BY BRIAN HAMILTON
GATLINBURG – The Lady Highlanders won their ninth consecutive game, and 12th of 13, with a 58-40 win over Seymour on Thursday night. It was the lone matchup between the two cross-county rivals this season and Gatlinburg-Pittman was able to avenge a 41-36 loss in the teams’ last matchup in February 2025.
Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Maliyah Glasper (23) goes up for two of her game-high 21 points as Seymour’s Emily Shultz (15) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Gatlinburg-Pittman struggled to score in the second quarter, finishing with only four points in the quarter, but Seymour lost an opportunity inch closer, only outscoring the Lady Highlanders 7-4 in the period.
“I felt like we went into a dry spell in the second and third quarter, specifically, as we just couldn’t hit a shot,” Gatlinburg-Pittman head coach Katie Moore said. “I felt the girls continued to play hard defensively. I felt their matchup zone was keeping us from getting to the rim and since we weren’t hitting any outside shots, I think that had a lot to do with (the drought). I think that was a really good call on their coach’s part.”
Chloe Mejias opened the scoring for Gatlinburg-Pittman to take a 2-0 lead with 6:32 left in the first quarter. Maliyah Glasper followed that with a layup to make the score 4-0 with just under six minutes left.
Mattie Jarvis would answer with a three for Seymour to cut the Lady Eagles’ deficit to 4-3, but Glasper hit a triple on the other end to stretch the lead to 7-3. A three by Addi Wear would give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 10-3 advantage with 4:45 to go in the first quarter.
A conventional three-point play by Glasper would cap a 13-1 run, giving the Lady Higlanders a 17-4 lead with just over a minute remaining in the quarter. A pair of free throws by Bailey Tidwell made the score 17-6, but a three-pointer by Wear with 16 seconds left would give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Scoring was at a minimum in the second quarter as Seymour outscored Gatlinburg-Pittman 7-4 in the period.
Tidwell hit a basket to open the third quarter, making the score 20-8, followed by a Makenna Sharp layup to trim the Lady Eagles’ deficit to 20-10 with 3:26 left in the second quarter.
The Lady Highlanders scored their first points of the second quarter with under two minutes remaining when Glasper made a layup with 1:36 left for a 22-10 lead. Glasper would grab a steal and cash it in for a layup on the next Seymour possession, making the score 24-10 with 1:13 left.
A floater by Bailey Tidwell with 12 seconds left would send the teams to halftime with Gatlinburg-Pittman leading 24-13.
Seymour’s Makenna Sharp (10) tosses the ball inside while Chloe Mejias (21) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
The Lady Highlanders came out strong in the third quarter, as Glasper converted a three-point play to put Gatlinburg-Pittman ahead 31-16. A three by Gabriella Cameron would stretch the lead to 34-18 with just over four minutes left in the third.
Kali Fisher scored a basket to make the score 34-20, but Mejias would answer for Gatlinburg-Pittman, pushing the lead back to 36-20. A corner three by Makenna Sharp would trim the Seymour deficit to 38-25 with 2:32 to go, but the Lady Highlanders would hold a 43-29 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Reese Ownby gave Gatlinburg-Pittman a 47-32 lead on a spinning layup with just under five minutes left, but Fisher would answer to the Lady Eagles, cutting the lead to 47-34.
The Lady Highlanders would eventually stretch the lead to over 20, as a layup by Hailey Wines made the score 56-35 with under two minutes left. Gatlinburg-Pittman would go on to win 58-40.
“I thought Seymour was a pretty tough team and they’re really, really physical and I really expect them to do well down the stretch,” Moore said after the game.
Maliyah Glasper led all scorers with 21, while Chloe Mejias finished with 15 and Addi Wear added 11 for the Lady Highlanders.
The Lady Eagles were led by 11 from Kali Fisher, while Bailey Tidwell finished with eight and Natalee Adkins added seven.
Gatlinburg-Pittman (18-3, 5-0 Class 2A District 2) will be back in action on Tuesday, February 3 at winless Eagleton Academy (0-17, 0-4 District 2).
“We still have to win three or four more games (to clinch the district crown), I can’t remember exactly how many,” Moore said of the upcoming schedule. “We still have to play Claiborne twice and Eagleton again, and two of those are on the road, so we’re expecting those to be a little bit tougher for us, to go on the road, but we’re still looking to try and continue to get better and hope that we’re playing our best basketball at the end of February.”
Seymour (7-14, 3-2 Class 3A District 3) will look to right the ship after losing 5-of-6 when it hosts District 3 champion Cocke County (24-3, 9-0 District 3) on Tuesday, February 3.