The Sparta Lady Warriors were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten Friday night, the number-three team in the state conquered by the Lady Tigers, 78-68.

“It was a total team effort,” said Coach Danny Fish of his squad’s win over the 16-0 White County team, the victory giving them a measure of revenge for their 63-58 loss in Sparta back in November. It was one of the four losses the DeKalb girls have suffered this year, the latest two losses coming over the holidays during the Smoky Mountain Classic in Gatlinburg.

Coming into the game with a two-game losing streak, the Lady Tigers came out strong, holding steady with their unbeaten visitors despite Mia Murray getting six in the first quarter for the Lady Warriors. She led her squad with 23 points on the night, taking the ball to the hoop aggressively anytime she touched the ball. Kadee Ferrell was the saving grace for the Lady Tigers in the first as she accounted for seven of the home team’s 10 opening quarter points.

However, the second period belonged to Lydia Brown as she had 10 during the stanza, including three from the charity stripe. Her offensive output gave her squad a 32-29 lead at the break. Brown, who had 25 points on the night, picked up where she left off after half, accounting for seven third quarter points. She was joined in the offensive deluge by Kadee Ferrell who also had seven on her way to leading all scorers with 26. The consistent shooting and rebounding found the Lady Tigers with a 10-point lead going into the final frame.

With the fans on their feet in the packed DeKalb High gym, the hosts pushed their advantage to 15 thanks to two huge three-pointers by Joni Robinson. However, as most expected, Sparta had one more run, taking their final swing at their hosts despite trailing by 15 with three minutes to go. The White County press proved to be a two-edged sword as they were able to narrow the lead to seven with less than a minute to go but the numerous fouls coming out of the aggressive defense put the Lady Tigers on the line 20 times in the final quarter. Ferrell was the beneficiary, going eight for 10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter alone.

With their prowess from the foul line, the Lady Tigers were able to hold off the state-ranked Sparta squad, the win unleashing pandemonium with fans taking to the court to celebrate. The Lady Tigers are 12-4 with the win and are still unbeaten in the district. Helping in scoring in the win were Kenzie france, Joni Robinson and Emma Colwell, all with six, Mya Ruch with five and Mallori Hart with a deuce.

”We can beat anybody on any given night we play,” Coach Fish professed after the big win.

They won’t have to wait long to get their chance to prove it as they were to play host to state powerhouse and district foe Upperman Tuesday night before traveling to highly ranked Macon County Friday evening for another district tilt.

The Tigers weren't as fortunate in the night cap as they fell to the Warriors, 80-43. Nathan led the home team in scoring, scoring 12 to have the distinction of being the only Tiger in double digits. Dallas Cook added seven.

The blowout loss comes despite the fact the Tigers trailed by only seven at the half. However, the second half turned into a nightmare as the Warriors went on a scoring spree while the Tigers could only muster six points in the third and 10 in the fourth. The loss drops the Tigers to 1-15 on the season.