After beating Bradley, Alcoa, Lady Ads fall to Sevier County 48-39
A minute and 15 seconds into its home game against Sevier County Saturday, Farragut’s girls basketball team led 6-0 behind quick three-pointers from Ashlyn Sheridan and Avery Strickland. It looked like the Lady Admirals might run away with it.
The Bearettes had other ideas.
After trailing 24-23 at intermission, Sevier County turned up the defense in the second half. They held Farragut to but five points in the third period while building a 33-29 lead. A 15-10 advantage in the fourth gave them a 48-39 win Nov. 20.
“I thought our girls competed,” SCHS head coach Jonathan Schultz said. “That’s what these girls are known for, is defense. We’re not a great offensive team, but we played our butts off on defense.”
Sevier County’s offense was clearly better than Farragut’s on this day. The Lady Admirals struggled, especially in the second half, to hit a bucket. In that half, they hit only four shots from the field.
“We didn’t play very well,” said Jason Mayfield, Farragut head coach. “Sevier County did a good job of knocking down open shots. We didn’t make many shots. When that happens we just lose focus defensively.”
Farragut led 12-11 after one and 16-14 with 6:14 left in the second period. A 9-3 run by the Lady Bears gave them a 23-19 lead with 2:18 to go in the half.
Five points by Strickland gave the Lady Admirals a one-point lead at the break.
All 10 of Sevier’s third-quarter points came from Kinley Loveday and Hailey Willams. Six of SCHS’s 15 fourth-quarter points were by freshman Cybil Penland, who led her team with 20. Williams added nine.
Strickland disproportionately led Farragut with 24 — despite sitting on the bench for much of the third quarter because of foul trouble. Sheridan added eight.
“I got into foul trouble,” Strickland said. “I thought I was doing good offensively but I got taken out of the game.
“Their ball pressure made us struggle, especially with the zone,” she added. “Our point guards are very young, so we’re working on that.”
Williams’ lay-up late in the third gave SCHS a 28-27 lead they would never relinquish. A 5-0 run from 7:03 to 5:08 in the fourth gave Sevier an 11-point lead Farragut couldn’t overcome.
“We had a hard time with turnovers,” Mayfield said. “From 2 feet, all the way out to the three-point line. We’re just not executing very well.”
Earlier Saturday, Farragut beat Alcoa 52-37. Strickland was the lead scorer with 25.
