MORRISTOWN-As big as early season wins can be, none came bigger for the Cocke County Lady Red on Tuesday night.

The Lady Red used a strong third quarter and played solid defense in the second half to pull out a 61-57 victory over defending District 2-AAA champion Morristown East High School in the league opener for both schools.

Cocke County faced a 43-40 deficit late in the third quarter, but rebounded with a 9-0 over the final 2:27 of the period to take the lead for good.

"This was a big win for us," first-year Lady Red coach Jeremy Byrd said. "I love the way, at a couple of points in the third and fourth quarter after we had built a lead and (Morristown East) got back in it - we could've thrown in the towel and given up and we didn't.

"I'm really impressed with that, it was an emotional victory for us and the girls really earned that game," Byrd said. "They played their butts off and this is just the first rung of the ladder where this team can make it."

For the full story, see the December 6 edition of the Newport Plain Talk.