If we can pick up where we leave off, the sky is the limit next year”

Community Head Coach Coach Cody Pierce

LYLES, Tenn. – After a five-point win at Decatur County Riverside on Friday, the Community Viqueens (16-14, 4-4) struggled to generate enough offense against the Loretto Lady Mustangs (19-10, 6-2) in a 43-30 defeat in the Region 5-AA Semifinal at East Hickman High School on Monday.

“This team was pretty special,” said Viqueens’ head coach Cody Pierce, “We had some bad losses, some close losses early in the year, and this group was able to still stay focused. We had that snow break, and we had some really good practices. That last practice we had, I said that we’re about to make a run. I could just see it in the team, and I could see it in the kids. The only team that we lost to for a month and a half was Loretto.”

Leading into Monday’s contest, Community had won seven of their last nine games while Loretto was on an eight-game winning streak. 

The Viqueens managed to set the tone early on, taking an 8-3 lead at the end of the opening period thanks to the same stingy and stifling defense that has come to define this team for the last month-and-a-half. 

However, in the second quarter, Community was unable to match any offense with the defense, scoring just one field goal – a Savannah Pearson three-pointer – and finishing with just four points in the frame as Loretto closed back to trim the lead to two points. Then, Sophie Weathers – who finished with a game-high 20 points – was able to knock in a go-ahead three-pointer to send the Lady Mustangs into the halftime locker room with a 13-12 lead.

Coming out for the second half, the Viqueens managed to find some rhythm offensively, but then they began to turn the ball over against the Lady Mustangs full court press. In all, Community turned the ball over six times in the backcourt, allowing Loretto to generate quick offense from their defense and build an advantage. Then, Alexa Crosby found herself open on the left wing, and Ally Augustine found her in time to connect on her only three-pointer of the night to beat the buzzer and give the District 9-AA Champions a three-possession lead heading into the final frame.

 “Half court they [Loretto] are a great defensive team, but the full court gets to us so bad, and it creates so many problems within our offense,” said Pierce, “We weren’t able to get into a flow in our offense, and we weren’t able to hit the actions that we want to hit. It was like that all four times we played them, they’re just a good team and a good program. It’s hard to put them out.”

In the fourth quarter, the Loretto lead swelled to as large as 16 points, 42-26, as the Viqueens continued to struggle against the pressure. Eventually, Anna Haskins connected on a triple, Madisyn Hill scored a pair of layups, but it was too little too late as the Lady Mustangs coasted to the 13-point win. Weathers scored nine of her 20 points in the fourth period alone.

Savannah Pearson, Anna Haskins, and Alyssa White all finished with seven points to lead the Viqueens. Haskins will depart as the lone senior, and the impact she leaves on the basketball program cannot be overstated.

“Anna [Haskins] has been a great player for us,” Pierce said, “She’s been our best scorer for three years, almost four years, but the biggest thing about her is she has high character. She’s a great kid, she’s not going to miss anything, and she’s what I want kids to be in this program. I can’t talk about her character enough, she’s a really good kid.”

Moving into 2026-27, Community has set the bar high with a ton of room to grow for next season, as they plan to return all but one player from a promising squad.

“One thing I told them in the locker room was that we’ve got to pick up where we leave off right here,” Pierce said, “Let’s not go backwards, let’s not stay the same, let’s move forward, and I think this group will. We’ll have a big freshman class coming in and there will be some players in that group. If we can pick up where we leave off, the sky is the limit next year.”

The Viqueens finish the 2025-26 season with a 16-14 record overall.

COMMUNITY: A. Haskins 7 (1), S. Pearson 7 (1), A. White 7, S. Flannagan 5, M. Hill 4. 

LORETTO: S. Weathers 20 (2), A. Augustine 9, J. Chance 7, A. Crosby 5 (1), K. Stutts 2.