By Josh Holland
The Lady Raiders visited Warren Central for their second district matchup of the season and the Lady Dragons’ first of the year.
Central flew out to a 16-4 advantage behind six early points from Lashae Halsel before Cailyn Howard contributed to the Lady Raider cause. A three from Howard and a few free throws helped East cut the lead down to ten. Then Tia Barnett took over for the Lady Dragons with consecutive three-point buckets to expand the lead back out to fifteen. Tia Barnett led all scorers in the first half with ten and led the Lady Dragons to a 31-14 advantage at the break.
The Lady Dragons started the second half the way they finished the first, with a hot Tia Barnett. Barnett scored 15 points in the third quarter and led the Lady Dragons on a 27-4 run to start the third period and the Dragons would close out the Raiders 62-22. Noochi Patterson notched a few fast break buckets during that stretch and and Zacoria Hill continued to make an impact down low while Halsel sat on the bench in foul trouble.
Brooklyn Gilbert made an impact on the glass late in the third and made her first bucket of the game to finish with four points. Carrie Abney also added a second half bucket for the Lady Raiders.
Warren East returns to action on Tuesday in a region double header against Barren County. Warren Central travels to Russellville Saturday night.
