A lapse right before halftime cost the Lady Pioneers in the district tournament play-in game Tuesday night.

Rhea County turned a close contest into a 15-point halftime lead in a matter of minutes and that was enough to end the season for the Warren County High School girls basketball team.

Warren County suffered a 73-56 loss at Stone Memorial High School to end the season with a 9-19 record. Rhea County advances in the tournament to face Stone Memorial.

Tyra Wright finished with a team-high 19 points for the Lady Pioneers. Emily Mikkola added 12 and Caylie Sherrell scored 11.

Rhea County’s Mallory Hampton, District Player of the Year, scored a game-high 29.

Warren County cut the lead to single digits midway through the third quarter when Sherrell hit her second 3-pointer in a row to make it a 47-38 game.

But that was as close as it would get.

Rhea County answered with back-to-back 3-pointers on the way to closing the third quarter strong and building a 63-45 lead. Warren County couldn’t recover and rally in the fourth.

Other Lady Pioneer scorers were Megan Patch with five, Kam Nowlin with four, Grace Rains with three, and Jaden Smartt with two.