NEWPORT-As a season progresses, teams usually find ways to improve.

Both Cocke County High School basketball squads improved in different ways on Monday night in their non-conference tilts with Pigeon Forge.

The Lady Red overcame a dreadful first half where they shot 9-of-39 from the field to run away from Pigeon Forge in the second half for a 57-41 win.

Ray Evans' Fighting Cocks used a 27-point first quarter to top the Tigers 74-51, a drastic improvement from the offensive woes Cocke County sustained on Friday night.

Second half sparks Lady Red

After a lackluster first half, the Lady Red (3-0) of Cocke County were determined to right the wrongs they had made in the first half. Jumping out to an 11-4 lead late in the first quarter, the Lady Tigers (2-1) closed the half by outscoring Cocke County 19-13 by taking advantage of nine second quarter turnovers and a multitude of missed field-goal attempts.

First-year Cocke County coach Wade Wester said he thought his team settled for too much while Pigeon Forge made their run.

"I felt like we started out settling for jumpers again," Wester said. "We can't do that when we have Allie, Jalese and Shannon on our team.

"That's where we have to be patient," Wester said. "We're not going to beat a Morristown West or a Greeneville like that mentally.

Cocke County's Shannon Depew and Alex Suggs were determined to better their play in the game's second half.

Depew was only 2-of-9 from the field in the game's first half, but rebounded with one of her better halves in a Lady Red uniform. The 5-foot-10 junior missed only one shot from the field and closed the night with her second double-double of the season.

Depew finished with a game-high 17 points and 15 rebounds for her squad.

"I felt like Shannon stepped up in the second half and played like a woman," Wester said. "She really stepped up and responded (after the first half)."

Meanwhile, four consecutive plays at the end of the third quarter by her teammate Suggs allowed the Lady Red to pull away from the Lady Tigers.

On the offensive end, Suggs drove to the basket on two consecutive plays to widen her team's lead. Then the senior guard made her presence known on the defensive side of the court, by recording two steals - as she contributed to an 8-0 run that placed the Lady Red in firm control of the game.

That 8-0 run widened the Cocke County lead to 41-27 and the Lady Red's fourth quarter defense stifled Pigeon Forge long enough for the Lady Red to open up a 51-33 lead in the final two minutes of the game.

Cocke County (57): Shannon Depew 17, Jalese Pruitt 10, Alex Suggs 9, Courtney Lewis 8, Morgan Buda 4, Allie Sprouse 4, Kendra Walker 3, Nicole Ball 2.

Pigeon Forge (41): Chelsea Webb 16, Megan Kilgore 12, Sarah Carr 5, Ashlynn Trotter 4, Kelsey Brooks 3, Emily Hurst 1.

Team Stats

CCHS: 20/61 FG (32.8%), 17/27 FT (62.9%), 0/3 3-PT FG (0%), 48 RBS, 20 TO.

PFHS: 13/46 FG (28.2%), 13/19 FT (68.4%), 2/9 3-PT FG (22.2%), 25 RBS, 18 TO.

Fighting Cocks improve from last outing

Fourth-year Cocke County coach Ray Evans issued a message to his team following Friday's lackluster offensive performance in a 13-point loss to Sullivan Central.

That message worked.

Cocke County (2-0) responded with a much improved offensive effort, exploding for a 27-point first quarter on their way to breezing past Pigeon Forge (2-1).

"It is a definite improvement," Evans said. "We played much better tonight.

"We came out moving the ball better on offense and got us in a rhythm," Evans said. "We made more shots tonight."

Cocke County opened up a 27-15 lead after a quarter and led by 21 at halftime behind a solid shooting performance. Shooting the basketball had been an issue in the first two games of the season, as the Fighting Cocks made only four three-point baskets all season headed into Monday's game.

The team however made five against the Tigers, in completing a well-rounded offensive effort. All but three players broke into the scoring column for the team, in what was a very even scoring distribution for the Fighting Cocks.

Evans said that the scoring distribution represents the depth of his team and the ability of those players to score.

"We're not going to have someone come in every night and score 20 to 25 points," Evans said. "We might get one (to score 20 to 25 points) every now and then.

"For the most part, we have 10 to 12 guys go in and they're going to have to chip in 2, 4, 6, or 8 points for us to be successful," Evans said.

Cocke County (74): Marcus Stewart 14, Luke Ottinger 10, Jeramie Haney 10, Chris James 9, Travis Glenn 6, Josh Wice 5, Dustin Ball 5, Hunter Dockery 4, Barry Huffhines 4, William Carmichael 4, Holden Collett 3.

Pigeon Forge (50): Cody Dixon 16, Mark Issacs 10, Justin Carter 9, Justin Kilgore 5, Adam Guinn 5, Ben Cave 3, Billy Hewitt 2.

Team Stats

CCHS: 25/61 FG (40.9%), 16/27 FT (59.2%), 5/11 3-PT FG (45.4%), 46 RBS, 19 TO.

PFHS: 15/46 (32.6%), 14/26 FT (53.8%), 3/9 3-PT FG (33.3%), 31 RBS, 19 TO.

Up Next: Cocke County returns to the hardwood in two different locations this afternoon as they begin Thanksgiving holiday tournament play.

The Lady Red travel to Knox Central High School where they will participate in the Wazoo Sports HoopFeast Classic. Cocke County takes on Science Hill in the first of three scheduled meetings between two squads this year and tip off is slated for 4:15 p.m.

The Fighting Cocks travel to Greeneville for the opening round of the LandAir Tipoff Classic. Cocke County takes on Ecole Secondare (Canada) at 4 p.m. at Hal Henard Gymnasium.