Lady Raiders rout Lebanon

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — It took between five and 10 minutes for the after-game celebration following Cleveland’s victory Saturday to reach its apex. It built from nonexistent to subdued.

Immediately after the third-ranked Lady Blue Raiders defeated Lebanon 60-25 in their Class AAA high school basketball state sectional, coach Rachel Moore whisked her team away to the locker room.

A few minutes later, the players were allowed to return to the floor to greet the fans who stuck around. It was actually more of a mingling than a celebration.

That’s because Cleveland (31-2) and its three senior leaders have won a home game at the sectional level every year of their careers. Sectional winnners advance to the state tournament at Murfreesboro starting Wednesday.

The Lady Raiders’ state-tournament record over that span is 1-3 with no trips to any championship game. Moore’s postgame tactic Saturday was something different than the previous seasons. They’re hoping the biggest difference comes in how their season ends.

“The first thing we changed was I didn’t want them staying up here and celebrating with everybody right after the game like we’ve done in the past,” Moore said. “There’s nothing wrong with some celebration. I want them to enjoy this. But this is not what we set out to do. All year long we’ve talked about winning our last game. We still have that opportunity.”

It was not a particularly good shooting night for the Lady Raiders. They scored six points in the second quarter but held Lebanon (20-14) to two.

The game was scoreless when Moore called time out with 5:22 to play in the opening quarter.

“I just thought we were not in sync,” Moore said.”We were showing some nervousness, and nervousness shows on the offensive end. You can get by with it a little bit on the defensive end. I didn’t want to go another trip and not score and us end up frustrated.”

Cleveland did go without scoring on that possession, but sophomore Morgan Isom made a layup after a Lebanon turnover and she added four free throws within a span of 25 seconds.

Senior point guard Rachael Isom, Morgan’s sister, made it 8-0 with a steal and a layup at the 4:14 mark. She ended up leading the Lady Raiders with 19 points. The next closest teammate was reserve Q’Schara Brown with 12.

“It always helps to shoot the ball well, but the main things we’ve been focusing on are our intensity on defense, being where we’re supposed to be and hitting the boards hard and rebounding,” Rachael Isom said. “We try to use our defense to create offense. Shots are going to fall if you do what you should be doing.”

Cleveland did shine on the defensive end, which made up for seniors Michelle Davis and Cacy Burtnett scoring a combined 10 points. They were busy holding the Devilettes’ version of twin towers — sisters London and Icelyn Elie — to 10 points between them. Foul trouble also contributed.

“They’re both really, really athletic,” Burtnett said. “I give them credit. We were tired when it was over.”

The sectional also marked the seniors’ final home game. Burtnett said that hasn’t hit her yet.

“It’s a pretty good way to leave the dome,” Rachael Isom said.