The Lady Pioneers faced a tough, aggressive defense Tuesday night in Cookeville and a close 17-15 halftime score in favor of the Lady Cavs didn’t look like a precursor to a team loss. But Warren County couldn’t get a second-half foothold and Cookeville came away with a 36-29 win.
“I thought we played pretty good defense,” said Warren County head coach Shea Panter. “We made them work for every basket they had. We were patient on offense and had the least amount of turnovers we have had all year. No one really caught on fire for us so scoring was low. I’m proud that for the first time we dug out of a hole and actually got back in the game at the end. We are getting closer and closer to where we need to be.”
The Lady Cavs were 9-of-11 for 82 percent from the foul line with 8-of-9 coming in the Lady Pioneers’ bid to steal the ball late in the game. Warren County wasn’t so lucky in converting on opportunities with 3-of-7 for 43 percent from the line.
Cookeville’s main offensive weapons were Chloe Grace Savage with 15 points and Sydney Bean with 13 points.
Heading up the Lady Pioneer scoring drive was Megan Patch with 8 points, including two treys. Warren County was taking the lower percentage, but higher scoring, outside shot in the fourth quarter with Patch, Rae Anna Hodges and Emily Mikkola all hitting 3-pointers trying to bridge the gap.
Also scoring for Warren County were Tyra Wright with 6 points and Mikkola, Hodges and  Elsa Eckenrod all scored 5 points each to wrap up the total for the Lady Pioneers who play again Friday night in Rhea County.
Warren County goes on to play a make-up game at Siegel on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m.