GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The Tullahoma girls’ basketball team added another close win to its resume, defeating Lawrence County 41-36.

In what was a slow day for both Lawrence and Tullahoma offensively, the Lady Wildcats snuck out a win, and did what great teams do. They made the winning plays they needed to. These big moments that led to the ‘Cats getting their 12th win of the year took place in the fourth quarter with around two minutes remaining.

Senior for the Lawrence County Lady Cats, Ryann Hughes, and their leading scorer for the game with 16 points, scored a layup through a foul, with 2:05 remaining, which gave her team a 36-33 lead over Tullahoma. Hughes did not convert on the free throw, but Lawrence Co. was able to regain possession after the miss. They soon had a turnover after an over-and-back call by the official. On the other side of the court, after a good defensive possession from Lawrence Co., they fouled Tullahoma senior McLayne Bobo, sending her to the line for two free throws. Bobo, who has shown she has no issues in showing up in big moments throughout her high school career, rose to the moment in this spot for Tullahoma. She knocked down both free throws and brought the score line to 36-35. Lawrence County then, on their next possession, struggled again against the ‘Cats’ defense. They attacked the paint and turned the ball over. Frustrations boiled over from the compounding mistakes from Lawrence Co., and in an effort to get the ball back, Lawrence fouled, sending Tullahoma to the line again. And the player they fouled was the player who laced two charity shots no less than 30 ticks off the game clock ago, Bobo.

The star senior for Tullahoma stepped up and gave the Lady Wildcats the lead with 1:07 at 37-36. This trend of unfortunate possessions continued for Lawrence Co.

For a third straight possession, they failed to get a shot off and turned the ball over. This time, they did so with an errant pass that went out of bounds past the back baseline.

This back and forth went on for the remainder of the contest, with Bobo knocking down a couple more free throws and Lawrence getting a couple more turnovers, all eventually leading to a Lady Wildcat win. They are now 12-7 on the season and 2-0 in their district. Bobo led the Lady Wildcats in scoring in this contest with 14 points. The second leading scorer for Tullahoma was freshman Gena Hickerson, who had eight points.

 Tullahoma’s next game will be against Franklin County High School, right before the winter storm strikes on Friday, Jan. 23. The Lady Rebels this season currently have a record of 12-8.