BY BRIAN HAMILTON
MARYVILLE – Pigeon Forge did not shoot well in the first half, but freshman Kylie Norwood was able to keep the Lady Tigers afloat by scoring 19 first half points. The team’s shooting improved in the second half, as leading scorer Makaylee Stalcup finally got on the board in the third quarter. Norwood finished the game with a career-high 38 points as Pigeon Forge would go on to defeat Eagleton College & Career Academy 70-37 in an important district contest.
“Kiley wouldn’t get her 38 without her teammates,” Pigeon Forge head coach Paul Reagan said after the game. “Kiley has some really good teammates who share the basketball and that’s what’s good about our team right now. It doesn’t matter who is scoring, because we’re passing the ball and trying to get the best look we can.”

Pigeon Forge’s Kiley Norwood (30) goes up for a layup while Neveah Monalu (3) defends for the Lady Royals. Norwood finished with a career-high 38 points. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Kiley Norwood put Pigeon Forge on the board first with a three-pointer from the left wing. However, Eagleton’s Cassie Spears would answer with a triple of her own to tie the game at 3-3 with 5:40 left in the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers would then go on a 7-0 run, which was started by a three by Kenzington Fleming and extended the Pigeon Forge lead to 10-3. Averie Lindsey would stop the bleeding with a layup, pulling the Lady Eagles to within 10-5 with 3:30 left.
A pair of Norwood free throws would give Pigeon Forge a 12-5 lead, but Eagleton would end the quarter on a 6-0 run, which was capped by Lindsey grabbed a rebound and made the putback. The Lady Eagles would cling to a 12-11 lead after one quarter.
Norwood would make a layup to end Pigeon Forge’s scoring drought with 6:38 left in the second quarter and give the Lady Tigers a 14-11 advantage.
Pigeon Forge then began to extend its lead when Norwood hit a three and converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 22-13 with 1:43 left until halftime.
Natalie Murrell would score Eagleton’s first field goal of the second quarter on a floater with just under one minute remaining in the half, but Norwood would respond with a basket to stretch the lead to 26-15 with 36 seconds remaining.
Fleming missed a three-point heave at the halftime buzzer, but the Lady Tigers would go to intermission leading 26-16. Norwood accounted for 19 of Pigeon Forge’s 26 halftime points.
Lindsey opened the third quarter with a layup to pull Eagleton to within 26-18, but two consecutive threes by Norwood would make the Pigeon Forge lead 32-18 with just over seven minutes left in the quarter. Makaylee Stalcup, who was held scoreless in the first half, finally got on the board with two free throws, which gave the Lady Tigers a 34-18 lead.
Natalie Murrell finally snapped the 8-0 Pigeon Forge run with a three-pointer to pull the Lady Royals to within 34-21 with 6:27 left in the third. Kenzi Parton would respond with a jumper on the other end to push the Lady Tigers’ lead to 36-21.
Norwood drained her fifth three-pointer of the game with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter, giving Pigeon Forge a 39-23 advantage. The freshman’s sixth three would stretch the Lady Tigers lead to 20, as it made the score 49-29 with 39 seconds remaining.
Fleming hit a three at the third quarter buzzer to give Pigeon Forge a 53-29 lead, as the Lady Tigers outscored Eagleton 27-13 in the quarter.

Makaylee Stalcup (23) goes up for a basket while Kassie Spears (20) defends for Eagleton. Stalcup finished with 11 points. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“I give Eagleton a lot of credit,” Reagan said. “They’re well-coached and they play really hard and they made it hard on us, but our pressure got to them and our transition offense worked as well, so we got easier looks (in the second half).”
The Lady Royals started the quarter on a 6-0 run to pull to within 53-35, but Norwood would quickly end the run with a traditional three-point play after being fouled on a jumper. A fast break by Fleming midway through the quarter would give Pigeon Forge a 62-35 lead and Reagan began to pull his starters at that point.
“I didn’t play (the reserves) as much as I wanted to, because we couldn’t extend (the lead) like I wanted to, but we did toward the end,” said Reagan. “I was proud of our effort, especially in the second half.”
Elli Sami hit a pair of free throws with 45 seconds remaining to give the Lady Tigers a 67-37 lead. Sami then came down the court on the last possession and launched a three as Reagan instructed his team to hold the ball. Much like Fleming’s heave at the end of the third quarter, the shot went in at the buzzer and Pigeon Forge won 70-37.
“There’s no reason for that when we’re up 30,” Reagan said of the last second shot. “I’m trying to tell them to hold the ball and let the game get over with, but it is what it is. She hasn’t played much, so I get it.”
Kiley Norwood finished the game with a career-high 38 points, topping her previous high of 25. Kenzington Fleming and Makaylee Stalcup finished with 11 points apiece.
“She’s had a really good season and she’s just a freshman,” Reagan said of Norwood. “She’s averaging 14 points a game. Her and Makaylee (Stalcup) are both averaging 14 points-per-game. Makaylee is averaging just a bit more than her, but we’ve got other girls who can score too. Kenzi (Fleming) and Cambria (Brown) are scoring eight points-per-game too and it helps us out.”
Natalie Murrell led Eagleton with 14 points, while Averie Lindsey added nine and Kassie Spears finished with seven.
Pigeon Forge (8-7, 2-1 Region 1 District 2) will travel to Cosby (9-8) on Tuesday, January 14 for a non-district contest, while Eagleton (3-12, 0-5) will travel to Gatlinburg-Pittman (13-5, 3-0) for district battle.