Raiderettes fall to Coalfield

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – And so it ends.

The Moore County Raiderettes ran into a buzzsaw on Wednesday, losing to Coalfield, 54-41, in the Elite Eight of the Class 1A State Tournament. The Lady Yellow Jackets hit 47.9% from the floor while limiting the Raiderettes to 29.6%.

The loss squelched the eight seniors’ #GoldBallGoals dreams in the wake of MCHS’s loss in last year’s State Championship Game. Nonetheless, this squad’s back-to-back trips to The Glass House – and three consecutive District titles with two Region banners – are not to be overlooked.

The Raiderettes trotted on the floor 18 minutes before tip to a round of boos from the stands before the Moore County faithful drowned out the peanut gallery with a raucous round of cheers – led by a loud-and-proud student section.

Five minutes before the game, head coach Chad Spencer paced the Moore County sideline, hands in his pockets, watching his team wrap its shootaround. To his left, Coalfield’s players were filling the basket from inside, mid-range, and the 3-point arc. It was an ominous prelude.

Ellie Graham won the tip-off for Moore County, and after a Coalfield possession, Ally Sharpe drove to the basket to give the Raiderettes a 2-0 lead less than 30 seconds into the game.

Coalfield (31-5) answered before Sharpe again cut to the basket for a 4-2 lead. Graham hit one of two free-throw attempts to give MCHS a 5-2 lead with 6:07 to play in the first quarter.

Coalfield had a bucket, a trey, and a free throw to forge ahead, 8-5, as both teams exhibited tenacious defense. Meanwhile, there was a lid on the Moore County bucket. Miss Basketball finalist Ellie Graham could not get the ball to fall if she’s had a fistful of fifties.

Finally, with 1:38 on the clock, Emma Dye scored to pull the Raiderettes within 8-7.

A Coalfield basket followed by a steal by Katy Fletcher – who fed the ball to Graham for two – another Lady Yellow Jackets score, and a 3-ball from Anna Harder brought the first quarter to a close with the team knotted at 12-all.

Coalfield had a basket to start the second quarter before Fletcher hit a 3-pointer, Graham had a steal that Sharpe converted for a layup, and with just more than a minute elapsed, MCHS led 17-14. … It would be the last lead for the Raiderettes.

Lily Wright and Lexi Hammock had a free throw each before Mattie Beard sank a 3-pointer to give Coalfield a 19-17 lead that it would not relinquish. McKinlee West went high off the glass to push the advantage to 21-17.

Graham hit one of two freebies to pull MCHS within three, 21-18. Hammock’s jumper in the paint capped the first-half scoring with the Lady Yellow Jackets up 23-18 at halftime.

Coalfield put away the game in the third quarter, outscoring Moore County 21-14 en route to a 44-32 lead. Beard had eight points – including two 3-pointers.

Emma Sazonov tried to keep the Raiderettes (29-4) close with a trey and three buckets for nine points in the third quarter. Fletcher, who hit one of two free throws after being mugged on her way to the hoop, scored three points, while Graham contributed two to complete the Moore County offense.

The way Coalfield played bump-and-run defense across the floor, you’d think the football team’s defensive coordinator was moonlighting on the hardwoods. The Lady Yellow Jackets’ defense did leave MCHS discombobulated at times, and several times the officials swallowed their whistle instead of blowing into it – on both ends of the court, to be fair.

However, Graham had a basket taken off the board after being called for a charge with 37 seconds remaining in the third and MCHS trailing 42-30. Soon after, Sharpe had a 3-point attempt roll around every inch of the goal before rimming out. ... It was that kind of day for the Raiderettes.

Entering the fourth, Coalfield had one objective: keep the ball away from Moore County. The Lady Yellow Jackets slowed the pace, working their offense around the perimeter, feining drives to the basket only to pivot away. When they did shoot – and the Raiderettes pulled the rebound – muscling up to tie up the ball for a possession arrow was the play.

Graham went to the free-throw line seven times in the fourth; she hit three and had two buckets for seven points. Dye added a field goal to account for the remainder of MCHS’s nine fourth-quarter points.

Coalfield had 14 shots from the charity stripe in the final quarter and made eight.

The Lady Yellow Jackets finished with 14 baskets, four 3-pointers, and converted 14 of 27 free-throw attempts. Beard had 14 points to lead three Coalfield players in double figures, including Hammock (13) and Lilly-Claire Lowe (12).

MCHS had 13 field goals and three treys while hitting just 6 of 17 freebies. Graham’s swan song with the Raiderettes was a double-double: 13 points and 15 rebounds. Sazonov (9), Fletcher (6), Sharpe (6), Dye (4), and Harder (3) completed Moore County's scoring.

The Raiderettes’ seniors are Emily Burks, Madison Dingler, Katy Fletcher, Ellie Graham, Anna Harder, Audrey Harder, Hannah Martin, and Emma Sazonov.

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