Short of state, but still great: Lady Ads in region
2-4A title earned at Bearden vs. Lady Dawgs
Wednesday night, Feb. 28, came round Round 4 at Bearden, with the Region 2-4A title on the line.
Series tied 2-2, and the Lady Admirals are regional champs.
Sophomore forward KJ McNealy scored 16 points, junior guard Annie Priest added 14, and Farragut held off Bearden’s repeated second-half comeback attempts to win 56-49.
“Our defense was the biggest thing,” McNealy said. “We weren’t handling the ball all that well the last time we played them. We have come leaps and bounds this year.”
“I just told them ‘play hard and the rest will take care of itself,’” Lady Admirals head coach Jason Mayfield said. “We’ve been tested (this year) and it showed tonight.”
Up 12-11 after one, Farragut led 15-12 early in the second. A seven-point Bearden run put them up 19-15 with 4:45 left in the half.
Consecutive lay-ups by McNealy tied the game at 19 with 3:43 left. When Priest’s free throw made it 20-19, FHS had a lead it would never relinquish.
Priest’s three with 1:28 left gave Farragut a 23-19 lead at half.
“The heart she plays with … just a smart player,” Mayfield said of his junior shooting guard.
The teams traded baskets in the third, which ended with FHS up 34-29. All 10 BHS points came on jumpers and lay-ups by sophomore point-guard Natalya Hodge, who led all scorers with 22.
Hodge’s two lay-ups pulled Bearden to within four, 44-40, with 2:18 left in the game. But Farragut then put the game away with a 7-1 run in a little over a minute.
BHS head coach Justin Underwood was gracious in defeat. “They earned it,” he said. “They were better in every phase of the game. They were more consistent over four quarters.”
McNealy was named MVP of the All-Tournament Team. Priest and teammates Jaci Neubert and Mya Johnston also made the team. Hodge, Kendall Anne Murphy and Aisha Patel were named from Bearden.
