FHS girls’ ‘good effort’ ends 1 of 3
A blowout win, an “encouraging” close loss and a blowout loss to powerful Morristown West summed up Farragut girls basketball’s effort hosting 11-team FHS Thanksgiving Classic.
Starting out with a 60-37 win versus South-Doyle, behind 17 points from sophomore Morgan Carbaugh, Monday, Nov. 21, FHS faced undefeated Division II-AA Ensworth Friday night, Nov. 25.
Late turnovers converted into points allowed the Tigers to stay unbeaten [4-0], rallying from an 8-point fourth period deficit to clip the Admirals 53-49.
“You hate to say moral victory, we don’t believe in that, but we were really excited about the effort that we gave,” said FHS head coach Jason Mayfield, whose team started the week 3-2.
Trailing most of the first half and 24-19 at the break, “We went on a really good run for a solid two quarters,” he added. “Played really good defense, took care of the ball for the most part.”
Jamie Dallas, Brooke Christian Sydney Chapman and Kate McMurry then sparked Farragut with scoring and defense. A 10-0 run put the Admirals up 37-28 late in the third quarter.
“We came out with good mo-mentum and we moved the ball really well and we got a lot of good shots and they were falling,” Christian said. “I think we got tired for a bit of a stretch and it hurt us in the long run. But I thought we played hard.”
Chapman said, “We came out there and built momentum and got it going. But towards the end they caught back up.”
Christian led FHS in scoring with 14. Dallas had nine. “Sydney [six points] did a lot of things well,” Mayfield said. “Brooke Christian played really well.”
About McMurry, senior post [five points], “I thought it was the best game of her career,” Mayfield said. “Playing solid on defense and handling the ball.”
East Tennessee power Morristown West, with four starters who played key roles in edging past Farragut in the 2014 Class AAA state sectional game at FHS, pulled away in the second half for an easy victory Saturday afternoon, Nov. 26.
“They’ve got a lot of experience. … They don’t make many mistakes offensively or defensively,” Mayfield said about the Trojans. “We weren’t able to compete with that. … They’re such a fundamentally sound team, especially at this point in the year, and we’re just not there yet.”
A trio of three-point baskets from senior Jamie Dallas, all in the fourth quarter, highlighted the Admirals’ offense against MWHS. “Sydney Chapman also played really well,” Mayfield said.
