Bearden squads roll on Senior Night
The Lady Bulldogs picked up an 83-37 win, highlighted by 30 points from Natalya Hodge, 12 from Katie Foster, 11 from Riley Hunt and 10 from Emma Rainey.
In the boys game, Bearden won 81-57 behind 17 points from Carson Asbaty, 13 from Justin Nordin and 12 apiece from Sean Capshaw and Theo Mills.
That put both Bulldog teams at a perfect 12-0 in District 4-4A, as they enter this week’s district tournament as the top seeds.
In the girls’ game, Justin Underwood’s squad shot out to a fast start to take a 49-28 lead into halftime.
It was an impressive output given the pregame emotion, as the Lady Bulldog seniors went through handshakes with their moms — the same trend that took hold in Farragut a few days prior.
The moment allowed a deeper glimpse into each BHS player, especially Hodge, who wore a bubbly smile instead of the swaggering scowl she flashes after 3-pointers.
“It was bittersweet,” said Lakisha Dobbins, Hodge’s mother. “This is really the end, you know? The girl has two different personalities on and off the court, so I love the emotion she puts with it.”
The Bearden boys did not go through the same ceremony, opting only for the mid-court recognition that took place between games. Jeremy Parrott’s squad did honor its seniors during the action, though, as multiple Dawgs had big nights in the scorebook.
“They’ve been steady all year, but what’s made us hard to cover is that we have so many guys that can do things for us,” Parrott said. “I thought Theo (Mills) played really well. And a coach couldn’t ask for anything better than to have a group like this.”
With Alcoa looming the next night, Parrott noted that the Tornadoes would bring “a whole different fight.”
That wound up being the case, as Bearden pulled out a 76-75 win with Nordin hitting a game-winner in overtime.
But even with that win, Parrott offered a comment that could serve as summary for both Bearden teams since they were perfect in the district slate.
“It’s a league game, and we had an opportunity by good fortune to have an undefeated record in the district, which is very hard to do,” Parrott said. “I don’t care if it’s the Big Ten or the SEC or District 4. It’s hard to win ‘em all in your league, and that was a goal of theirs that they accomplished.”
