BY BRIAN HAMILTON
KNOXVILLE – Bearden has won three straight over Farrgut since a gut wrenching defeat to the Lady Admirals in the 2024 Class 4A Region 2 Championship. That loss forced the Lady Bulldogs to go on the road for the sectional, where it lost to Sevier County and was eliminated from the playoffs. Since that regional final, Bearden has had the better end of things against its cross-town arch rival. Friday night was no different, as the Lady Bulldogs used a 22-0 run — stretching from the second to third quarters — to take down Farragut 72-41.
“In the second quarter, we. held them to three points, but I think in the first half, we were just feeling each other out a little bit,” Bearden head coach Justin Underwood said after the game. “They were doing some things differently than we had seen yet. Obviously, it was the first time we’ve played them this year, but when we got into a mode that we could attack that (defense) in certain ways, I felt like we could do a much better job of that in the second half.”
Emma Rainey (20) goes up for one of her three triples during Bearden’s 72-41 win over Farragut. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Both teams started cold from the field, but Emma Rainey put Bearden on the board first with a 3-point basket with 5:45 left in the first quarter. Two free throws by K.J. McNealy would make the score 3-2 before M.C. LeMarbre hit a layup to stretch the Lady Bulldog lead to 5-3 with just over five minutes left in the first.
Bearden led 10-5 when McNealy sank a three, pulling the Lady Admirals to within 10-8 with 1:51 left in the first quarter. McNealy made a layup to pull Farragut to within 12-11, but Natalya Hodge answered with a layup to put Bearden ahead 14-11. Reagan Sheridan grabbed a pass from McNealy on the left wing and drove to the basket for a layup at the first quarter buzzer to trim the Lady Bulldog lead to 14-13 after one quarter of play.
Hodge opened the second quarter with a layup to make the score 16-13, which started a 9-0 run for Bearden, making the score 23-13 with 3:35 left in the first half. McNealy gave Farragut its first points of the second quarter, when the senior split a pair of free throws to make the score 23-14 with 3:20 left.
Farragut finally scored its first field goal of the second quarter on a McNealy jumper with 2:35 left, making the score 23-16. A pair of baskets by Baylie Myers — including a layup with one second remaining — would send Bearden to the intermission with a 27-16 lead. The Lady Bulldogs outscored Farragut 13-3 in the second quarter.
Bearden’s Riley Hunt (3) drives to the basket, while Farragut’s Makenna Hartley (33) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Bearden opened the second half with a scoring barraging, beginning when Hodge and Rainey hit a pair of threes to push the Lady Bulldog lead to 33-16. Another Rainey triple, followed by a Theola Mills layup would stretch the lead to 40-16, as Bearden opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run.
Two free throws by Katie Foster, follows by another Hodge three-pointer would stretch the Lady Bulldog run to 18-0 in the third quarter, and 22-0 dating back to the first half. Bearden led 45-16 at that point.
McNealy hit a layup to finally break the Farragut scoring drought midway through the third quarter, but Bearden would continue its three-point assault, as threes by Hodge drained a triple to make the score 48-18. McNealy answered with a pair of threes to make the score 50-24 with 3:31 left in the third, as the Lady Admirals trailed Bearden 55-30 at the end of three quarters.
A three-pointer by Baylie Myers, followed by a LeMarbre layup would push the Bearden lead to 30, at 62-32 with six minutes left in the game. Natalia Hodge hit her fourth three of the game with 3:39 remaining, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 67-35 lead. At that point, Underwood would pull his starters and give the remaining minutes to bench players, as Bearden went on to a 72-41 win.
“Emma and Nat his those threes coming out of halftime and that was huge,” Underwood said. “We’re up 11 at the half, but it’s a rivalry game and they’ve got scorers and players. We were very fortunate that we came out and hit shots and I think we just hit a ride and we took that.”
Grand Canyon commit K.J. McNealy led all scorers with 23 points in a losing effort. No other Farragut player scored over six points, as Reagan Sheridan and Makenna Hartley each finished with six apiece.
Missouri commit Natalya Hodge led Bearden with 21 points, while M.C. LeMarbre finished with 13 and Riley Hunt added 10 for the Lady Bulldogs. Emma Rainey scored nine points on three baskets from behind the arc. Hodge had 12 of her 21 in the second half, including all four of her three-pointers.
“She was just pressing,” Underwood said of Hodge’s early game struggles. “They were running two at her in certain situations and she gets a lot of defenses thrown at her. It just takes a little while, sometimes, to get used to that and be able to adjust and play.”
Bearden (18-3, 6-0 District 4) will travel to Oak Ridge (6-10, 3-3) for a district contest, while Farragut (12-8, 6-1) will travel to Hardin Valley (9-10, 3-4).