Strong 2025 start for Farragut High hoops
A Lady Ads lay-up parade downs Karns
With the first quarter almost half over Friday night, Jan. 3, Farragut High School’s girls’ basketball team trailed visiting Karns 5-0 in FHS’s Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium. One shot after another clanged off the rim.
Then the proverbial switch flipped.
The Lady Admirals scored 12 points in a row en-route to a 17-2 run to lead 17-7 after one period. A 9-0 run early in the second put the game away as FHS cruised to a 65-37 non-district win.
“We weren’t doing what we were supposed to do early,” Farragut head coach Jason Mayfield said. “We started the game with seven straight three attempts, and they weren’t falling. Second quarter we did a better job of (getting the ball inside).”
A much better job, and it actually started in the first period. After junior guard KJ McNealy’s two free throws got FHS on the board with 4:21 left in the first, the Lady Admirals scored one lay-up after another. Of the team’s 15 made baskets in the first half, only two — a jumper and a three — weren’t lay-ups.
The 9-0 run in the second period made it 26-10 with 5:34 left in the half. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter as Farragut led 35-19 at intermission. The lead grew.
“They’re a really good basketball team,” Karns head coach Lauren Trent said. “We played well in spurts but we’re still trying to figure out how to put a whole game together.
“They handed it to us in transition,” she added.
Farragut’s lay-up onslaught — seven of eight baskets — combined with aggressive defense, continued in the third period. The Lady Ads held Karns to seven points in the quarter while scoring 18.
The 53-26 lead after three put the game long out of reach. A 10-3 run to start the fourth period made it 63-29. With 5:23 left, Mayfield played backups the rest of the game.
“We got some good stops and we caused some problems with defense,” Mayfield said. “Kinda wore ‘em down a little and used our depth.”
McNealy led all scorers with 19 points while hauling in 10 rebounds. Other double-figure scorers for Farragut included sophomore wing Gabbie Vanacker with 14, senior point-guard Jaci Neubert scoring 11 and sophomore post Trinity Curry adding 11.
Rylee Roberts led the KHS girls in scoring with 16.
McNealy is glad to have Vanacker on board. “We have a lot of people who can play,” she said. “It’s not just first five, it’s next five, too. Without her, (Vanacker) we wouldn’t be where we are.”
The Lady Ads (12-5 overall after the win) will host William Blount to begin District 4-4A play at 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 10.
