A new lineup and a new rotation wasn’t enough to spark the Warren East Lady Raiders, who fell 53-28 to Caverna in the Greenwood Holiday Classic on Wednesday at Greenwood High School.

Coach Aaron Richmond tried a new starting five, but it was unable to kickstart an offense. Warren East (1-11) finished with nine field goals on 51 attempts.

“I don’t have any more excuses to give,” Richmond said. “I think that we are at the time in the season where we should be progressing. I saw good things tonight and I’m going to stay positive. We’re going to move forward with those and continue game by game.”

The Lady Raiders didn’t have a field goal until Hannah Parker’s 3 early in the second quarter, but trailed 10-9 with 6:58 left in the half.

Caverna (7-7) used a 10-0 run to build an 11-point cushion. Despite going 3-for-20 from the field in the first half, Warren East was still within striking distance, trailing 22-14.

“I think all the girls have high expectations for themselves individually,” Richmond said. “When they don’t meet it or even when they miss a shot, they feel like they let us down or the team. They have to look at it like, ‘I missed a shot. I’ve got to get it back. The next shot is going to be mine.’ They’ve got to have that mentality.”

Caverna opened the second half with a 7-2 surge to take a 29-16 lead midway through the third period. Warren East got within 36-26 after a putback from Jill Renfro with 7:10 left in the game, but the Lady Colonels scored 17 straight before Dayiaone Bibb’s floater in the final seconds.

Justice Martin led Warren East with seven points. Renfro and Brooklyn Gilbert had 10 rebounds each, with the Lady Raiders outrebounding Caverna 53-52.

“The girls are doing good things, it’s just a matter of putting four quarters together and finishing,” Richmond said. “We give and take sometimes. We’re going to get better. The coaching staff has to stay positive and continue to help the girls grow.”

Ciara Waggoner and Madison Faulkner had 13 points each to lead Caverna. Shardai Embry added 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Warren East will wrap up pool play in the Greenwood Holiday Classic when it faces Franklin-Simpson at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

WEHS 4 10 9 5 – 28

CHS 8 14 12 19 – 53

WE – Bibb 5, Renfro 4, Martin 7, Gilbert 3, Parker 5, Hawkins 4.

CHS – Waggoner 13, Kirk 7, Hastings 2, Faulkner 13, Kingery 6, Embry 12.

 

Clinton County 62, South Warren 42

The Lady Spartans fell behind by 20 points in the first half and were unable to recover, dropping to 1-10 on the season.

“It’s tough to be in such a hole – even if you are a good basketball team,” South Warren coach Ken Waddell said. “It’s hard to overcome a deficit of that magnitude for us. Give Clinton County all the credit. Those girls came out tonight and played well. They threw a pretty good punch at us and we fell back on our heels.”

Clinton County (4-9) started 9-for-16 from the field, building a 19-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs continued to pull away – stretching the margin to 36-16 by halftime.

The Lady Spartans opened the second half with a 12-3 spurt, capped by a Colby Downing layup that made the score 39-28.

South Warren was unable to get any closer. Clinton County extended the lead back to 48-30 at the end of the third quarter and cruised from there in the final period.

Ansley Stalcup led Clinton County with 19 points. Alex Beard and Breonia Thurman had 14 points each.

Downing had 12 points to lead South Warren, while Brittney Taylor added nine points and seven rebounds.

“I know we’re young, but we played 30 games last year and 10 games this season. That excuse is over with,” Waddell said. “Right now, we’re struggling with who is the leader. We don’t have a go-to player. I will say Colby has been a plus since she’s been back (from an early season injury). I thought Brittany Taylor had a nice night tonight, was more assertive. It’s a start, but we’ve got to have other people, when they are open, knock those shots down.”

The Lady Spartans will wrap up pool play when they meet Greenwood at 8 p.m. tonight.

CCHS 19 17 12 14 – 62

SWHS 10 6 14 12 – 42

CC – Lowhorn 2, Campbell 4, Stalcup 19, Beard 14, Bookout 1, McWhorter 2, Langford 2, Boils 2, Elmore 2, Thurman 14.

SW – Garden 4, Carlock 1, Burnette 6, Forrester 7, Taylor 9, Downing 12, Patterson 3.