Hodge gets hot to lead Bearden past Farragut
It was a signature look on a vintage night for the Missouri signee, who nailed four second-half 3-pointers to lead Bearden past Farragut, 72-41, for a District 4-4A rivalry win on Friday, Jan. 16.
“My adrenaline got back up just because I wasn’t hitting in the first half,” Hodge said later. “But hitting that felt really good, especially in a rivalry game.”
Hodge paced the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points, nine of which came amidst an 18-0 Bearden run to start the third quarter.
That burst began with back-to-back triples from Emma Rainey and Hodge to get the Lady Bulldogs rolling. Also, it followed a second quarter in which Farragut scored only three points.
That frame plunged FHS into a double-digit deficit, and they could not recover en route to their first district loss of the season. Meanwhile, Friday’s win kept Bearden perfect atop District 4-4A.
“Emma and Nat hitting those 3s really got us going, and our defense in the second quarter helped us get some separation, too,” Bearden girls coach Justin Underwood said. “It’s not always how it happens, especially in rivalry games, but I was proud of our girls. Our defense was really good and we hit our stride there in the second half.”
BHS also saw 13 points and 10 points from MC LeMarbre and Riley Hunt, respectively.
Farragut senior KJ McNealy scored 23 points in the loss, finishing as the only Lady Admiral in double figures.
“She realized she’s got the talent to go compete,” FHS coach Jason Mayfield noted of the Grand Canyon signee. “That’s the way she needs to approach every game and every practice — but we need to have that all the time.”
“And she wasn’t perfect by any means,” Mayfield continued, “but we’ve got to have some other ones step up, too.”
The Farragut coach added that he did not make many adjustments at halftime, as they trailed 30-16 at that point.
“But then we let their big guns get going a little bit,” Mayfield said. “We didn’t quit, which I’m thankful for, but we also didn’t show a lot of toughness. That’s not indicative of our program and we know that. So we will regroup next week.”
For FHS, that regrouping included another district affair against Hardin Valley Academy on Tuesday night at HVA.
Meanwhile, Bearden traveled to Oak Ridge the same evening, though both games took place after press time.
