Sports
December 23, 2025 by Bill Howard, Correspondent
Farragut High School’s girls’ basketball team had a less-than-stellar first half last Monday night, Dec. 15, on the road at Jefferson County High School.
But the second half righted the ship.
Leading by only two at half, 18-16, the Lady Admirals pulled away in the second half, winning comfortably at 55-35. The non-district win improved FHS to 6-4 overall (3-0 district).
Senior guard KJ McNealy led all scorers with 27,
including four three-pointers. Junior post Trinity Curry added 12.
“Defensively, we finally put together a full 32 minutes,” Farragut coach Jason Mayfield said. “Up 18-16 at half … we were getting good shots, but sometimes that happens. But, they stayed focused and we put together a pretty good second half.”
“First half, we should have been winning by a lot more than we were,” McNealy said. “He (Mayfield) says I need to set the tone, so we came out and I got that first steal, and we were fine.”
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December 23, 2025 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Hardin Valley — Hardin Valley Academy girls basketball coach Jennifer Galloway left Tuesday night pleased with both the performance and growth shown by her young Lady Hawks after a decisive 63-25 home victory over Karns on Dec. 16.
“I’m really proud of our girls,” Galloway said. “We rebounded pretty well, played good defense and shot the ball pretty well. We also saw some different defenses and did a good job adjusting.”
The Lady Hawks overcame some early shooting struggles by leaning on their defense, which set the tone from the opening tip. Hardin Valley limited Karns to just two points in the first quarter while building a 10-2 lead.
Karns (0-8) got its lone first-quarter basket from Kiki Clay, the Lady Beavers’ only returning starter from last season’s Region 2-4A Tournament team, when she scored late in the opening period.
Hardin Valley (5-6) continued to smother Karns’ offense in the second quarter, forcing tough shots and limiting second-chance opportunities. The Lady Hawks steadily extended their lead and went into halftime ahead 27-8.
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December 23, 2025 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
HARDIN VALLEY — The early stages of the 2025-26 basketball season have been a roller-coaster ride for Hardin Valley Academy’s boys.
The Hawks have hovered around mediocrity through their first 12 games, and things didn’t go well early last week. Despite getting off to a fast start, they dropped a 76-60 non-district loss to rival Karns on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at home.
“We’re young and we’re not thick enough, and a lot of that is because of our youth,” HVA coach Andy Arendt said. “But we’ve got to grow up sometime.”
The Hawks (6-6) were coming off a big win over Kingston Saturday, Dec. 13, and early on looked poised to build
off that victory. Hardin Valley opened a 19-13 lead against the Beavers by the end of the first quarter.
After the early surge, things slowly unraveled for the Hawks. One of Hardin Valley’s leading scorers, Kristian Oliver, was held scoreless while plagued by foul trouble throughout the night. He wasn’t the only Hawk saddled with fouls, as Jax Sparks and Kymani Smith also dealt with foul trouble.
“We can’t have games where Kristian Oliver doesn’t score, and the reason we got into foul trouble is because we keep reaching with our hands,” Arendt said.
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December 23, 2025 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Knoxville — Four Webb School of Knoxville girls soccer players recently received all-state honors from Tennessee High School Soccer Coaches Association.
In each of the last two seasons, the Lady Spartans have reached the Division II-AA State Championship Match, finishing as runners-up in both 2024-25.
One of the top sides in East Tennessee, Webb was represented on the squad by senior forward McKalie Ball, senior forward/midfielder Emerson Clarke, junior defender Mary Mac Emery and sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Newell.
Ball and Clarke were two of the area’s top offensive players while Mac Emery was one of the area’s top defenders and Newell was one of Knoxville’s top netminders. The Lady Spartans finished 14-2-2 and swept through their Region II-AA East Region Schedule regular-season slate of matches, going 4-0 in league play.
Webb’s two losses came to region nemesis Chattanooga Baylor in the region championship and state title matches. The Lady Spartans, however, toppled the Lady Raiders during the regular season.
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December 23, 2025 by Bill Howard, Correspondent
Farragut High School’s boys’ basketball team suffered another last-second loss Tuesday night, falling 54-52 on the road at Jefferson County.
Trailing by three in the final seconds, senior Parker Lane went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie. After missing the first and making the second, Lane intentionally missed the third, but Farragut was unable to convert the offensive rebound, sealing the loss.
“It’s not the end-of-
game mistakes that lose the game,” assistant coach Cory Johnson said. “We didn’t play at our pace.”
Jefferson County limited Farragut’s transition offense and slowed the game, holding the Admirals to just 45 shot attempts — well below their typical output, Johnson said.
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