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RUTLEDGE- Grainger found the first game of a long homestand to their liking as the Lady Grizzlies downed Cherokee 54-28 Tuesday night at The Den.

The game was the first of four straight games in Rutledge and Maddie Hurst led the way with 15 points.

“I told our bunch at the end of the game they have to get used to the fact that nothing is going to come easy for us so we have to work and grind for everything we get,” Grainger head coach Rusty Bishop said. “I felt like offensively, we got a lot of good looks, we just didn’t make the shots. We got into foul trouble in the first half and Jaylee Hayes, Adison Hayes and Alyvia Sneed came in and gave us some great minutes off the bench as they played well late in the second quarter and stretched the lead.”

The opening period went back and forth until two Hurst free throws gave them a 12-8 advantage.

The second frame was more of the same as the Lady Chiefs were only down by three points when Bella Markham, who led Cherokee with nine points in the game, connected on a three. After that, however, Grainger took control as they ended the first half on a 9-0 run which included seven points by Sneed. The Lady Grizzlies led 28-16 at halftime. “I was really disappointed in our first quarter defensive intensity as we had a hard time keeping Macy McDavid in front of us as she is a really good player and Markham made some threes in transition,” Bishop said.

Makayla Scott opened the second half with a basket and then rounded out the third period with a hoop-and-harm play to put Grainger ahead 38-20. Hurst started period number four in similar fashion as she was fouled on her way to the basket and completed the traditional three-point play at the line.

That sequence was part of an overall 11-2 series that gave the home team a very comfortable lead. Cherokee played better down the stretch which included a downtown shot by Ava Morgan but Grainger was on the winning side with a 54-28 final. “Overall, we played hard and we do that every night and it may not always be pretty but as a coach, all you can do is ask them to play hard and this team certainly does that,” Bishop stated.

“We mismanaged a couple of possessions at the end of the first half,” Cherokee head coach Jason Lawson said after the game. “I told our team in the locker room at halftime we played a solid 12 minutes but the last four bit us. That kind of opened the game for Grainger and from then on out, we were chasing them. I told our team they couldn’t have played any harder as our kids really sold out and did what we asked of them. We were getting good looks and getting to the rim but we just didn’t have any luck and hopefully we will keep our confidence and use that defensive effort to build off of and hopefully we can get the offense rolling.”

Grainger will be at home on Friday as they step out of conference play to host South Greene and the Lady Chiefs face Cocke County next Tuesday.

Washburn 50, Hancock County 14

Braelyn Coffey scored almost half of Washburn’s points on Tuesday and outscored Hancock County by herself as Washburn cruised to the win.

Washburn moved to 14-9 on the season with the win.

Coffey finished the game with 24 points, going 5-7 from the field and a perfect 11-11 from the charity stripe. Coffey added 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

Along with Coffey, Ebany Hill finished with nine points while Saylor Clay added eight. Other scorers for Washburn were Megan Beeler with six, Hannah Williams with one, Rylie Nicely with one and Callie Nicley with one.

Washburn held Hancock County to single digits in all four quarters and led 22-7 at the half.

Washburn will be back in action on Friday as they host Jellico for a district contest. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.