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Hodge’s ‘1,000’ celebrated as BHS girls rule late vs. Farragut; boys roll

February 7, 2024 by Staff Reports

BEARDEN — Later honored for reaching a special milestone less than halfway through her career as a star point guard at Bearden, sophomore Natalya Hodge was again super-dominant — and she and her Lady Bulldogs responded in the clutch.

Trailing rival Farragut 42-40 with 4:47 to play in the fourth quarter at BHS Friday night Nov. 2, Hodge and her Bearden teammates clamped down hard, ending the game on a 12-2 run to win 52-44. The sophomore’s fifth three-point jumper of the game, with 4:21 left, gave her team a 44-42 lead it would not relinquish.

Hodge led the Lady Bulldogs (23-1, 8-0 in district) with a game-high 33 points. Kendall Anne Murphy, junior wing, added six.

Jaci Neubert, junior guard, paced the Lady Ads (14-11, 7-1) with 13 points, followed by freshman post Trinity Curry with 10.

“I was really proud of our defense those last four minutes,” BHS head coach Justin Underwood said. FHS head coach Jason Mayfield said his team “let Hodge get loose there; she a great player. ... We’ve got to learn to make those championship plays.”

Bearden boys 64 Farragut 40

Bearden’s boys built as much as a 27-point edge in the second half. Sophomore guard Justin Nordin led all scorers with 19, followed by sophomore post Brody Smith with 14 and junior guard King Hubbard scoring 12. The Dawgs improved to 23-5, 5-3.

Dropping to 7-18 overall, 1-7 in district, Farragut was led in scoring by senior post Berkley’s Naro’s eight points. Britton Lewis, sophomore wing, added six.