GREENEVILLE-An ugly, sloppy game turned into a critical win for the Cocke County High School Lady Red on Friday morning at the 24th annual LandAir Ladies' Classic.

Cocke County forced 40 turnovers and overcame a seven-point deficit in the final minutes to earn a 58-50 win over District 2-AAA foe Morristown East in the consolation bracket of the annual tournament held at Hal Henard Gymnasium.

Cocke County advanced to another consolation game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Holy Name High (Ohio). Morristown East was eliminated from the tournament after suffering their third consecutive loss.

"We needed a win bad for our confidence," Cocke County coach Jeremy Byrd said. "We lost two straight and we haven't played very well.

"We needed a feel-good win for a little bit more confidence," Byrd said. "It wasn't pretty at all, but we still found a way to win."

For the full story, see the December 29-30 Weekend Edition of the Newport Plain Talk.