BY BRIAN HAMILTON
GATLINBURG – Many thought that this would be a very tough matchup for the Gatlinburg-Pittman. After all, the Lady Highlanders had to scratch and claw to get a tough 54-52 win over Moore County on Friday night. Many thought they would see a rematch of the GP-Cookeville championship game in the 2023 Christmas Classic. Lincoln County used hot shooting to thwart those plans and defeated Cookeville 69-56.
Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Tillie Trentham (11) looks to drive against the Lady Falcon defense. Photo by Brian Hamilton
The difference on Saturday evening was that Gatlinburg-Pittman’s threes were falling and the hot shooting from Friday night did not carry over for the Lady Panthers. The Lady Highlanders hit 10 threes in the first half alone, giving them 30 of their 42 first-half points in a 63-36 win over Lincoln County.
“We made a really good team not look so well tonight,” Gatlinburg-Pittman coach Katie Moore said. “I just think we came out with some extra confidence and a little more faith in themselves and it helped.”
The score was close early on, as the Gatlinburg-Pittman held a 5-4 lead before Maliyah Glasper hit a three-pointer to give the Lady Highlanders an 8-4 advantage with 5:10 left in the first quarter. Reagan Bragg would hit a three for Lincoln County to make the score 8-7, but then Gatlinburg-Pittman used a pair of threes by Glasper and Addi Wear, along with a layup by Tillie Trentham to end the quarter on a 12-0 run. The Lady Highlanders led 20-7 after the first period.
Abby Bryan would open the second quarter with a layup to snap the drought for Lincoln County, but Glasper would follow that with a three-pointer to push the Lady Highlanders’ lead to 23-9. Wear followed that with a pair of triples to make the score 29-9. A three by Cheyenne Byrd stretched the lead to 32-9 and before the crowd could realize it, Gatlinburg-Pittman was on another 12-0 run.
The Lady Highlanders were not done, however, as Wear drained another three to increase the run to 15-0 and give Gatlinburg a 35-9 advantage. Lincoln County would finally end the drought when Bryan was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three shots, making the score 35-12.
Grasen Tipps hit a three for the Lady Panthers to make the score 38-15 with just over one minute remaining in the first half, but Chloe Mejias hit a midrange jumper to make the score 40-15 with 40 seconds left. Tipps came down and drained a long two-pointer, but Mejias rebounded an airball by Gabriella Cameron and put it back up for a 42-17 halftime lead.
Reese Ownby (25) goes up for a basket in the fourth quarter of the Lady Highlanders’ win over Lincoln County. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Lincoln County came out in the third quarter and embarked on an 8-2 run to pull to within 44-25 with just over three minutes left in the quarter. Gatlinburg-Pittman would end the Lady Panthers’ run when Mejias scored a layup and was fouled for a three-point play, giving the Lady Highlanders a 47-25 lead.
Mejias would hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left in the quarter to give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 50-27 lead going into the final period.
A three by Glasper would put the Lady Highlanders in front 55-29 with 5:43 left in the game, as Gatlinburg-Pittman outscored the Lady Panthers 13-9 in the fourth quarter and went on to win 63-36.
Chloe Mejias led all scorers with 25 points, while Maliyah Glasper finished with 13. Addi Wear also added 12 points on four three-pointers in the first half.
“I think (those three) are doing a good job of recognizing that these are the shoes I need to fill and they are kind of sliding in there,” Moore said of Mejias, Glasper and Wear. “When they are playing well, I think the other girls just play off their energy. A lot of times when Chloe or Addi are having a hard time scoring, Tillie will step up and knock down a big shot for us. Right now, I think everybody is doing their part in recognizing that everybody has to bring all they have.”
Lincoln County was led by Abby Bryan’s 12 points, while Molly Brown scored in double figures with 10.
Gatlinburg-Pittman wins its second consecutive Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic and will play again on Thursday, December 26, against Newport Central Catholic (KY), as the Lady Highlanders attempt to defend their title in the Smoky Mountain Winter Classic.