EDITOR’S NOTE:
Coverage of Monday’s Class 4A Region 3 semifinal game against Bradley Central can be found online on the Manchester Times website, as well as in the March 11 print edition of The Manchester Times.

The postseason marches on for Coffee County girls’ basketball.

Opening Class 4A Region 3 play at home against Ooltewah, the Lady Raiders took care of business in a 5738 quarterfinal victory Friday night.

“Tonight we played pretty good overall. We had a couple of turnovers here and there, but I think we cleaned it up,” senior Natalie Barnes said. “Our defense was pretty good.”

Coffee County jumped out to a quick start, building a 10-0 lead in the game’s opening minutes. The Lady Raiders went on to add another 10 points before the first quarter’s close to take a 20-6 lead into the second.

After Ooltewah briefly brought the Coffee County lead back within 10 points at 23-14, the Lady Raiders answered with a pair of free throws from Jenslee Nogodula and a 3-pointer from Barnes to make it a doubledigit lead once again. Coffee County went on to close out the half leading the Lady Owls 30-18.

The Lady Raiders’ efficiency on both ends of the court continued over the course of the second half. Coffee County continued to maintain its double-digit advantage throughout the third quarter, finishing it with a 41-27 lead. Coffee County went on to continue cruising in the fourth quarter and finished off the game up by 19.

Barnes led the Coffee County offense with 24 points. Hayleigh Harris followed with 11 points, finishing just ahead of Audri Patton with 10 points. Up next was Jenslee Nogodula with nine points. Jaydee Nogodula had a single 3-pointer for three points.

The win moved Coffee County to 23-7 on the season and set its sights on the region semifinals, a matchup against 3-time defending state champion Bradley Central at Warren County High School. The District 5 champion Bearettes (29-0) opened Region 3 tournament play with a 102-29 routing of Shelbyville in the quarterfi nals Friday evening.

The Lady Raiders’ last matchup with Bradley Central was in the quarterfi nals of the 2025 TSSAA Class 4A State Tournament in Murfreesboro this past March, a game Coffee County fell in 53-44 for what was the team’s only loss of the season.

The Lady Raiders’ season also ended in a loss to the Bearettes at the Murphy Center the year before, with Coffee County falling 55-35 in the 2024 Class 4A state tournament semifinals.

“It’s gonna be a typical Coffee County-Bradley game. We’re David, they’re Goliath and we’ve got to go in there and just play Lady Raider basketball, hustle all night,” Coffee County coach Joe Pat Cope said of the region semifinal rematch with the Bearettes. “We can’t go in there thinking we can’t win. Our girls know if we play our game, we can win Monday night.”