Lady Raiders outrun Lady Feet, 62-54

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On Friday night in Bell Buckle, the Coffee County Lady Raiders beat the Webb Lady Feet in a wild shootout of a game.

At the start, it was a fast-paced scoring spree as the Lady Feet led 20-19 after the first quarter on the strength of five three pointers.

The battle raged on into the second quarter, but Webb made four more three pointers in the second quarter to outscore the Lady Raiders 17-14 and lead 37-33 at the half.

The Lady Raiders would make adjustments at the halftime break and outscore the Lady Feet 13-10 in the third, but they still trailed 47-46 heading into the final frame.

Coffee would edge ahead in the fourth quarter, outscoring Webb 16-7 on the strength of nine free throws to win the game 62-54.

After allowing nine three pointers in the first half, the Lady Raiders held Webb to just one three pointer in the entire second half.

“They’re a good team,” Coach Joe Pat Cope said of Webb. “We were able to limit their three point shooting in the second half and that was the difference in the game.”

Scoring for the Lady Raiders were Natalie Barnes with 22 points, Jules Ferrell with 16 points, Olivia Vinson with 12 points, Audri Patton with nine points and Ava McIntosh with three points.

After a tough and grueling non-district schedule that included the likes of Webb, McMinn Central, Brentwood and Bradley Central, the Lady Raiders hold a 16-3 record heading into district play.

“I think we’ve played the toughest schedule in the state,” said Cope. “I believe that it’s going to pay off. Tell everybody to pack The Patch and get their popcorn ready, because these seven-time defending district champion Lady Raiders are going to be ready for district play.”

The Lady Raiders open their district schedule at home on Tuesday, Jan. 9 against the 11-4 Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles.