FINAL FOUR BOUND: White County Advances To 3A Semifinals With Blowout Win Over Covington

State Tournament coverage presented by Risher Roofing

Story by Noah McKay:

MURFREESBORO – The White County Warriorettes advanced to the Class 3A state semifinals in a 69-49 win over Covington on Wednesday at the Murphy Center.

The Warriorettes scored 28 points in the third quarter and forced 25 turnovers as they rolled into the final four.

“We were able to turn Covington over and that got us relaxed and into the ballgame,” said WCHS head coach Michael Dodgen. “As you advance in this thing you have to be sound defensively, and if you’re not, teams are going to expose that.”

Covington struck early, racing out to an 8-0 lead in the first before UC Defensive Player of the Year Gracie Clark opened the WC scoring with a jumper. The WCHS press activated, starting a 14-2 run with threes by Bella Winningham and Kylee Norris to give Sparta a 14-10 advantage after one.

The Warriorettes stretched the lead to 10 with a Lakelyn Grasty jumper, but the Chargerettes capitalized on foul trouble for Clark and Ashlyn Selby to cut the deficit to 27-23 at halftime.

The Warriorettes essentially ended the game early in the third, rattling off a 18-2 run to open the frame including 9 points by Clark and a Selby three to stretch the lead to 20. Covington never got it closer than 14 as WCHS raced into the state semifinals.

The Warriorettes were led by Clark’s 31 points. She added 11 rebounds, three assists and five steals.

“Last year we were just content with making it here, this year it’s a different feeling because we’re seniors and we want to win it all,” said Clark. “So I’m glad we’re just one step closer to that.”

Grasty notched 14 points with six rebounds and four assists. Norris tallied 10 points. Selby scored nine points with five rebounds. Winningham scored five points with 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

The Warriorettes will take on Cocke County (34-4), who beat Liberty Creek 59-44 on Friday, in the state semifinals. Tipoff is set for 2:15 p.m. and the game will be audio broadcast live by UCR.

“You’ve got to be ready for this moment,” said Dodgen. “You’ve got to be ready for the challenges that lie ahead of you. We’re excited to be able to come back on Friday. We’ve just got to fix some stuff and be ready to go again.”