Bearden squads book state trips
Saturday night, March 7, the Bearden Lady Bulldogs did not have their best stuff against Morristown East.
Monday night, March 9, the boys squad went back and forth with Maryville in one of the better games in the area.
In the end, though, both Bearden teams are headed to the state tournament — the girls for the second consecutive year, and the boys for the first time since 2022.
It is the fourth time they have made the state tournament in the same year. Also, it marks the Bulldogs’ 13th state appearance and the ninth state appearance for the Lady Bulldogs, who have an eye-popping 36 and 32 wins this year, respectively.
For the girls, they reached this point via a 56-43 win over Morristown East in Saturday’s Class 4A sectional, reaching the TSSAA Class 4A State Tournament for the second consecutive year.
In the process, the Lady Bulldogs cemented a 42-1 record over the last four years, the lone blemish being a region championship loss to Farragut in 2024.
“I think until I heard the actual numbers, it doesn’t do it justice until you sit and think about it,” Bearden girls coach Justin Underwood said. “Basketball is such a streaky sport, so to have that over 43 games is extremely impressive and reflects those kids and what they’ve accomplished. This senior group has etched itself among the best in terms of what they were able to do at Bearden.”
The end result was the same, as BHS cut down the nets in a sectional game for the second time in as many years.
Mo East limited Missouri signee Natalya Hodge to 13 points and held Emma Rainey, Katie Foster and Theola Mills in check for four points apiece.
MC LeMarbre came through with 17 points, and Riley Hunt added 11 to boost the Lady Bulldogs.
“Teams take their chances to give options, and MC stayed ready and got that opportunity,” Underwood said. “She did her job when she had her chances.
“Some of our usual pieces didn’t have as many as normal in the scoring column. But still, just being able to grind out a sub-state win is big.”
Now, Bearden will look to continue that effort on Thursday, March 12, against Bartlett in the state quarterfinals.
A win would put Underwood’s team into the semifinals for the second straight season.
On the boys side, Bearden will face a 32-2 Beech squad next Thursday, March 19, at 2:15 p.m.
They reached this point by dispatching a feisty Maryville squad, 53-50, in a game that appeared closer to a state tournament bout than one that determined who would go to state in the first place.
“It is not a game that should have occurred in a sectional,” Bearden boys coach Jeremy Parrott said. “Geographically, it makes zero sense to play a team 20 minutes away in this matchup. That was tough for the kids in the programs. I know they lost their region game, but it should have never been a possibility. We knew it would be a tough task, so it was one that could have gone either way. For us to pull it out was fantastic.”
Brendan Murphy led the Dawgs with 16 points while Carson Asbaty and Justin Nordin scored 15 and 12, respectively.
BHS led by 10 at one point in the second half then held on late for the win.
“It turned into a bit of a rock fight,” Parrott said. “We got a couple possession leads on them and spread the floor and kept the lead out of their reach.”
“Happy for those guys to knock down shots,” he added. “Justin requires a lot of attention, so for other guys to step up, it’s been huge all year. And it’s even bigger in a game like that.”
With the win, every player who has been part of the program under Parrott has been to at least one state tournament.
“Our guys have been resilient all year,” he said. “That’s a group of seniors who haven’t been to the state tournament and really wanted to go. And when you get those chances, you better make the most of them.”
