SHELBYVILLE - The Warren County Lady Pioneers had to settle for a fourth-place finish in the District 9-4A tournament after losing to eventual champions Coffee County in the semifinals and barely missing out on a win over tournament host Shelbyville in the consolation game.
After a brutal loss in the district semifinals, the Lady Pioneers were relegated to Monday’s consolation game against the Eaglettes, who had swept the regular-season series.
Trinity Reynolds and Brynlee Chisam each hit a 3-pointer in the game’s opening quarter, but points were still hard to come by for the Lady Pioneers and the Eaglettes edged ahead 11-8 after the game’s first eight minutes.
Warren County found its way to the basket a lot more in the second frame, as sophomore Addison Steakley scored seven points and Reynolds scored six more to help the Lady Pioneers knot the score at 22-22 to end the first half.
Steakley and Reynolds continued to collect points in the third quarter, with Steakley scoring seven and Reynolds scoring six, and the Lady Pioneers entered the final frame of regulation with a 36-34 lead.
Shelbyville regained control of the game in the early minutes of the fourth, compiling as much as an eight-point advantage, but the Lady Pioneers worked their way back to cut the deficit to three with over 50 seconds remaining in regulation.
A 3-pointer by Trinity Reynolds tied the score at 49-49 with less than 20 seconds remaining, but Reynolds fouled Lanaya Young on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Young hit both free throws to give Shelbyville a 51-49 lead.
Reynolds came back the other way and appeared to score on a floater to tie the score at 51-51, but a time-out called by coach Kyle Turnham before the basket wiped away the score, and the Lady Pioneers’ last-second shot at a tying basket was off the mark, allowing the Eaglettes to slip away with the third-place finish.
The postseason is still alive for the Lady Pioneers (9-22), as their opening round victory in the 9-4A tournament earned them a spot in the Region 5 tourney. WCHS takes on District 10-4A champion Brentwood Friday night.
• In the district semifinals on Saturday, the Lady Pioneers ran into the familiar juggernaut also known as the Coffee County Lady Raiders, falling 66-32.
The Lady Raiders, who swept the regular-season series with WCHS by over 30-point margins each game, looked every bit the part of the No. 2 ranked team in Class 4A, holding Warren County to just one field goal in the first quarter and 11 points total in the first half to give the Lady Pioneers in a massive 46-11 deficit heading into the halftime break.
Trinity Reynolds and Addison Steakley were responsible for eight of Warren County’s 11 first-half points, each scoring four.
Coffee County rested its starters for most of the second half, and the Lady Pioneers outscored the Lady Raider bench unit 21-20 over the final two quarters, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
