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The Lady Raiders collected another win in a 69-22 thumping of the Lady Cats, but the Red Raiders suffered their third loss in a row with a 54-45 defeat at Tullahoma on Tuesday night.

CCHS Lady Raiders: 69, Tullahoma Lady Cats: 22

After a close game with Bartlett on Saturday, the Lady Raiders were looking to capture their 17th consecutive win to start the season with a win over the rival Tullahoma Lady Cats.

The Lady Raiders would catapult to an 18-1 lead in the first quarter, holding Tullahoma without a field goal in the first eight minutes.

Coffee County continued to pile up points in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Cats 15-11 to pull ahead by 21 points at halftime, 33-12.

The Lady Raider defense would not let up in the second half, holding the Lady Cats to 10 points over the final two quarters to seal a 69-22 win and improve to 17-0.

“We knew that Tullahoma had just beaten a very good Moore County team and we had to keep (McLayne) Bobo in check,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “Our girls and our coaches watched film on them and we were just dialed in.”

With a couple of games left before district play, Coach Cope believes that his team can go all the way if they continue to give a collective effort.

“The effort’s always there,” he said. “But it needs to be there with all five people on the court. This team can win it all, we just can’t have any let downs. We all have to lock in as a team and go to war for about another 80 days.”

After a close quarters battle against Bartlett on Saturday, Lady Raider senior Olivia Vinson expressed how happy the team felt to take care of business against a rival.

“It felt good to get back on the floor and get excited and hyped for this big game,” she said. “We came out and handled business really well.”

Box Score: Coffee County Lady Raiders (69) Olivia Vinson 16, Channah Gannon 15, Jules Ferrell 13, Natalie Barnes 12, Ella Arnold 6, Morgen Spears 3, Jaydee Nogodula 2, Lily Matherne 2.

Tullahoma Lady Wildcats (22) Isabella Lidstrom 9, McLayne Bobo 5, Zoie Roberts 3, Faith Vincent 2, Lizzy Sharpton 1, Kenzie Farrell 1. 

CCHS Red Raiders: 45, Tullahoma Wildcats: 54

With a nine-day break away from game action, the Red Raiders were eying a revenge win over the Tullahoma Wildcats to begin the new year.

The first quarter would be a back and forth battle, but the Wildcats would pull ahead 17-15 heading into the second.

Tullahoma would further their lead in the second quarter, outscoring Coffee County 16-6 to lead 33-21 at the half.

The Red Raiders would battle back in the third, outscoring Tullahoma 11-6 to trim the Wildcat lead to 39-32 heading into the fourth, but Tullahoma regained control of the game in the fourth to win 54-45.

“They were just more physical than us,” Coach Andrew Taylor said of Tullahoma. “They owned the paint, the boards and the 50-50 balls. They have a good team and that’s why they have the record they have.” 

While Coach Taylor is happy about the Raiders’ defensive effort so far this year, he believes they could be more consistent on the other end of the court.

“Night in and night out, we’re giving up about 47 or 48 points per game and for a high school team, that’s pretty good,” he said. “Our inconsistencies are on offense. A big part of offensive basketball is skill and decision making… and we have to find a way to consistently take and make good shots.”

The Red Raiders fall to 6-8 on the season with the loss to the Wildcats.

Box Score: Coffee County Red Raiders (45) Courtland Farrar 11, Cayden Trail 8, MJ Rollman 6, Brady Wright 6, Kaysen Lowery 5, David Lewis 3, Jayden Carter 3, Caiden Warren 2, Caleb McCall 1.

Tullahoma Wildcats (54) Xavier Farrell 26, Khani Johnson 16, Austin Tinnon 8, Alex Bobo 2, Cayden Poff 2.

Coffee County basketball will travel to Murfreesboro on Thursday, Jan. 9 for their second of two meetings with the Siegel Stars.

The two teams met previously in Coffee County’s season-opener in Manchester back on Nov. 19, with the Lady Raiders winning 94-21 and the Red Raiders falling 46-40.