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On Saturday night, the Coffee County Lady Raiders were able to pick up their eighth straight win in a dog fight of a basketball game, while the Red Raiders had a tough time with the hot-handed Falcons.

After three straight games of winning by 30 plus points, the Lady Raiders had to earn it against the Lady Falcons in what could be a preview of the 4A District 9 Championship game.

It was a back and forth first quarter where the Lady Raiders edged ahead, 13-12.

The Lady Raiders continued to add to their lead in the second, outscoring Lincoln 16-11 to lead at halftime 29-23.

The Lady Falcons would outscore Coffee 14-12 in the third quarter as the Lady Raiders remained in front 41-37 going into the fourth.

It would be the Lady Raiders who emerged victorious, holding off the Lady Falcons 56-50 for their eighth straight win.

“Lincoln County has a heck of a basketball team,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “We beat a top caliber team that could be playing at Murfreesboro in March. We’ll come back home and play them again at our place on Tuesday and we could see them a couple of more times down the road.”

Scoring for the Lady Raiders were Natalie Barnes with 15 points, Jules Ferrell with 13 points, Olivia Vinson with 10 points, Channah Gannon with nine points, Ella Arnold with six points and Audri Patton with three points.

The Lady Raiders are now 23-3 overall and 7-0 in district play.

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders couldn’t seem to get off the ground against the Falcons.

The Falcons would fly to the lead in the first, outscoring the Red Raiders 17-11.

Coffee County fought back in the second quarter, outscoring the Falcons 19-14, but Lincoln County remained in front at halftime, 31-30

The Falcons continued their red-hot shooting performance, outscoring the Red Raiders 12-5 to lead 43-35 going into the fourth quarter.

The Red Raiders could never seem to find another gear, and late in the fourth quarter, they were forced to foul.

The Falcons would hit their free throws and hold to win the game, 62-55.

“You have to give credit to Lincoln County,” said Coach Andrew Taylor. “They executed and shot the ball well. We didn’t do what we needed to do to win. We didn’t rebound the ball well and we didn’t play defense like we should have. We need to bring back our intensity on defense in these next few games.”

Scoring for the Red Raiders were Cooper Reed with 22 points, Jackson Shemwell with 19 points, Courtland Farrar with eight points and Brady Wright with six points.

The Red Raiders dropped their second loss in district play, putting them at 5-2 in the district standings, and 14-11 overall.

Coffee County Basketball returns on Monday, Feb. 5 as they play host to Spring Hill.