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The CCHS Lady Raiders improved to 15-0 and claimed their second tournament championship of the holiday season with a 3-0 run in the Christmas Bash at the Beach in Gulf Shores, AL this past weekend.

CCHS: 67, Parkview Baptist: 36

For their first game of the Beach Bash on Friday, Dec. 27, the Lady Raiders took on Parkview Baptist, the Louisiana Division III Select State Champions from the past two years.

The Lady Raiders raced to a quick start, outscoring the Eagles 25-8 in the first quarter and 23-4 in the second to rack up a 48-12 halftime lead, fueled by Olivia Vinson’s 17 first half points.

Parkview would outscore Coffee County 24-19 in the second half, but the Lady Raiders still cruised to a 67-36 win to open the tournament.

Box Score: Coffee County Lady Raiders (67) Channah Gannon 18, Olivia Vinson 17, Natalie Barnes 13, Jules Ferrell 7, Ella Arnold 5, Kaysen Morgan 3, Ava McIntosh 2, Audri Patton 1, Jaydee Nogodula 1.

Parkview Baptist Eagles (36) Ella LeFors 14, Lauren Beebe 7, Ansley Bernhard 6, Carlyn LeBlanc 4, Annsley Neel 3, Anna Richerson 2.

CCHS: 69, Priceville: 36

On Saturday, the Lady Raiders faced off against the Priceville Lady Bulldogs, a team that made the Alabama 4A State Elite Eight last season and the Final Four in 2023.

The first quarter was a close, back and forth battle with the Lady Raiders taking a 13-9 lead through the first eight minutes, but Coffee County distanced themselves from the opposition in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 27-5 to pile up a 40-14 lead at the half.

The Lady Raiders would outscore Priceville 29-22 through the final two quarters and capture their second win of the tournament, 69-36.

“After that first quarter, the girls responded well,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “Our bench unit has to do a better job late in the game. Once we put them in, (Priceville) started to pressure us, and if they want to get to the level that our first team is, they have to handle that better.”

Lady Raider junior Natalie Barnes expressed how important it was to stay mentally prepared for the tournament, even in a relaxed environment such as Gulf Shores.

“You have to come in focused every game,” she said. “There’s a beach right down the road from here, but you can’t focus on that. You need to focus on the game and I think we did a good job of that today.”

Box Score: Coffee County Lady Raiders (69) Channah Gannon 24, Natalie Barnes 13, Jules Ferrell 10, Olivia Vinson 10, Audri Patton 5, Ella Arnold 3, Jaydee Nogodula 2, Morgen Spears 2.

Priceville Lady Bulldogs (36) Leah Childress 12, Amidy Wilder 5, Lillyann Bloodworth 5, Amberleigh Dean 4, Josi Langlois 3, Josie Childress 3, Chasity Black 2, Brooklyn Bellamy 2.

CCHS: 70, Mountain Brook: 55

After having the day off on Sunday, Dec. 29, the Lady Raiders played their final game of the tournament on Monday, Dec. 30 against Mountain Brook, a team out of Birmingham, AL that went 27-8 last season and won an Area Championship.

Coffee County would edge ahead 21-15 in the first quarter then outscore the Spartans 17-8 in the second for a halftime lead of 38-23. Olivia Vinson would score 16 of her 26 game points in the first two quarters.

Mountain Brook would keep the game close in the second half, but the Lady Raiders still held on for a 70-55 victory, claiming their second Christmas tournament championship in the last seven days.

Box Score: Coffee County Lady Raiders (70) Olivia Vinson 26, Jules Ferrell 16, Natalie Barnes 15, Channah Gannon 13.

Mountain Brook Spartans (55) Maddie Walter 19, Avery Davis 16, Libby Geisler 15, Merrill Hines 3, Clarkie Wilkinson 2.

JV Lady Raiders

The junior varsity Lady Raiders also left Gulf Shores with some hardware, finishing a 3-0 run in the tournament on Monday morning with a 59-28 victory over Gulf Port to claim the JV Championship.

Morgen Spears led the way for the JV squad in their final game with a 20-point performance, freshman Addalyn Clark scored 11 points, sophomore Lily Matherne scored nine, sophomore Kaysen Morgan scored eight, sophomore Jaydee Nogodula scored seven and sophomore Andon Selvog scored four.

Next Up

The Lady Raiders improve to 15-0, their best start since 2018-19, and are scheduled to ring in the new year against Bartlett in the Granges America Crossover Hoopfest at Bethel University’s Crisp Arena on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1:30 p.m.

Bartlett finished runners-up in the 4A State Championship last year, falling to Bradley Central in the Championship Game, 58-43.