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The Coffee County Lady Raiders will make a return trip to Murfreesboro after defeating Mount Juliet 84-44 in the 4A Sectional Round on Saturday night in Manchester.

The win marks the 13th time this season in which the Lady Raiders have won by 40 or more points.

Coffee County was once again led by senior Channah Gannon, who scored 21 points, 13 of which were scored in the first half. Gannon has scored 20 points or more in 12 games so far this season.

Fellow senior Olivia Vinson scored 20 points (including six three-pointers), sophomore Jules Ferrell potted 18 points and junior Natalie Barnes collected 13 points in a big offensive night for the Lady Raiders.

The Lady Raiders kept the door slammed shut on the Lady Bears in the first half, allowing only five points in the first quarter and 14 points in the second to help build a 50-19 lead at the halftime break.

Coffee County outscored Mount Juliet 34-25 in the second half and cruised to an 84-44 victory, punching their ticket to the State Tournament for the second consecutive season.

“This senior class is so good and I’m just happy for them to get a trip to Murfreesboro in back-to-back years,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “With what they’ve accomplished, I’m extremely proud of them.”

The Lady Raiders will be one of eight teams vying for Class 4A’s State Championship crown, with the other seven being Bartlett (runners-up from 2024), Bearden, Bradley Central (2024 State Champions), Cookeville, Lincoln County, Oak Ridge and Whitehaven.

Bradley Central, Coffee County and Bearden took up the top three spots in the most recent statewide rankings released on Monday, March 3 and all three schools were seeded on the same side of the Class 4A bracket with Coffee County facing Bradley Central in the State Quarterfinals.

Despite the elation of making another State Tournament, Coach Cope wasn’t too happy with the Lady Raiders’ draw.

“They have the three best teams on the same side of the bracket, but it is what it is,” said Cope. “You have to play them sometime, but I bet Auburn isn’t going to play Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.”

Coffee County’s State Quarterfinal matchup with Bradley Central will be a rematch of their meeting in the 2024 State Semifinals, which the Bearettes won 55-35.

Here’s a schedule for the 4A State Quarterfinals, which will be contested on Thursday, March 13:

Oak Ridge Vs Bartlett – 4 p.m.

Cookeville Vs Lincoln Co. – 5:30 p.m.

Bearden Vs Whitehaven – 7:15 p.m.

Coffee Co. Vs Bradley Cent. – 8:45 p.m.

All games will take place at the Murphy Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

Coffee County: 22 28 15 19 – 84

Mt. Juliet: – 5 14 13 12 – 44

Coffee County (84) – Channah Gannon 21, Olivia Vinson 20, Jules Ferrell 18, Natalie Barnes 13, Audri Patton 5, Ava McIntosh 3, Jaydee Nogodula 2, Ella Arnold 2.

Mt. Juliet (44) – Aaliyah Holman 16, Claire Emery 10, Addy Osborne 5, Sophia McGresham 4, Makayla Hopson 4, McClaine Ringenburg 3, Lilly Bugg 2.