Heritage Coker

Heritage blasts Warren County 73-36 in Winter Shootout to remain undefeated

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Heritage got off to a slow start offensively in the first round of the Winterfest Shootout on Friday afternoon, but quickly came into form as Carsyn Swaney led the way to a 14th consecutive win to start the season for the Lady Mountaineers with a resounding 73-36 win over Warren County (KY). The Lady Mountaineers quickly became too much for the Lady Pioneers, who never really found a way to pioneer a defender to stop Swaney, who finished the contest with 22. “We don’t want to beat people like that, so we got in that …

Gatlinburg-Pittman
Gatlinburg-Pittman: 2024 Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic Champions

Lady Highlanders down Lincoln County 63-36 to win second straight Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic

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. 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 …

Gatlinburg-Pittman
Gabriella Cameron (22) goes up for a layup against Cordova in the first round of the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic.

Lady Highlanders thrash Cordova (AL) in first round of Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – While Gatlinburg-Pittman may have been embarking on a defense of it’s 2023 Christmas Classic title, this team is much different than the one that won it a year ago. Last season, the go-to scorers may have been Maddy Newman, Leah Stinnett and Nya Burns, but all of those faces are gone now. This year’s version of the Lady Highlanders has seen three familiar faces step into new roles as dependable go-to scorers, and that is Maliyah Glasper, Addi Wear and Chloe Mejias. Maybe that’s the new ‘Big 3′ for this squad. All are juniors and …

Maddy Newman

Gatlinburg-Pittman ‘revenge tour’ books Friday night gig in semis after 54-46 win over Smith County

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Gatlinburg-Pittman head coach Katie Moore has called it the ‘revenge tour’. The Lady Highlanders lost two games before Christmas to Sevier County and McMinn Central. Gatlinburg-Pittman avenged both losses in the second meetings of those home-and-home series. The Lady Highlanders lost their district championship to Alcoa. They responded by drubbing the Lady Tornadoes 68-53 in the region final. Moore said that the Elite 8 game was part of the revenge tour also, as GP advanced to the Class 2A semifinals with a 54-46 win over Smith County on Thursday night. “I feel like we have …

Cocke County-Heritage

Seeing Red: Lady Red advance to first Final Four since 1958

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – In March 1958, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ by Elvis and ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ by Little Richard were near the top of the charts. Bobby Fischer won the U.S. Chess Championship at the age of 14 during that year. The Great Chinese Famine began in 1958. The Broadway musical ‘My Fair Lady’ opened in London. The New York Yankees won the World Series in seven games over the Milwaukee Braves. Cocke County advanced to the state semifinals. That’s what was going on in the world the last time the Lady Red made the TSSAA Final Four. Cocke …