Tied for 3rd in state, BHS girls win half vs super Bradley
MURFREESBORO — Bearden High School’s girls proved to be the better basketball team versus two-time defending Division I-4A state champ Bradley Central for an entire 16 minutes, at least on the scoreboard, taking a 23-21 halftime lead against the mighty Bearettes in the Class 4A State Tournament semifinals.
Of course, it didn’t last, as Bradley woke up in the second half and easily won 66-39 Friday night, March 14, in Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
And while the Bearettes went on to cruise past Bartlett and capture the program’s third straight 4A state crown (35-1), Bearden’s season of dominance in District 4-4A, while proving to be alongside Oak Ridge as the two best 4A teams in East Tennessee, saw Justin Underwood’s girls finish tied for third place at state with a final 33-6 record.
Bearden 59 Whitehaven 24
Smothering defense got the Lady Bulldogs out of the gate quickly in the state quarterfinal Thursday night, March 13, drilling Whitehaven 59-24.
Offensively, Tennessee 4A Miss Basketball Finalist Natalya Hodge (winner announced after deadline Tuesday, March 18), star junior point guard, led Bearden in scoring, once again, with a game-high 19 points.
Kendall Anne Murphy, BHS senior wing, added 17 points and a co-team high eight rebounds, while senior forward Aisha Patel scored 10 with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Junior guard Emma Rainey finished with eight points for BHS.
The Lady Bulldogs’ defense allowed just seven second-half points to the Memphis school — just two in the third frame.
Bearden held huge advantages in points off turnovers (20 versus 6, and fastbreak points (17 versus 2).
Whitehaven finished its season with a 19-9 record.
First half versus Bradley
Against Bradley Central, the Lady Bulldogs built a 15-9 lead after the first quarter — with Hodge nailing a trio of three-point jumpers in the first eight minutes, scoring 12 of the 15 Bearden points — before holding on to its two-point halftime edge, which preceded the tough second-half.
Overall versus Bearettes
Hodge ended up scoring a team-high 21 points while adding seven rebounds.
Murphy added 12 points and raked down a team co-leading 10 boards.
Patel added 10 rebounds to go with a free throw.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs made just 12 of 53 shots.
The Bearettes held a huge 48-10 scoring edge in the paint (inside) while finishing with an 18-6 advantage in second-chance points, along with a 19-2 bulge in points off of turnovers.
Fast-break baskets also favored Bradley (22 versus 7).
BCHS star junior forward Kimora Fields, tourney MVP for the second time in three years and also a Miss Basketball Finalist, had a game-high in points, 27, and rebounds, 13.
