Sparta
The Warriorettes tipped off their first game at the 35th Annual Sunshine Classic in a matchup with the Cornerstone Charter Academy Ducks from Belle Isle, Florida. White County was one of ten teams in the tournament and did not get an early bye, meaning they started play Saturday morning. The early start didn’t slow down the Warriorettes as they stormed their way to a 78-15 win.
The first points of the game came on an easy layup by Gracie Clark with an assist from Bella Winningham. Clark then stole the inbound pass from Cornerstone, dumped it off to Lakelyn Grasty, who fed the ball right back to Clark. Clark quickly increased White County’s lead to four. The Warriorettes continued to put the pressure on the Ducks as they stole passes, caused miscommunication on the opposing offense, and stole defensive rebounds to go up 17-0 by the midway point of the first quarter.
White County continued the pressure throughout the remainder of the first period. Warriorette coach Michael Dodgen went to his bench early, putting both Sarah Winfree and Kylie Norris in the game in the final minutes of the first quarter. It was Norris who pushed White County’s lead to 33-0 as she swished the net from outside the arc at the first buzzer.
White County had some bench players stay in the game, but the result was simply more of the same from the first quarter. When the score reached 42-0, Dodgen did a full team swap and put five fresh players on the court. The Warriorettes scored 53 points before the Ducks finally got a ball to drop through the net. A pair of free throws with less than two minutes left in the second quarter put Cornerstone’s first two points on the board. Those would be the only points for the Ducks in the first half as White County took a 57-2 lead into the locker room.
Dodgen went to a completely new lineup to start the second half. While the scoring slowed a little, the defense kept the pressure on the Ducks. The scoreboard read White County 65, Cornerstone 7 at the end of the third quarter. The Warriorettes stayed with the bench on the court throughout the fourth quarter and took the pressure off the Ducks, letting them shoot a few three-pointers as the closing minutes ticked away. The Cornerstone shooting was too little, too late and the Warriorettes walked off with the easy, early morning win.
White County tips off again at 5 p.m. CST this evening. They will take on the Ramsay High Rams from Birmingham, Alabama.
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