WCMS basketball teams survive up-and-down week of contests

The White County Middle School Warriorette basketball team had a roller coaster of a week, winning a close game on Monday and following that up with a rough outing on Thursday.  

The Warriorettes opened the week with a strong defensive game against Gladeville. White County got behind quickly trailing 8-5 as they started the second quarter. However, their offense came to life scoring 12 points behind a 3-pointer from Aylah Young while four out of five foul shots found the bottom of the net for Piper Heady. The Warriorettes held a slim 17-15 point lead to start the second half.  

While the White County offense struggled to find the basket in the third quarter, their defense held Gladeville to just one score from the floor. Four free throws by their opponents, however, cut the Warriorette lead to one as the teams moved into the final quarter of play. The fourth quarter was all Ava Elrod on offense for White County as she sank six out of eight free throws to go with a pair of two-point baskets. The Warriorette defense held on, and they came home with a 34-31 win.  

Warriorette scoring: Ava Elrod – 17, Aylah Young - 8, Piper Heady – 5, Lyla Ryan - 4 

“It was a great game,” White County head coach Marsha Jackson said. “The girls played great defense at the end and kept Gladeville from getting a shot off that could have won the game for them.” 

On Thursday, the tables were turned as it was the Warriorettes who were faced with a stout defense by the Harris basketball team. The game started slow with both teams netting just three points in the first quarter. White County outscored Harris 11-8 in the second frame to take a 14-11 halftime lead, but it was a completely different story in the third and fourth quarters. The Warriorettes were outscored 32-20 in the second half.  

Despite the 43-33 loss, it was White County’s Piper Heady who was the standout player. The eighth grader scored 18 of the Warriorettes’ points as she sank six shots from beyond the 3-point arc.  

Warriorette scoring: Piper Heady – 18, Lyla Ryan – 8, Ava Elrod – 5, Aylah Young – 2  

On the boys’ side, however, the Warriors had no problem handling the Harris team. A 13-11 lead after one quarter was widened to a seven-point lead by halftime. White County came back on the court in the third quarter and proceeded to score 14 points while holding Harris to five. A 14-5 run in the fourth sealed the win. Carson Delong hit a trio of threes in the second quarter while Connor Delong split his pair of deep balls between the first and third quarters.  

Warrior scoring: Carson Delong –13, Connor Delong – 12, Tate Pinion – 11, Josiah Morgan – 5, Luke Naaktegboren – 4, Brayden Cope – 4, Braxton Jones – 2, Kyson Taylor –1 

White County will host Coffee County on Monday and then travel to Mt. Juliet on Thursday before taking a three-week break for the winter holidays.