D

The Lady Wildcats came roaring back Friday night, erasing a 14-point deficit against the Lady Patriots on homecoming only to come up short in the end, losing their first game since Dec. 16 of last year and their first in the district, 48-40.

A slow start for the Lady ‘Cats led to the end of their nine-game winning streak that dated back to their last loss over a month ago which came at the hands of cross-county rival and the state-ranked Lady Raiders of Coffee County 36-30 in non-district action.

Along with shooting subpar from the floor in the first half was their inability to stop Page’s top gun, Braley Bushman who hooped for nine points in the first frame on her way to leading all scorers on the night with 21. Her hot hand along with a Sadie Porter three ball gave the visitors a 15-7 lead after one with Morgan Carr claiming five of the total while Lucy Nutt hit the other two.

The deficit reached 14 during the second quarter even though Bushman did not have a single point. The problem was again missed shots for the Lady ‘Cats as Lily Melton led Tullahoma in the period with a 3-pointer. They went into the locker room down 26-14.

However, the team that returned to the floor for Tullahoma was a complete 180 from the first half squad. While not lighting the world on fire in the third, they were able to shut down the Page offense, limiting them to a miniscule four points. Meanwhile Lily Melton was able to put six of her team’s third quarter production while Eleanor Fults and Alivia Bowen added two apiece.

Bowen would shine in the fourth, leading her team with eight as they pulled to within two points midway through the fourth. Fults and Melton both added threes to the tally and Carr contributed a two. However, the Lady ‘Cats were unable to get any closer as Page made their foul shots down the stretch with Bushman going a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe as she scored eight during the final frame. Elizabeth Fox followed suit, also going a perfect four-for-four from the stripe while Sadie Porter had six in the final quarter to secure the eight-point win. Melton led the Lady ‘Cats with 12 points, followed by Bowen with 10 and Carr with seven.

The loss set up a duel with Lincoln County for first place in the district as the teams completed their first round of games Tuesday evening. The squads in the district will play each other again before the season ends. Results from the Lincoln County game were not available at press time.