By Michael Lindsay
Basketball in Sparta is off to a hot start as the White County Warriors and Warriorettes picked up double-digit victories over Smith County Tuesday evening in their season openers.
The Warriorettes used a strong start to take down the Lady Owls 67-38 before the Warriors overcame a 13-point deficit en route to a 51-40 victory.
Girls
The White County Warriorettes were red-hot from the jump in their season debut as they defeated Smith County, 67-38.
“I thought we played good start to finish,” said White County head coach Michael Dodgen. “We had a little lull towards the end of the second quarter, but we battled in the third quarter and got a good start. It was good to see some young kids on the floor who were able to contribute in a good way.”
White County was led by the sophomore guard duo of Bella Winningham and Gracie Clark as they combined for 8 three-pointers and 40 points. Winningham had 22 points on 5 treys while Clark poured in 18 points.
“Bella and Gracie made some big shots for us, and if they can consistently do that then that’s going to change how defenses play,” Dodgen said. “Lakelyn Gratsy did a good job with 8 assist and 1 turnover.”
White County senior forward Celeste Reed recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Smith County was led by Merissa Spivey with 11 points and Catie McCarter with 9.
The Warriorettes took control from the beginning as a Winningham three-pointer with 3:47 left in the opening period put her team ahead 10-0.
“It’s good for them; we’ve got one returning starter,” Dodgen said. “As a coach, you’ve got a little uncertainty there, but I thought we handled ourselves really well.”
The dominant start wasn’t done there as White County took a 15-0 lead via a Clark transition layup with 2:00 remaining in the first quarter. Smith County settled in to trail 17-7 after one period.
White County held their double-digit advantage into halftime as they led 29-18 at the break.
Smith County got the game back to single-digits as they trailed by 9 points early in the third quarter, but the Warriorettes caught fire again to lead 46-32 going to the fourth quarter.
“Smith County has a good basketball team and they’re going to win a lot of games,” Dodgen said. “We got hot there in the second half and separated a little bit.”
White County controlled the fourth quarter to win by a 67-38 final score.
Up next for the 1-0 Warriorettes is Sale Creek on Thursday while Smith County travels to Clarkrange on Saturday.
Boys
The White County boys also won by double-digits, but their path to a 51-40 victory was a little different as it featured a double-digit comeback and 9-point halftime deficit.
“Defense and effort; we’ve got to have that every night,” said White County head coach Eric Mitchell. “We made a lot of mistakes in the first half; with a new team, you only have 10 practices. Smith County came out in that second quarter and really torched us; their big kids played really well.”
The Warriors were led by 20 points from sophomore guard Lucas Smith and 7 points by freshman point guard Cole Sims. Smith County’s Tyler Jones led the Owls with 13 points along with 12 point on 4 three-pointers by Morgan Sinclair.
Smith County jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead over the Warriors early in the first quarter before White County stormed back to take a 9-8 lead at the end of the frame via a pair of Sims free throws.
The Owls caught fire in the second quarter as 4 consecutive three-pointers by Sinclair put his team ahead 25-15 with 2:45 left in until halftime. The Owls led 28-19 at the break.
“Do the little things; we missed a box out on a free throw and they kicked it out for a three,” Mitchell said. “It’s got to be an all-out war all the time for us. You guys have to quit playing scared and tentative; just go play.”
White County responded in the second half as the Warriors opened the third quarter on an 13-3 run to take a 33-31 lead with 2:12 remaining in the third period. Smith had 11 of the 13 points and assisted the other basket in the run.
White County held a 37-32 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Back-to-back baskets from Mason Steele early in the fourth period pushed the Warriors’ lead out to 9 points (41-32) with 7 minutes remaining as White County held on to win by a 51-40 final score.
The Owls are set to play at Clarkrange Saturday while White County is set to face Scott on Thursday at Sale Creek.
