No payback: Lady Dawgs hold off Farragut 50-41
If Farragut High School’s girls’ basketball team was going to win a district title, they would almost certainly have to beat rival Bearden in the teams’ rematch Friday night, Jan 28, at FHS.
Despite playing much better than they did in losing 69-51 in the first contest Dec. 3, Farragut’s effort came up short. A 7-0 run by the Lady Bulldogs in the fourth quarter turned a four-point lead into 11, and Farragut wouldn’t recover.
The 50-41 win kept Bearden’s District 4-4A record perfect at 6-0 (21-3 overall). Farragut fell to 18-5, 5-2.
“In a rivalry game, where it was really intense and a great atmosphere, I thought our defense was fantastic,” Bearden head coach Justin Underwood said. “To hold a team as talented as they are to 41, I was really proud of them.”
“They always have somebody really step up,” Lady Ads head coach Jason Mayfield said. “Jennifer Sullivan was big tonight. They’re a team full of college players. We gotta play better ... .”
Senior point guard Sullivan led all scorers with 23 points. Emily Gonzalez added 13 for BHS. Keeleigh Rogers led the Lady Ads with 12. Avery Strickland and Ashlyn Sheirdan each got 11.
About the rematch being a closer game, “I think that had to do with the momentum they had behind their fans,” Sullivan said. “But I felt like we handled it really well.”
Avery Treadwell, Bearden’s strong 6-foot-3 post player, was held to four points. But her defensive presence was considerable, with seven rebounds and five blocks.
Leading 14-11 after one quarter, the Lady Bulldogs’ 8-0 run over two minutes gave them a 22-13 edge. It was 24-17 at the half.
The Lady Ads got a trey by Sheridan and a lay-up by Annalise Bishop to cut a nine-point deficit to 28-24. A Lady ‘Dogs 6-1 run to close out the quarter gave them a 34-25 lead after three.
Consecutive threes by Sheridan and Strickland cut the lead to four early in the fourth. But FHS then went scoreless for more than two minutes and BHS scored seven straight to close it out.
