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On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Raptors while the Red Raiders couldn’t keep up with Ravenwood.

The Lady Raiders took care of business against the Lady Raptors to win back to back games in less than 24 hours.

The visitors from Brentwood kept it close in the first quarter, but Coffee would lead 11-8.

Coffee County picked up the pace in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Raptors 22-10 in the second quarter for a 33-18 halftime lead. 

The Lady Raiders kept the foot nailed to the floor in the third, outscoring Ravenwood 28-8 to lead by 35 points heading into the fourth, where Coffee closed out the game, 72-30.

“I thought we started out a bit sluggish in the first half,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “But we stepped it up in the second half and our defense helped us pull away. I want to see us rebound better, especially with Channah out, because right now we’re a bit smaller, and that shouldn’t be an excuse to not box out and rebound.”

Scoring for the Lady Raiders were Natalie Barnes with 25 points, Jules Ferrell with 17 points, Audri Patton with 10 points, Olivia Vinson with nine points, Ella Arnold with five points, Lilly Matherne with four points and Ava McIntosh along with Andon Selvog had one point each.

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders had yet another slow start that proved to be the difference in their game.

The Raptors led 18-8 after the first quarter, then extended their lead in the second quarter to lead 34-17 at the half.

Coffee County showed some signs of life in the third quarter, starting the frame with a 12-4 scoring run to bring the score within nine points before ending the quarter with a 10 point deficit, 45-35.

However, the Raptors came back in the fourth quarter to regain control of the game, and the Red Raiders fell, 62-45.

“Ravenwood is one of the best teams in the mid state and there’s a reason they haven’t lost a game this season,” said Coach Andrew Taylor. “We have to come out of the gate better in these games and continue to take care of the ball. I love the fight our kids showed tonight, but we just ran out of gas in the end.”

Scoring for the Red Raiders were Cooper Reed with 16 points, Brady Wright with eight points, Cayden Trail and Jayden Carter each with six points, Luke Campbell with three and Jackson Shemwell, David Lewis and Camden Hunt each had two points.

Coffee Central Basketball returns to action at Oakland on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Before the girls game against Ravenwood, a moment of silence was held in remembrance of legendary Westwood Basketball Coach Joel Vinson, who passed away on Friday.

“He is Coffee County Basketball,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “He breathed it and loved it, but he was not only a great coach, he was a great man. When I first moved here seven years ago, he was one of the first people I ever met. I would see him at the golf course daily and I would see him at middle school basketball practices and high school practices. He could tell you about every player he ever coached, and he loved watching his grandkids play as well. We lost a legend in this community and he will be sadly missed.”

“He had a tremendous impact on the community,” said Coach Andrew Taylor. “Coach Vinson was instrumental in a lot of kids’ lives. His son, Matt, and I played ball together in high school and I’m going to miss those talks with Mr. Vinson. You always walked away from a talk with Coach Vinson feeling like you learned something. It’s a huge loss for this community.”