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After counting down the top five stories of the 2024-25 high school year for the past few weeks, let’s take a look back at when Westwood and Coffee Middle basketball each made a clean sweep of their conference tournaments.

Westwood Lady Rockets

The Westwood Lady Rockets finished 9-7 in the regular season with a 6-4 record in the Duck River Valley Conference, earning the No. 4 seed entering the tournament.

The Lady Rockets beat No. 5 Forrest 25-19 in the first round, then upset No. 2 Cascade in the semifinals 28-23 to vault themselves into the Championship Game against No. 3 Community, who upset top seed Eagleville 24-23 in their semifinal game.

Despite facing a 9-6 deficit in the opening quarter, the Lady Rockets took control in the second frame and went to win the DRVC Championship over the Viqueens on Dec. 12 by a final score of 39-26.

“We had some pretty intense practices before the tournament,” said Lady Rockets Coach Shala Ferrell. “I knew we were going to have to make some adjustments heading into the tournament and I held it off until the last minute, but I just really want to say that our eighth graders did such a good job. They were open to my changes in the last week, we had those intense practices, and it paid off.”

In postseason awards, Jerzee Ferrell and Amelia Johnson were named to the DRVC All-Conference Team with Carter Trail, Maci Jackson and Zallona Dillard all being named to the All-Tournament Team.

Westwood Rockets

On the boys’ side, the Rockets finished the regular season 8-8 with a 6-4 record in Conference play, earning the No. 3 seed in the DRVC Tournament.

The Rockets evaded No. 6 Community 39-33 in overtime in the first round and beat Cascade 56-48 in the semifinals to give themselves a chance to defend their 2023 Championship. Awaiting the Rockets in the Championship game was top seed Eagleville, who beat Westwood in both regular season matchups and defeated No. 4 Forrest 36-16 in their semifinal game.

When the two teams clashed on Dec. 12, the first half was a back-and-forth affair with Westwood outscoring Eagleville 9-6 in the first quarter and Eagleville outscoring Westwood 9-6 in the second to knot the score at 15-15 through two quarters of play.

However, Westwood outscored Eagleville 19-9 in the second half and held on for the second straight DRVC Title, 34-24.

“I’m extremely proud of these guys,” said Rockets Coach Anita Gannon. “Before the game, I told them that it was do or die time. I also told them that if we fix the mistakes we make and we work on the little things, then we will be successful and that’s what they did.”

In the postseason awards, Isaiah Buchanan and Kingslee Miller were named to the All-Conference team with Buchanan also making the All-Tournament team alongside teammates Trenton Tanner and Brock Christian.

CCMS Lady Raiders

Finishing the CTC slate of their regular season schedule 12-0, the undefeated Lady Raiders took the No. 1 seed in the Tournament with relative ease.

After taking care of business against North Franklin in the semifinals, 53-19, the Lady Raiders eyed a Conference Championship with a win over No. 3 South Franklin on Dec. 19, who upset No. 2 Harris in their semifinal game.

The Lady Raiders’ patented defense yet again set the tone at the start, helping to outscore South 11-3 in the first quarter and 17-2 in the second for a halftime lead of 28-5.

Coffee County would hold the Lady Trojans scoreless over the final two quarters and win the game 41-5 to seal a CTC Championship win.

“The hard work that these girls have put in got us here, I’m very proud of them,” said Coach David Vinson. “Obviously, our defense has been great all year, and we proved that tonight, holding the other team to five points. These girls are very unselfish, so much so that they don’t always realize that they have an open shot, but they got the job done.”

In postseason awards, Harper Crosslin, Brylyn McAdams, Jenslee Nogodula, Avery Pruitt and Kinsley Pruitt were all named to the CTC All-Conference Team.

CCMS Red Raiders

Earning as the No. 2 seed in the CTC Tournament with a conference record of 10-2, the Red Raiders defeated No. 7 seed Warren County 37-17 in the first round, then dispatched No. 6 seed North Franklin in the semifinals 37-19.

The Red Raiders were aiming to finish the job and win the CTC Championship on Dec. 19 over No. 4 seed Harris, who upset top seeded Tullahoma West in the semifinals.

The Red Raiders had the edge in a low-scoring start, outscoring the Eagles 4-3 in the first quarter and 9-6 in the second for a halftime lead of 13-9

Harris would try to chip away in the third quarter, outscoring Coffee 6-4, but the Red Raiders outscored the Eagles 10-8 in the fourth and held on to win the game, 27-23.

“Defensively, our effort was stellar,” said Coach Jason Creek. “To hold them to 23 points was outstanding. Offensively, we were still forcing some things, and we committed a lot of turnovers, which is a bit unusual for us. Those tight games have given us trouble before, but this game we were able to come out on top. I’m proud of the boys, they’ve worked hard all year and I’m happy for them.”

In postseason awards, Rylan Abellana, Ethan Arnold, Kanon Creek, Jo Jordan and Jaxon Pruitt were all named to the CTC All-Conference Team.