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 …
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 …
Lady Highlanders hold off Riverside (SC) to advance to Winter Classic final
BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – The Winterfest Shootout is the girls basketball tournament being played at Sevier County High School this week, but the Lady Highlanders found themselves in a winter shootout in the Smoky Mountain Winter Classic at Gatlinburg on Thursday night. The Lady Highlanders scored early and often, but so did Riverside (SC), as the two teams traded baskets throughout much of the first half. Gatlinburg-Pittman saw a 15 point lead almost evaporate before the half, due the Lady Warriors three-point shooting, but were able to push the lead back to 20 in the third quarter before having …