minutes to win the game 55-39.

“They (Shelbyville) did a good job defending the ball,” said Coach Andrew Taylor. “They’re long, they’re athletic, they make you get your shot up quicker than you’re used to and we helped out a little by taking bad shots and not moving the ball well offensively. That’s not our recipe for success.”

The Red Raiders will be relegated to the District Consolation Game, which will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m at Shelbyville Central High School.

In the other semifinal game, the No. 4 seed Lincoln County Falcons pulled off a 54-51 stunner over the top-seeded Warren County Pioneers, meaning that the Red Raiders will take on the Pioneers for third place.

The 4A District 9 Boys Championship Game between Lincoln County and the host Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles will take place after the consolation game on Tuesday at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Coffee County: 6 4 10 19 – 39

Shelbyville: 9 10 14 22 – 55

Coffee County – Courtland Farrar 15, Cayden Trail 9, Jayden Carter 6, Brady Wright 4, Jaiden Warren 3, Caiden Warren 2.

Shelbyville – Jevon Lee 15, Tae’Shawn Shelton 12, Jack Conditt 9, Zyon Bonner 4, Idris Grey 3, Billy Brown 3, Ladarius Sparrow 3, Tommie Cannon 2, Malek Johnson 2, Jasiah Taylor 2.

Coffee County Lady Raiders: 66, Warren County Lady Pioneers: 32

The top-seeded Lady Raiders got off to a hot start on offense in their semifinal game against Warren, outscoring the Lady Pioneers 21-3 in the first quarter and 25-8 in the second for a mountainous 46-11 lead at halftime.

Coffee County hit eight three-pointers as a team in the first half, with five of them coming from sophomore Jules Ferrell, who paced the Lady Raiders in the first half with 16 points.

With the Lady Raiders going to their bench unit for most of the second half, the pace slowed down a bit. Despite being outscored 21-20 over the final two quarters, Coffee County held on for a 66-32 win to advance to the District Championship Game for an eighth consecutive year.

“At halftime, I told our girls that if we shoot the ball like that, we could beat anyone in the state,” Coach Joe Pat Cope said of his team’s offensive start. “I feel like the eight-day layoff is something that we needed at the end of the season and we proved it by coming out and shooting about 60% from the three in the first half. We looked well-rested tonight.”

In the other girls semifinal game, No. 2 seed Lincoln County defeated No. 3 seed Shelbyville 64-48, setting up a rematch of last year’s 4A District 9 Title Game between the Lady Falcons and the Lady Raiders.

“We just need to play that game the same we’ve played for the last six years; by playing Lady Raider basketball,” said Coach Cope. “We need to come out, do what we do and not get involved with pushing, shoving or flopping and just play basketball. When we play good defense and make our shots, things seem to always work themselves out in the end.”

The 4A District 9 Girls Championship Game will take place on Monday, Feb. 24 at approximately 7:30 p.m. following the consolation game between Shelbyville and Warren County.

Coffee County: 21 25 15 5 – 66

Warren County: 3 8 13 8 – 32

Coffee County – Jules Ferrell 17, Channah Gannon 17, Olivia Vinson 9, Natalie Barnes 8, Jaydee Nogodula 5, Audri Patton 3, Andon Selvog 3, Ella Arnold 2, Morgen Spears 2.

Warren County – Trinity Reynolds 10, Addison Steakley 6, Brinlee Griffith 3, Brinlee Chisam 3, Aubrey Olesik 3, Cortlyn Porter 3, Alyssa Parsley 2, Ruby Denning 2.