S

On Wednesday night, the Coffee County Lady Raiders again beat the Lincoln County Lady Falcons, this time for the 4A Region 5 Title at Centennial High School.

The Lady Raiders came flying out of the gate, outscoring the Lady Falcons 18-10 in the first quarter.

Coffee amped up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, keeping Lincoln County to just six points while the Lady Raiders scored 17 to lead at halftime, 35-16.

The Lady Raiders continued to hold service in the third, outscoring Lincoln County 12-9 for 47-25 lead heading into the fourth, where they would close out the game, 56-30 for the first ever Region Championship in Lady Raiders history.

“It’s a great testament to what these kids can do,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “During warmups, I could tell our girls were laser focused. We also kept our turnovers to a minimum and most of those came late in the game. “My point guard here (Jules Ferrell) also did a great job of pushing the basketball up the floor.”

Jules Ferrell has had a fantastic season as the Lady Raiders’ starting point guard, being named to the District 9 All-District and Tournament Teams. 

The freshman guard seems as though she’s already playing like a senior.

“It’s been really great,” said Ferrell. “I felt like a part of the team as soon as I came here. It also helps that a lot of us play AAU together.”

This season has also been a breakout year for sophomore Audri Patton, who has played a plethora of minutes coming off the bench, occasionally hitting a timely three pointer or two, such as the case with this game

“It means a lot to me to come in and take on the role that I have this season and winning a Region Championship is huge,” said Patton.

Scoring for the Lady Raiders in the Region Championship were Channah Gannon with 21 points, Olivia Vinson with 13 points, Natalie Barnes with 10 points, Jules Ferrell with seven points, Audri Patton with three points and Ella Arnold with two points.

After the game Channah Gannon and Olivia Vinson were named to the Region All-Tournament Team, with Gannon taking MVP honors.

The Region Champion Coffee County Lady Raiders will play Region 6 runner-up Hendersonville at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 2 at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium.

A win in that game will send the Lady Raiders to the State Tournament in Murfreesboro next week.