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. “Kylie wouldn’t get her 38 without her teammates,” Pigeon Forge head coach Paul Reagan said after the …
Lady Scots pick up first win of season in conference bout with Wesleyan
BY BRIAN HAMILTON MARYVILLE – It was a battle of two winless teams on Tuesday night, so something had to give. The 0-10 Wesleyan Lady Wolves visited 0-8 Maryville College with both squads eyeing its first win of the season. The Lady Scots came away with its first win of the season and it wasn’t close, by defeating Wesleyan 75-34. Maryville College coach Darrin Travillian said it started with a change in how his team plays. “We spent the entire preseason chunking the ball from the three-point line and we shot 19-percent for the first eight non-conference games and we …
Lady Trojans demolish West 73-18
BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Knox West was outmatched on Monday night, as Morristown West scored early and often, building a 24-2 first quarter lead, en route to a 73-18 district win. While a comfortable blowout win is nice, Morristown West head coach Johnny Gaylon is more concerned with how his team executes down the stretch. “We’re playing more to be in the right spots,” Gaylon lamented after the game. “We weren’t necessarily worried about the scoreboard and we talked about that. We know Knox West is young, but we were just trying to get a little momentum for Friday …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Bearettes score 26 straight to finish game, spoil Hawk’s return
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – There were several storylines heading into this key district matchup for both teams. The major storyline being the return of senior Jefferson County star Madi Hawk. The Wofford signee went down with her second concussion of the season on December 29th at Carter and the Lady Patriots have been winless without her. “I heard that she’d been cleared, so I expected her to play,” Sevier County coach Jonathan Shultz said. “We let her get to the free throw line too much, but only allowed her to make two threes. Other than that, I felt we …
Lady Red pick up season sweep of Seymour despite 17-day layoff
BY BRIAN HAMILTON NEWPORT – Cocke County played its first game since January 6 on Tuesday night and the Lady Red showed no signs of rust, leading Seymour from start to finish for a 52-45 win. “It seemed like, tonight, every time they made a run, we were able to hit a big shot,” Cocke County coach Boddie Bible said after the game. “That’s huge. That’s how you win games. Credit Seymour, they made shots and they made us play until the buzzer.” “Our shots weren’t falling tonight, which is usually uncharacteristic, maybe it’s the time off, maybe it’s not,” …
‘It feels like it’s been forever’: Lady Cougars defeat Seymour for first time since 2021, end 7-game skid
BY BRIAN HAMILTON KODAK – Northview Academy appeared to be on a mission Friday night, as the Lady Cougars led from start to finish to defeat Seymour 61-50, ending a 7-game losing streak to the Lady Eagles that dated back to the 2020-21 season. “It feels like it’s been forever. It was really good for us mentally, especially this group of seniors, just knowing that we can do it,” Northview Academy coach Brooke Shelley said of the win. “It was such a great team win and such a balanced win. We came out and I thought our intensity was there …