Lady Patriots Overcome Morristown East Hurricanes, 40-34; Patriots Fall to Hurricanes, 73-67
Staff Photo by Angie Stanley
Friday night for the Patriots included a tough battle in a packed house. The Morristown East Lady Hurricanes and Hurricane boys made the trip over to Dandridge, looking to give both Jefferson County teams a run for their money.
To start things off, the Lady Patriots had a tough fight to continue their winning streak. Trying to stay undefeated in district play, the Ladies of Jefferson County were about to face one of the bigger challenges of the season.
Pulling ahead in the first quarter, the Lady Patriots set the tone for the pace of the game. The early lead didn’t have much of a gap, and Jefferson County was up by five by the end of the period. Morristown East was proving to the Lady Patriots that they were not just going to hand them the win, as their defenses were up throughout the rest of the half. Although the Lady Hurricanes showed a strong defense, Jefferson County’s was even tougher, and only allowed Morristown East two points for the second quarter. The Lady Patriots ended the half ahead of the Lady Hurricanes by 10, 16-6.
Staff Photo by Angie Stanley
During the third quarter, the Lady Hurricanes had found a hole in Jefferson County’s wall. Outscoring the Lady Patriots 10-4, it looked as if Morristown East was trying to set the stage for a comeback win. The third quarter buzzer sounded with the Lady Patriots still ahead, but only by four. It was time to seal the deal, and the Ladies of Jefferson County did not disappoint. The fourth quarter produced a much more physical game than the previous three periods, with both teams committing multiple fouls. On the Morristown East side of the ball, the team’s high scorer of the evening, Madison Bunch, produced all of her 11 points during the fourth. Jefferson County’s Alexandria Alder grabbed eight of her 13 points during the period. The fourth quarter was by far the most successful, score-wise, for both teams, but the Jefferson County Lady Patriots held onto their lead. By defeating the Morristown East Lady Hurricanes 40-34, the Lady Patriots continue their winning streak to 7.
The Lady Patriots will now travel to Rogersville to face off once again with the Cherokee Lady Chiefs on Tuesday. Earlier in the month, Jefferson County defeated Cherokee 52-37.
As the game ended, Makaila Woolard was presented a commemorative ball by Coach Sinard and AD Randy Rogers. Woolard, who is a senior, has reached the 1000 point milestone in her high school career. She scored her 1000th point during the last matchup against Morristown East in December. Congratulations to Makaila on a successful career so far with the Lady Patriots.
Staff Photo by Angie Stanley
The Jefferson County Patriots also had one tough battle on their hands Friday night. The last time the Patriots and the Hurricanes faced off, Morristown East grabbed the win. The Patriots were hoping for some vindication, and the Hurricanes were hoping for a repeat.
The first quarter started off as a nightmare for the Patriots. Unable to hit the basket, Jefferson County was unable to answer for the multiple three-pointers the Hurricanes hit from the field. In what must have felt like a hurricane for the Patriots, before anyone could blink, Morristown East ended the first quarter ahead of Jefferson County 21-8. Quickly shaking the dust off, the Patriots tried to make a second quarter comeback. Outscoring the Hurricanes 21-17 just wasn’t enough to be able to pull ahead for the half. At halftime the Patriots were down by only 5, 43-38.
Staff Photo by Angie Stanley
Both teams came out of the locker room at full speed after the halftime break. With both teams committing 14 fouls for the second half, it was plain to see that neither was going to just roll over. The Patriots were unable to pull ahead in the third, and they were still down 56-43.
There was no lack of effort on the Patriots’ part to stage a comeback during the fourth. With the team playing more physical ball, they would actually go on to outscore the hurricanes 24-17. The Patriots, however, just could not overcome the early game deficit, and the Hurricanes defeated Jefferson County 73-67.
Cameron Gregg had 28 for the evening, with Nathan Seal grabbing 15. Arnold, Keck, and Cody each grabbed eight for the night.
The Jefferson County Patriots will also be traveling to Rogersville to face off once again against the Chiefs, and hope to break the loosing streak. When the two met earlier, the Patriots easily took the win, 53-27.
