Every team wants to start the season on the right foot and the varsity Lady Pioneers from WCMS opened their season Monday night with a convincing 58-11 win over the Lady Panthers from East Middle School in Tullahoma. WCMS dominated all four quarters and the game was never in question.
The Lady Pioneers were led by Alora Stuart, who scored a game-high 16 points. Stuart scored from almost every position on the floor. The Lady Panther defense never had an answer for Stuart or the Lady Pioneer offense.
WCMS jumped out to an early lead and made quick passes inside to the post. Stuart went right at the Lady Panther defense and scored from down close.
The Lady Pioneers continued with intense defensive pressure on the ball when it crossed over into the front-court. The Lady Panthers struggled not only to get shots in the paint, but they struggled much of the opening quarter just to get good looks at the basket.
WCMS led 11-0 with just under two minutes to play in the first when the Lady Panthers dropped in their first basket. WCMS continued its relentless pressure on the ball and when the first-quarter horn sounded the Lady Pioneers led 15-2.
In the second quarter, the Lady Panthers settled back and packed the defense inside. With the defense backed off, WCMS started to fire from outside. Savannah Cox connected on a long shot from behind the 3-point line after a wide-open look.
East Middle found points in the second quarter although the points were few and far between. WCMS continued its assault on the Lady Panther defense. Stuart rested much of the second quarter so that left Kinsley Lorance inside for the Lady Pioneers and she scored too.
The first timeout taken by East Middle came with 1:43 left in the first half and WCMS led 27-6.
Halle Pennington drove into the middle of the paint with seconds left to shoot. Pennington was surrounded and she turned back and fired a shot that found the bottom of the net.
Everything went right for the Lady Pioneers in the first half and whatever could go wrong for the Lady Panthers in fact did. There were little to no opportunities to score for East Middle and turnovers played a big factor in the first two periods. WCMS led East Middle 29-8 at the half.
It did not get any better for the Lady Panthers in the second half. The Lady Pioneers continued their dominant performance on both ends of the floor. Stuart was back in the game pounding the blocks in the low post and Cox knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game.
As the two teams battled it out, WCMS led 46-10 to start the fourth. The Lady Pioneers backed off the pressure slightly and Nautica Brown and Samantha Jennings carried much of the load in the final period.
East Middle was clearly out of contention for the win, but its offense continued to push back and on defense the Lady Panthers were tired from lack of depth on the bench.
 WCMS went on to a 58-11 win over the Lady Panthers in Tullahoma. WCMS will travel to Franklin South on Nov. 9 with the game scheduled for 6 p.m.
LADY PIONEER SCORING – Alora Stuart 16, Kinsley Lorance 11, Savannah Cox 10, Nautica Brown 7, Halle Pennington 6, Samantha Jennings 6, Annaston McBride 2
LADY PANTHER SCORING – Anastasia Vanzant 4, Eliz Lawson 3, Meghan Prossan 2, Blair Pyrdum 2