The Upperman Lady Bees will head to Sparta Tuesday night to face the Warriorettes.
The Lady Bees look to stay alive for a number one seed and a share of the regular season championship as they face the only team above them in the district. White County stands 8-0 in the district, two games ahead of the Lady Bees of second place, and can clinch an outright regular season title with a victory tonight. White County Head Coach Michael Dodgen said tonight gives his team an opportunity to play against tough competition.
“You get to play in front of your home people,” Dodgen said. “It’s real thrilling to play in front of these people night in and night out and see the support that they have for our young ladies.”
White County defeated Upperman as part of their 13 game win streak back in January; they look to sweep the series against an Upperman team that comes in having won three straight.
“Two good teams play, somebody loses, right?” Upperman Head Coach Dana McWilliams said. “Really no panic on our end. We feel we played good competition all year and when you do that, sometimes you don’t win and so, you know, we’re just gonna try to build off this and improve our game and move on to the next game.”
Upperman lost to White County in their first matchup 45-33 on January 21st.
“When you get into district tournament play, you kind of have to refocus and get yourself ready to go.” Dodgen said. “Everybody resets and starts back at zero and zero but for right now, obviously, our main goal is to get a win tonight against Upperman and close out being the one seed without any tiebreakers and take care of that on our home floor tonight.”
Upperman will seek their first win against Sparta since January 20, 2023 when they hung on to defeat Sparta 49-46 in their only matchup that season. White County has since won the last three matchups and looks to clinch the regular season championship and a number one seed in district tournament play.
The Lady Bees could fall to as low as fourth place depending on the outcome of the game.