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On Saturday evening, the Coffee County Lady Raiders won in dominant fashion while the Red Raiders held off a second half comeback by the rival Pioneers.

In stark contrast to Friday night’s defensive slugfest at Shelbyville, the Lady Raiders dominated the scoreboard in their win over Warren.

The Lady Raiders hit the ground running, outscoring the Lady Pioneers 28-9 in the first quarter.

Coffee continued to roll in the second quarter, outscoring Warren County 15-12 to lead at halftime, 43-21.

The Lady Raiders didn’t let up in the third quarter, outscoring Warren County 27-9 to lead 70-30 heading into the fourth.

Scoring slowed down a bit in the fourth quarter, and the Lady Raiders cruised to an 82-35 win.

“We turned up the pressure a bit more on defense tonight,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “I think that caused a lot of problems for the other team and it led to us scoring more points. We also shot the ball better tonight which made us look like a more complete team and not just a defensive team.”

The Lady Raiders had four players with double digit point totals, as Natalie Barnes led the way with 26 points with Jules Ferrell scoring 17 points, Channah Gannon putting in 16 points and Olivia Vinson adding 14 more points.

Also scoring for the Lady Raiders were Audri Patton and Ava McIntosh with three points each and Ella Arnold with two points.

The Lady Raiders are now 20-3 overall with a 4-0 record in district play.

At halftime of the girls game, the 2021-22 Red Raider Basketball team, who made a run at the State Tournament that year, was recognized with a banner that was lifted to the rafters of The Patch.

“They’re a special group of kids,” said Coach Andrew Taylor. “They came through and made history and did it the right way. They weren’t necessarily superstars, but they were the ultimate team. It’s always fun to see former players come back and it’s great to catch up with them.”

The Red Raiders would dominate in the first half against Warren County, but they had to stave off a second half comeback by the Pioneers.

Coffee County set the tone early, outscoring the Pioneers 13-4 in the first.

The Red Raiders continued to pad their lead in the second, outscoring Warren 21-9 to take a 34-13 halftime lead.

Warren County started to chip away in the third quarter, trimming the Red Raiders lead to 43-31 with one quarter remaining.

The Pioneers would cut the lead to two points at two separate times in the waning minutes, and even made it a one point game with 3.7 seconds left, 54-53.

However, the Red Raiders prevailed on the strength of their free throw shooting, 56-53.

“We got off to a fantastic start, but they (Warren) had a good run in the second half,” said Coach Andrew Taylor. “Our guys made some good shots, but ultimately it came down to our defense and free throw shooting tonight.”

The Red Raiders shot 17 of 19 from the charity stripe.

Scoring for the Red Raiders were Cooper Reed with 27 points, Jackson Shemwell with 12 points, Brady Wright with six points, Courtland Farrar with five points and Jaiden Warren and Jayden Carter with three points each.

The Red Raiders are now 12-10 with a 3-1 district record.

Coffee County Basketball returns on Tuesday, Jan. 30 as they play host to Columbia Central.