White County split its basketball matchups against McMinn County on Monday night in Athens, with the Warriorettes earning a win and the Warriors dropping their second game of the season.
Warriorettes 73 – Lady Cherokees 51
The Warriorettes opened the night by moving to 8-1 on the season.
Sparta used a dominant third quarter to propel themselves to the win.
“We jumped out to a pretty big lead, and then in the second quarter we put it in neutral a little bit,” said WCHS head coach Michael Dodgen. “When you’re on the road, you can’t do that. Third quarter we came out and played about as well as we’ve played in a long time. I’m proud of what we did.”
The teams battled back-and-forth during the opening quarter, with each team holding leads. Nia Powers scored six straight points late in the quarter, and Celeste Reed ended the frame with a layup to give the Warriorettes a 21-15 lead.
The Warriorettes stretched their lead to 10 with a three by Alaina Stiles, but they then surrendered a 6-0 MCHS run to cut the deficit to 28-24. The Warriorettes took a 34-27 lead into halftime.
Sparta went on a 17-6 run to open the third quarter and earn a 51-33 lead. Gracie Dodgen tallied 10 points in the frame as her team took a commanding 59-36 lead at the end of three enroute to the 73-51 win.
Coach Dodgen said his team is focused on trying to put four complete quarters of basketball together.
“We’ve got to be able to move up and down the floor without taking breaks,” said Dodgen. “When we do that we’re going to be really good.”
Gracie Dodgen led the way with 20 points. Reed added 12 while Mia Murray scored 10.
Reed, a freshman, has begun to emerge for the Warriorettes.
“Celeste is one of those players who’s going to continue to get better every game,” said coach Dodgen. “There’s going to be some nights where it doesn’t look like she played well, but she really did. It’s a learning practice and she’s handling it very well.”
The Warriorettes will now prepare for two sets of tournaments and shootouts with strong competition to finish 2020 and prepare for district play, the Sonic Shootout in Sparta and the Panama City Beach Marlin Christmas Classic in Florida.
“We’ve just got to continue to get better,” said Dodgen. “We’re going to play some really good teams… we’ve got to continue to get better and do the things we need to do to put ourselves in a position to be where we want to be in February.”
Warriors 54 – Cherokees 55
The Warriors struggled to overcome a physical Cherokees squad as they dropped to 7-2 on the season.
“Let me take the blame,” said WCHS head coach Eric Mitchell. “We beat a really powerful Science Hill team, came back and beat a Volunteer team. I did not have any box-and-one plays in tonight, and with a player like (Grant Slatten), I should have. We lost our composure a little bit. But we found a way to take the lead there late, I’m proud of them for that. We did not quit.”
The Cherokees made their intentions of trying to slow down University of Mississippi signee Grant Slatten clear early in the game, double and triple teaming him with physical defense. Kade Clark tallied three points in the frame as the Cherokees took a 7-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
MCHS extended the lead to 11-18 before Slatten tallied four straight to cut the deficit to 15-18. The Cherokees then went on a 10-2 run enroute to a 22-31 halftime lead.
The Warriors went on a 9-0 run late in the third quarter to make it 36-38, but the Cherokees scored four straight to end the frame and take a 36-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
MCHS stretched the lead to 38-49 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Warriors came roaring back. Slatten buried a three, Tanner Paul made a jumper and Slatten then scored four free throws to cut the deficit to two.
After a Cherokee bucket, Paul scored five straight to give the Warriors a 52-51 lead. MCHS then made a basket and two free throws in the final minute to escape with the one point win.
“We just didn’t rebound it well. We didn’t shoot free throws. We turned it over,” said Mitchell.
Despite the MCHS attempt to scheme Slatten out of the game, he led the game in scoring with 30 points. He is now 50 points away from becoming the leading scorer in WCHS history, with an opportunity to earn the accomplishment during the Sonic Shootout.
Mitchell said his team will use the two upcoming events to work some things out ahead of district play.
“We’re going to get (rebounding, free throws and turnovers) fixed,” said Mitchell. “I’m quite sure we’re going to play some really good teams in Florida.”
Photos by Noah McKay:
