MORRISTOWN-The second meeting of Top Ten teams in a week had the same results as the first.

Top-ranked Morristown West used a large second quarter run to put down the ninth-rated Cocke County Lady Red by 21 at halftime, a deficit they never recovered from in a 61-41 loss. Morristown West opened their 21-point halftime lead after 2009 Miss Basketball Finalist Taylor Hall was only able to log seven minutes due to foul trouble.

In the evening's second game, Cocke County used a 42-point second half performance to cruise past the Trojans with a 74-63 win.

 

LADY TROJANS FIND ANOTHER WAY AROUND CCHS

Last week, the Morristown West Lady Trojans (AP No. 1, Class AAA; 23-1, 13-0) beat Cocke County (AP No. 9, Class AAA; 18-6, 8-4) with extensive pressure and scoring 41 points off of 31 turnovers.

This week, they found another way to cap off another dominating performance over their closest competitor in District 2-AAA. And a lot of the usual scenarios went by the wayside.

Morristown West's Taylor Hall played only seven first half minutes, but saw no ill-affects as they actually increased their lead without the All-State player in the lineup.

Without Hall in the game, the Lady Trojans were also able to control the offensive glass, which enabled them to post 11 second chance points in the period and a 25-6 advantage throughout the entire game.

Overall, Morristown West held a 37-30 advantage on the boards, including 14 offensive rebounds against a lineup that was significantly taller at times. Last week, Cocke County out rebounded the Lady Trojans by five and controlled the half court sets.

"(Cocke County is) tough, big and strong (on the inside)," Morristown West coach Johnny Galyon said. "We look at stats at the end; we won the rebounding war against one of the better rebounding teams in East Tennessee.

"That's a hats off to us," Galyon said.

Cocke County coach Wade Wester said that Morristown West's first half effort with limited playing time from their leader allowed everyone to see how well-coached the oiled machine of the Lady Trojans are.

"I couldn't believe that Taylor Hall gets into foul trouble and they get better," Wester said. "That shows how disciplined they are, how smart they are and how good of a basketball team they are.

"They're not a one-man team, they're a well-balanced team with good shooters and defenders," Wester said. "You can't say enough about them."

The Lady Trojans showed their well-balanced ability with quality shooters by closing the half with three straight three-point baskets. The barrage allowed Morristown West to increase their lead from 30-18 with 2:01 before halftime to 39-18.

Freshman Lindsey Wild drained two of those baskets and added two more throughout the half to give the team a huge spark when they needed it most.

"(Wild) gave us a big time spark," Galyon said. "She hit four in the first half and if she would've had a good coach, she may have hit more in the second half.

"We played about as well as we wanted to play," Galyon said.  "Our young kids stepped in and gave us a spark and we did it with our best on the bench."

Wester said his team's zone defense may have been the cause for the barrage of West three-point shots, in which the Lady Trojans connected 7-of-14 in the first half, but went 0-of-7 in the second half after employing more man-to-man principles.

"I felt like our zone was a little slower and they were able to get their shots off a little quicker," Wester said. "They had a really good first half offensively, that set the tone."

Shannon Depew kept the Lady Red afloat in the first half, scoring 11 of their 18 total points. Although Depew, who logged 29 minutes, was held to one-point in the second half, she was instrumental in leading the team despite playing with leg cramps most of the second half and leaving the game two minutes early.

Cocke Count rallied in the third quarter, cutting the Lady Trojans lead to 11, by almost exclusively running their offense through 6-foot-2 junior Allie Sprouse. Sprouse scored 10 of her 12 points in the third period as she touched the ball on almost every possession.

Sprouse's efforts had her team trailing 47-36 after three quarters.

Cocke County however got away from that in the fourth quarter, with six of their first seven shots coming from behind the arc and connecting on only one long-range shot.

"My team battled back and cut it to 11-points at one point. We did a lot of great things, especially cutting back on our turnovers," Wester said. "But, I felt like we kind of panicked at the end and started jacking some shots when we should've been more patient."

Wester said despite the loss, the team must regroup with two pivotal conference games in the final week of the regular season. If the Lady Red can beat Seymour and Jefferson County, they will claim sole possession of second place in the league.

"Am I disappointed? Yeah. I thought we had a good chance after how we played the other night with them," Wester said. "I hope we're not happy, but I hope we're not down, because next week is really important for us. We need to regroup and come ready to play next week."

COCKE COUNTY (41): Shannon Depew 4-10 1-2 12; Allie Sprouse 5-12 2-6 12; Jayla Lane 2-6 2-2 8; Kendra Walker 1-3 0-0 3; Cidney Ball 1-2 0-0 2; Nicole Ball 1-1 0-0 2; Jalese Pruitt 1-4 0-2 2; Alison Atha 0-0 0-0 0; Ashley Gregg 0-0 0-0 0; Samantha Ray 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 15-39 5-13 41.

MORRISTOWN WEST (61): Megan Fanney 5-11 4-7 15; Lindsey Wild 4-8 0-0 12; Taylor Hall 3-11 4-4 11; Allison Jones 3-7 3-5 9; Kelley Smith 2-6 1-2 6; Sierra Lyons 2-5 1-2 5; Sidney Goins 1-3 0-0 2; Tori Ray 0-0 1-2 1; Summer Kerley 0-0 0-0 0; Shelby May 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-51 14-22 61.

 

3-point goals--Cocke County 6-17 (Shannon Depew 3-7; Jayla Lane 2-6; Kendra Walker 1-2; Jalese Pruitt 0-1; Samantha Ray 0-1), Morristown West 7-21 (Lindsey Wild 4-6; Megan Fanney 1-1; Taylor Hall 1-7; Kelley Smith 1-3; Sidney Goins 0-2; Allison Jones 0-2). Fouled out--Cocke County-None, Morristown West-None. Rebounds--Cocke County 30 (Allie Sprouse 8), Morristown West 37 (Taylor Hall 5; Sidney Goins 5; Lindsey Wild 5). Assists--Cocke County 11 (Shannon Depew 3; Jalese Pruitt 3), Morristown West 9 (Megan Fanney 5). Total fouls--Cocke County 16, Morristown West 14. Technical fouls--Cocke County-TEAM, Morristown West-None.

 

FIGHTING COCKS CRUISE IN SECOND HALF

Leading by two points at halftime, the Cocke County Fighting Cocks used an offensive display to cruise past Morristown West on Friday night.

Cocke County (16-7, 7-5) scored 42 second half points behind a strong second half from senior Jeramie Haney to move past the Trojans (6-18, 2-11) and keep pace with Morristown East, who upset first place Sevier County on Friday, for third place in the league standings.

Fighting Cocks coach Ray Evans said that while he was pleased at his team's offensive numbers, he wishes that the team would've played consistently on defense, which allowed Morristown West to play close for most of the third quarter.

"I thought we were up and down tonight," Evans said. "We'd make a run here and there.

"Offensively we kept ourselves on an even-keel, but then our defense would relax at times," Evans said. "We didn't really play consistent defensively."

Cocke County however did limit West High's Anthony Sanders offensively after a career night last Thursday in Newport. Sanders scored 34 points in the last meeting, but was held to 17 points on Friday.

A large factor in that decision was Cocke County not allowing the Trojans to beat them at their own, fast-paced tempo game.

Morristown West had 24 fast-break points last Thursday but was held to only four on Friday.

"We just made sure we got back," said Evans of his team's ability to limit the fast break opportunities. "We want to play a fast-tempo game, but last week they beat us in their own game.

"We worked on it in practice and getting down the floor," Evans said. "We just made sure we got back and not give them easy baskets."

Easy looks were hard to come by, as Cocke County dominated the interior game, outscoring the Trojans 38-22 in the paint; however the Fighting Cocks also hit on seven three-point shots, equaling a well-balanced night.

Their offense was also efficient as the team doled out 17 assists, their second highest total of the season, on 28 made field-goals. CCHS senior point guard Casey Ragan had a team-high seven assists, despite leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent hand injury.

"We distributed the ball well tonight," Evans said. "When we penetrate and kick out, that's when we shoot our best, and when we shoot well, we're tough to beat."

COCKE COUNTY (74): Jeramie Haney 8-11 2-3 18; Casey Ragan 3-7 4-4 12; Chase Atkins 5-16 0-0 10; Jared McGaha 3-5 0-0 9; Krys Cates 4-6 0-0 9; Marcus Stewart 3-10 1-2 8; Heath Ford 1-4 2-2 4; Logan Suggs 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 28-61 11-13 74.

MORRISTOWN WEST (63): Elliott Stone 7-20 4-4 19; Anthony Sanders 5-9 6-7 17; Christian Gordon 5-7 0-0 13; Chad Brooks 3-8 0-2 8; Daniel Butler 1-3 0-0 3; Bowe Craine 1-6 1-2 3; Michael Cantwell 0-1 0-0 0; Ryan Brady 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 11-15 63.

 

3-point goals--Cocke County 7-19 (Jared McGaha 3-4; Casey Ragan 2-4;

Krys Cates 1-2; Marcus Stewart 1-4; Heath Ford 0-3; Jeramie Haney 0-2),

Morristown West 8-22 (Christian Gordon 3-5; Chad Brooks 2-6; Elliott Stone 1-6; Anthony Sanders 1-2; Daniel Butler 1-2; Bowe Craine 0-1). Fouled out--Cocke County-None, Morristown West-Christian Gordon. Rebounds-Cocke County 38 (Chase Atkins 9), Morristown West 32 (Elliott Stone 8). Assists--Cocke County 17 (Casey Ragan 7), Morristown West 10 (Anthony Sanders 7). Total fouls--Cocke County 14, Morristown West 16. Technical fouls--Cocke County-Heath Ford, Morristown West-TEAM.

 

DISTRICT 2-AAA ACTION

Three games were on tap for action on Friday night, with Morristown East sweeping Sevier County, Cherokee sweeping South Doyle and Jefferson County earning a split at Seymour, as the Lady Eagles knocked off the Lady Patriots.

Friday's games leave the following standings. In the girls' league: Morristown West (13-0), Cocke County (8-4), Jefferson County (8-5), Seymour (7-5), Morristown East (7-7), Sevier County (6-7), Cherokee (2-11), South Doyle (1-13).

Boys' standings are: Jefferson County (12-1), Sevier County (11-2), Morristown East (9-5), Cocke County (7-5), Cherokee (5-8), South Doyle (4-10), Seymour (2-10), Morristown West (2-11).

 

UP NEXT

Cocke County returns to action on Tuesday night when they host Seymour in the regular season home finale. Tip-off of varsity action is set for 6:30 p.m. Senior Night Festivities will occur between varsity games.