Halle Bailey (3) drives against West during the Lady Tornadoes' 72-14 win over the Lady Rebels. Photo by Brian Hamilton

Lady Tornadoes throttle West 72-14 to open 2024

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Alcoa jumped out on West early and never let up, as the Lady Tornadoes found themselves leading by 30 points at halftime, which resulted in Alcoa coach David Baumann playing his entire roster and cruising to a 72-14 win to start 2024. “It gets the right taste in their mouths, obviously (after New Year’s break),” Baumann said after the game. “It gets them back in shape a little bit. We talked about it before the game and during the game and we always want to work on ‘us’ and obviously it was good to get …

Alcoa Champs

Lady Tornadoes defeat Knox Catholic to win Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Greeneville – Alcoa ended 2022 on a positive note Saturday night, as the Lady Tornadoes (14-1) defeated Knox Catholic (8-9) by a score of 58-47 to win their first ever Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic in Greeneville. The tournament is the second that Alcoa has won over the holiday break, as the Lady Tornadoes won the KSV Events Holiday Tournament in Orlando, Fla. before Christmas. “It says a lot about our team and the toughness we have” Alcoa coach David Baumann said. “That’s what we talked about before this game. We said, ‘This will be a suck …

Bremer

The Return of the Mak: Bremer’s big game helps Alcoa defeat Upperman, earn berth in championship game

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Greeneville – Alcoa moved into the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic championship on Saturday, in large part to a gutty performance by senior Mak Bremer, who helped the Lady Tornadoes overcome a 13-point third quarter deficit and come away with a 42-41 win over defending Class 3A champs Upperman. Bremer saw her junior season end in the season opener of 2021, as she suffered an ACL tear while driving to the hoop on November 18 against McMinn Central. Bremer, now a senior, did not want to see her team go down in the semifinal against Upperman and …

Alcoa-Westview

Alcoa’s magical run ends with 44-32 loss to Westview in Final Four

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Alcoa got off to a fantastic start in its first Final Four game since 1984, as the Lady Tornadoes led Westview 12-5. Jada Harrison got hot early, however, scoring all nine points in the first quarter, as Alcoa could only muster two points in the second quarter. The Lady Tornadoes would retake the lead early in the third, but Harrison and Westview would be too much in the end, as the Lady Chargers would go on to win 44-32 and advance to the Class 2A state championship game. As far as playoff experience is concerned, …

Macie Ridge

Alcoa snaps Westmoreland 25-game win streak to advance to Final Four

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Alcoa came into the game as an underdog in the eyes of many, as the Lady Tornadoes were matched up with Westmoreland, winners of 25 straight. The Lady Tornadoes didn’t view themselves as an underdog, however, as they led for all but 21 seconds of the game and handed the Lady Eagles their first loss since December 3. The Final Four berth will be Alcoa’s first since in 38 years, when the Lady Tornadoes made it to the championship before losing to York Institute 65-34 in 1984. “Dawn Marsh’s team back in 1983-84 made it …

Ainsley Pfieffer

Alcoa advances to second consecutive regional final with 73-56 win over South Greene

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – Alcoa came out hot on Monday night and never took their foot off the gas, as the Lady Tornadoes led by double digits after the first quarter and never let the lead shrink to single-digits again, winning 73-56. The win advances Alcoa to the region championship with an opportunity to face Gatlinburg-Pittman — who defeated Happy Valley later Monday night — for the fourth time this season. Both matchups in Gatlinburg, the Lady Tornadoes have lost, and Wednesday night’s game will be at the same location. “We wanted to give ourselves another shot to get …

Alcoa-Fulton

Lady Tornadoes overcome slow start to defeat Fulton 53-40

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – The Lady Tornadoes overcame a slow start offensively to pick up a 53-40 win over Fulton, as Karli Haworth scored 13 of her 21 in the second half and Macie Ridge scored 12 of her 19 after halftime. “There weren’t a whole lot of x’s-and-o’s adjustments (at halftime), but we did go over some things that we didn’t execute very well,” Alcoa head coach David Baumann said. “Not to take any credit or anything, but the girls just hit shots and that’s the difference. We started hitting some shots and we got a little bit …