BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. – For the first time since January 25, 2019, the Cascade Lady Champions (11-3) took down the Moore County Raiderettes (6-4), 55-52, on a game-winning, buzzer-beating half-court heave from Kaegan Young on Saturday.

Young finished the game with three different buzzer-beaters – a three-pointer to close the first period, a layup to beat the third-quarter buzzer, and then the half-court connection from the left side of the court to give Cascade their first and only lead of the game.

Moore County seemed to be pulling away early in the fourth, but then Lizzie Keele connected on a right-wing three-pointer with 5:20 left to pull Cascade within four, 48-44. Even still, the two teams combined for just six points over the next three-and-a-half minutes resulting in Moore County taking a 52-46 lead with just under two minutes to go. 

However, the game seemed to flip when Caroline Parker drove to the basket and drew the fifth foul against Moore County’s star center, Bella Tucker. Parker nailed both free throws to get back within four with 1:42 left to play. Seconds later, Parker scored her eighth point of the game on a layup following a steal in the Lady Champs’ full-court press. Moore County turned the ball over again, but a missed layup by Jocelyn Laughlin took the Raiderettes off the hook, if only momentarily. 

After Moore County finally was able to get the ball into the front court, they were tasked with throwing the ball in from the left sideline. With 33.1 seconds to go, Ally Sharp, who led the Raiderettes with 18 points on the night committed a backcourt violation for one of the visitors’ 10 fourth-quarter turnovers, resulting in Keele’s game-tying layup with 15 seconds remaining. 

Moore County had a timeout, but chose not to use it in the commotion, allowing Sharpe to get up a decent look in the paint. However, she missed, and the outlet pass on the rebound was deflected by a Raiderette with 3.1 seconds left to play. Inbounding on the left sideline in front of the home crowd, Caroline Parker passed it to Young, who took two dribbles before firing on the run just across the midcourt line as the clock expired, swishing home the game-winning bucket to complete the improbable comeback.

Kaegan Young (22) nails one of her three three-pointers in Saturday's win over Moore County. Young led all scorers with 24 points, including 18 in the second half alone.

David Smith

“This group just never gives up,” Cascade Head Coach Janie Demonbreum said, “we talk about it all the time but they just keep fighting. For stretches of this game, it felt like we were down by 30 instead of 10, but we just continued to find ways to stay in the game.”

Cascade came into the game down a starter in Suzanna Crews, due to illness, as well as a rotational piece in Makenzie Fisher, but the Lady Champions next-man-up mentality allowed the hosts to persevere and find a way to win.

Moore County committed an incredible 28 turnovers, including 10 in the fourth quarter alone as Cascade found a way to overcome a 10-point deficit, 46-36, entering the fourth.

Young led all scorers with 24 points on a hyper-efficient 9/13 shooting, Keele finished with 14 points, and Parker chipped in with eight points for the Lady Champions. Meanwhile, the Raiderettes were led by Ally Sharpe’s 18 point-outing –although she committed eight turnovers – as well as 13 points from Bella Tucker.

Early on, Cascade struggled to find any rhythm against Moore County’s 2-3 zone, trailing 15-5 before Young’s buzzer-beating three-pointer to close the opening period to trim the lead to seven points. In the second period, the Raiderettes outscored Cascade, 18-14, to take a 33-22 lead into the halftime locker room. 

The Lady Champions were able to play even with Moore County, outscoring the visitors by one point, 14-13, but they still trailed by 10 entering the final frame.

In the fourth, Cascade held the Raiderettes to just seven points, closing out the game on a monstrous 15-4 run.

Cascade improves to 11-3 overall. The Lady Champions take on Fayetteville City in the second game of the season series on Friday, January 2nd, with tip-off set for 6:00 p.m.