Maryville likely 4-4A tourney semifinal opponent for Lady Ads
The Lady Admirals went three-for-three, closing it out with a 58-41 road win over Kingston that wasn’t as close as the score indicated — leading by as many as 29 points.
Farragut goes into District 4-4A Tournament play this week as the No. 2 seed, and will begin at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20, against the winner of No. 3 seed Maryville and No. 6 seed Knoxville West, all at Hardin Valley Academy.
If the Lady Ads win, they would advance to the championship game — if seeding form holds it would be versus top seed Bearden, which would begin at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 24, at HVA.
Final regular season play
Three days earlier on Tuesday, Feb. 11, FHS finished District 4-4A play with a 43-28 home victory over Hardin Valley Academy. On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Lady Admirals easily beat Fulton on Senior Night.
Then at Kingston, “Thought we played really well defensively,” FHS head coach Jason Mayfield said of the game against the Lady Yellow Jackets. “We were able to get a bunch of players in; I took the top six or seven out by the fourth (quarter).”
Mayfield probably could have subbed even earlier. Farragut started strong on both ends of the floor and had a commanding 16-point lead after one, 25-9. By halftime, the lead was 20, 38-18.
By the end of the third, the game was long over as FHS’s lead had swelled to 29, 53-24. Mayfield then substituted widely as Farragut cruised to the end.
“They’re not a bad basketball team; it was good for us,” Mayfield said of Kingston and the season-ending win. “We shot it Ok, though we were only five of 21 from three(-point range).
“We were trying to play a little faster, and ended up turning it over a few too many times in the second half,” he added.
Sophomore post Trinity Curry led all scorers with 16. Senior point guard Jaci Neubert added 15 points.
Mayfield reflects
Mayfield said he is proud of his team’s regular season, but felt a few wins got away.
“It was good,” he said. “It’s a tough schedule. I feel like we should have been 26-4. No better way to test yourself than to schedule hard.”
The Lady Admirals begin the District Tournament with a bye, which automatically advances them to the Region 2-4A Tournament.
“Looking forward to the postseason,” Mayfield said.
Seniors honored
Three FHA seniors were honored on Senior Night between varsity games Feb. 13: starting guard Jaci Neubert, starting point guard Annie Priest and back-up post Kyra Wray. (See photo, page 1B)
