Raiderettes advance in district tourney

The postseason is where teams leave their mark. Suffice it to say, the Moore County Raiderettes want to do just that.

MCHS opened the district tournament with a resounding 57-26 victory against Eagleville on Tuesday night at Huntland. Ellie Graham scored a game-high 18 points, and the Raiderettes' stifling defense held Eagleville under 10 points each quarter.

Moore County improved to 24-3 with its third victory against Eagleville in the past 40 days. Graham, a Class 1A Miss Basketball finalist, led the Raiderettes in scoring in each win.

On Tuesday, MCHS took a 21-9 lead in the first quarter. Harder had eight points – a basket and two 3-pointers; Graham added six, two from the free-throw line; and Sharpe had five, including a trey.

In the second quarter, Graham and Sharpe added four to their tallies, and Emma Sazonov drained a 3-ball as the Raiderettes pushed their advantage to 36-15.

Moore County continued to push its offense in the third quarter. Graham had eight points, including a pair of free throws, and Katy Fletcher chipped in four. MCHS led 52-19 entering the fourth quarter.

Ella Burks had a 3-pointer, and Makenzie Goodwin added a basket to account for the final points.

Graham and Sharpe (11) had double digits for the Raiderettes, with Anna Harder (8), Fletcher (6), Goodwin (4), Burks (3), Sazonov (3), Emma Dye (2), and Audrey Harder (2) rounding out the scoring.

Moore County hit 17 field goals and five 3-pointers while shooting 8 of 13 from the free-throw line.

Meah Thompson led Eagleville with six points.

The Raiderettes advance to the District Championship Game to face Fayetteville at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Moore County swept the season series against Fayetteville, winning 72-62 on Jan. 17 and 61-23 on Feb. 7, a game that featured Fletcher notching her 1,000th career point.

Fayetteville defeated Huntland, 64-58, in overtime Tuesday to earn its berth in the title game.

Eagleville and Huntland will play at 6 p.m. Friday in the Consolation Game.