Morristown - The Lady Bulldogs of Claiborne County advanced to the semifinals of the District 2 AA tournament as they defeated the Lady Pioneers of Rutledge 60-47.

Claiborne County fell behind at the beginning of the game 4-0 and last trailed at 12-10.

The Lady Bulldogs then applied a sticky full court press and scored the last seven points of the quarter to take at 17-12 lead at the end of the first stanza.

Although the Lady Pioneers hung close at 21-16 early in the second quarter, they were unable to deal with the defensive pressure from the Lady Bulldogs who outscored Rutledge 17-4 to take a 38-20 half time lead.

The pressure defense, led by Whitney Parky, continued in the third quarter as the Lady Bulldogs expanded the lead to 51-27 late in the third quarter. A late scoring flurry by the Lady Pioneers cut the final margin to 60-47.

The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by Bonnie DeBusk with 16 points, followed by Michelle Simmons with 15, and Whitney Parky with 11.

The Lady Pioneers were led in scoring by Bridget Roberts with ten points and Casey Wolfenbarger with nine. A total of nine Lady Pioneers broke into the scoring column.

The win moves Claiborne County into the semifinal game with top seeded Pigeon Forge who defeated Cumberland Gap 84-35 in the first game of the tournament. The game will be played Thursday, Feb. 24 at 4:00 p.m.

---

Claiborne Co. 17 21 13 9 - 60

Rutledge 12 8 11 16 - 47

Rutledge - Bridget Roberts10, Casey Wolfenbarger 9, Kacey Roach 6, Sara Wallace 5, Ashley Welch 5, Lauren Farrar 4, Lindsey Webster 4, Kendall Brabson 4.

Claiborne County - Bonnie DeBusk 16, Michelle Simmons 15, Whitney Parky 11, Lea Johnson 7, Kealey Bundren 4, Sara Jennings 2, Tosha Hatfield 2, Ashley Short 2, Chelsea Pressnell 1.