Yet another commanding victory has Underwood’s Lady Bulldogs rolling
KNOXVILLE — It was bombs away in the first half for Bearden’s girls at home Friday night, Dec. 4, against Farragut.
Ten times in the first half the Lady Bulldogs connected from behind the three-point arc in building a 44-22 halftime lead. They then cruised in the second half to a 69-51 win.
Improving to 9-0 (1-0 in District 4-4A) while yet to be challenged, Bearden had three more treys in the second hal.
“We shot it really well in the first half,” Bearden head coach Justin Underwood said. “Being able to spread people out, that’s the best we’ve shot in the first half. To do that with Avery (Treadwell) not getting points, that was huge for us. And then we were able to feed her the basketball in the second half.”
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-5 lead en route to a 22-13 edge after one. Of Bearden’s 22 second-quarter points, 18 came from six threes. Senior point-guard Bailey Burgess hit three treys in that stretch, nine points of her game-high 17.
“We were hot,” Burgess said. “We work hard at it every day. It’s awesome to see it pay off, all our hard work, shooting and just in practice.”
Treadwell, Bearden’s 6-3 junior post, came alive in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her total 12 points. The third ended 59-35. The lead had been as high as 27. Farragut closed the game on a 6-0 run.
The Lady Bulldogs had two other double-digit scorers, both senior point-guards: Emily Gonzalez with 13 and Jennifer Sullivan with 10. Hannah Stephens added nine.
Ashlyn Sheridan and Avery Strickland each scored 12 for the Lady Admirals, who fell to 4-3 (0-1 in 4-4A)
“They’re already a great team, and when you make 10 threes in the first half it makes it tougher,” Farragut head coach Jason Mayfield said. “We held Treadwell scoreless in the first half. Felt like we did a really good job on her. I thought we competed in the second half. Hats off to them, and we’ll see them in January.”
“They move the ball around and they shot awesome tonight,” said McCall Willis, Lady Admirals senior post. “It’s definitely frustrating (losing to a rival), but we just have to keep working.”
“They’re a very talented team, they’re a very well-coached team,” Underwood said about Farragut. “It’s always a big game. There’s a mutual respect. It’s a good rivalry. We played extremely hard and they gave great effort and as a coach that makes you proud.”
The teams meet again at Farragut Friday, Jan. 28.
Bearden 55 Knoxville Catholic 27
Treadwell’s 16 points, Burgess’ 15 and Sullivan’s 14 led BHS at Catholic Tuesday, Nov. 30. Sydney Mains paced KCHS with 14.
