Lenoir City Middle School basketball took a trip across Loudon County Monday night to meet the Warriors of Philadelphia.

The girls took the court first, and Philadelphia's defense was able to create problems for the Lady Panthers, leading to a 49-26 win for the Lady Warriors.

“I thought we played pretty good,” Philadelphia coach Patrick Bethel said. “You could tell we had a break. It's hard going off Thanksgiving break and then coming back to play with almost four or five days off, but I thought we played pretty well.”

Two of the Lady Warriors' starters, Molly Brewster and Mariah Small, picked up four fouls in the game. Bethel said he was happy with how the seventh-graders who filled in were able to step up.

Bethel's Lady Warriors were not the only ones to find themselves in foul trouble. Lenoir City starter Marissa Ballinger fouled out of the game and Emmah Click picked up four. Three other Lady Panthers picked up three fouls.

In total, Philadelphia took 27 shots at the free throw line, making 15. Briana Baxter led both teams in getting to the charity stripe, shooting 13 foul shots, many coming from second-chance attempts on offensive rebounds, an area Lenoir City struggled to defend Monday.

Cana Massey led the Lady Warriors in scoring with 15 points and made six shots from the field. Baxter scored 14 and Small added 10.

Jalia Arnwine scored 10 to lead the Lady Panthers, but scored just one point in the second half, when Lenoir City scored just 13 total. Lady Panthers' coach Rachel Gray said she was not happy with her team's performance.

“They've got a good team, they've got some good ball players,” Bethel said. “It's a good win.”

After weathering a preseason schedule that had Philadelphia playing a slate of large schools, which Bethel said he feels helped his team get better, the Lady Warriors are 5-0 to start the regular season.

Lenoir City's boys, 7-1 on the season, rode a 20-point first quarter on the way to a 54-22 win over Philadelphia.

Three-point shots were falling for the Panthers, who knocked down seven total. Four came from Clay Campbell, who led the team with 20 points. Joe Pace scored 20 and Jacob Tufts added 10. Lenoir City was able to get 13 players into the game.

“We were a little sluggish. We've been off for a week and a half,” Lenoir City coach Travis Gaskins said. “You could tell from the get go we hadn't played in a week. We were a little out of sync, but overall I think we'll be ready for a big game.”

Lenoir City hosted North Middle School Tuesday night after the News-Herald presstime. The Panthers travel to Midway Thursday. Philadelphia does not play again until they host Greenback Monday.