CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Battling a trio Top 6-ranked teams was tough enough, but seeing their top player re-aggravate an injury is a tough blow for the 10th-ranked Cleveland Lady Raiders.
"Lauren Hurst tweaked groin again at Bearden and we're not sure when she is returning," related second-year head coach Bianca Hensley of the 6-foot-3 Tennessee double signee after Tuesday's 55-43 loss at the hands of sixth-ranked Oak Ridge, at Raider Arena.
Tennessee signee Lauren Hurst missed the first half of the season nursing an injury suffered early in the volleyball season before returning to the hoop lineup a couple of weeks ago and performing very well for several games, but has missed the last three games, including Tuesday's 55-43 loss to No. 6 Oak Ridge.
Tweaking the groin injury against third-ranked Bearden a week ago, no time table has been set for her return to the lineup as the postseason tips off next week.
In Tuesday's nightcap, the Runnin' Raiders didn't back down from the seventh-ranked Wildcats, making a pair of big comebacks, but in the end came up short in a 72-49 tally.
Cleveland will wrap up the regular season with a trip of Rhea County Friday in the District 5-4A regular season finale.
LADY WILDCATS 55, LADY RAIDERS 43: After Oak Ridge (22-3) put the first two points on the board with a pair of free throws, Cleveland (19-7) netted the next eight points for an early advantage.
However, the Lady Raiders went cold after that missing 12 straight shots as the visitors went on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good.
Cleveland was able to battle back to even the score at 16-all, but Coach Paige (Redman) Taylor's crew exploded on a 14-3 run before taking a 30-21 edge into the halftime locker rooms.
The host stayed cold fro the field in the third frame, making just 2-of-13 shots as the difference grew to 41-26 heading into the final quarter.
After the Wildcats pushed the led to 17 points with the opening basket of the fourth frame, the Lady Raiders rallied to close the gap to single digits with an 8-0 streak.
However, the visitors pushed back with a 12-3 run to seal the 12-point victory, which was 10 points less than December's meeting in Oak Ridge.
The Lady Wildcats were led by Ze'Yana Stewart's game-high 20 points , while Ayana Porter netted 10. The Mitchell sisters combined for 17 points — Euliasha nine and eight from Evaiya.
Oak Ridge hit just 37.2% (19-for-51) from the field, with a half dozen 3-pointers, but were perfect on 11 free throws.
Cleveland was 6-of-25 (24%) beyond the arc and 7-for-27 (25.9%) in front of it, plus sank 11-of-16 (68.9%) at the charity stripe.
Sophomore Laney Copeland led the Lady Raiders with 17 points, including pair from long distance, plus she went 5-for-6 at the foul line.
Junior Illianis Rodriguez helped out with a trio of triples on her way to 13 points, plus she cleared five rebounds, copped five steals and handed out four assists.
Freshman Ariyah Huffman and senior Emma Smith both dropped in five points, with the former also pulling away a half dozen caroms and blocking a couple of shots.
Oak Ridge won the battle of the boards by a narrow 31-28 margin, but lost the turnover total 15-11.
WILDCATS 72, RUNNIN' RAIDERS 49: After scoring the game's first 13 points, Oak Ridge (21-3) led 21-7 at the first horn.
Cleveland (11-13), which fell by 22 points when the teams met earlier this season, answered with four goals from "downtown" as part of a 20-14 second period edge to trail by just eight at the intermission.
Coach Aaron Greene's Wildcats came out strong after the break, putting the first nine points on the scoreboard, but the Raiders responded with a 7-2 spurt to stay within striking distance.
The visitors were able to push the difference back to 15 (53-28) at the third buzzer before the host once again battled back to cut the deficit to just six points early in the final frame.
Oak Ridge capped off the victory with a final surge, pushing the winning tally to 23 points.
Of the Wildcats four double-digit scorers, Garrett Giles drilled four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points, while Ray'Quan Watson hit five from distance to finish with 21.
Senior Maguire Evans dialed long distance four times on his way to 14 points to top the Raiders in what could be his final home game, while classmate Tim Matthews netted 13.
Junior Barak Ndegwa dropped in eight points on Cleveland's Senior Night celebration.
The Raiders struggle from the floor, hitting just 15-of-51 (29.4%) from the field, plus added only 8-for-14 (57.1%) at the foul line.
GAME SUMMARIES
Tuesday, Feb. 11
at Raider Arena
Girls Game
Oak Ridge 11 19 11 14 — 55
Cleveland 8 13 5 17 — 43
LADY WILDCATS (55) — Ze'Yana Stewart 20, Ayana Porter 10, Euliesha Mitchell 9, Evaiya Mitchell 8, Cleveland 4, Pippens 2, Johnson 2.
LADY RAIDERS (43) — Laney Copeland 17, Illianis Rodriguez 13, Emma Smith 6, Ariyah Huffman 5, Davis 2, I. Smith, Gravelle, A. Bradford.
3-POINTERS: OR 5 (Porter 2, Ev. Mitchell, Eu. Mitchell, Stewart); CHS 6 (Rodriguez 3, Copeland 2, Huffman).
FREE THROWS: OR 11-of-11; CHS 11-of-16.
RECORDS: No. 6 Oak Ridge 22-3; No. 10 Cleveland 19-7.
Boys Game
Oak Ridge 21 14 18 19 — 72
Cleveland 7 20 11 11 — 49
WILDCATS (72) — Garrett Giles 25, Ray'quan Watson 21, Cooper Williams 11, Shamar Green 10, Taubenhiem 3, Howard 2, E. James, Jemmerson, Amos, Peters, Senor, D. James.
RAIDERS (49) — Maguire Evans 14, Tim Matthews 13, Baraka Ndegwa 8, Reinbold 4, Westfield 4, Miolen 4, Williams 2, Lovelace, James, Giannasio, Deloach, Krepps.
3-POINTERS: OR 10 (Watson 5, Giles 4, Taubenhiem); CHS 6 (Evans 4, Matthews).
FREE THROWS: OR 6-of-7; CHS 8-of-14
RECORDS: No. 7 Oak Ridge 21-3; Cleveland 11-13.