‘Sharing the ball’ a key factor in resounding Lady Ads wins

KNOXVILLE — Out of the gate with a roar, Farragut’s Lady Admirals chalked up three resounding Hall of Fame victories last week to begin the season.

A trip to Athens opened the campaign Thursday night, Nov. 17, as FHS ripped McMinn County 71-39 behind 13 points from senior guard Annalise Bishop and 12 from sophomore guard Annie Priest. Mya Johnston, Hannah Enderson and Maelyn McNealy each scored eight while K.J. McNealy had seven.

Then came a doubleheader romp at Carter High School two days later.

Farragut first disposed of Karns 74-50 Saturday afternoon, Nov. 19, then came back just a couple of hours later to put the clamps on Carter’s offense, winning 51-12.

“I’m really pleased with the way that we share the ball,” Lady Admirals skipper Jason Mayfield said. “We’ve had more than 17 assists every game. At McMinn it was 19 assists on 24 made field goals.

“And in all three games we’ve been able to use our depth, which is really good.”

Versus Carter, Enderson scored 11 followed by Bishop with 10.

Against Karns, Maelyn McNealy led the Lady Ads with a game-high 21 points. K.J. McNealy, Maelyn’s sister, scored 13. Priest added 11 points.

Looking ahead, “I think we have some more competition down the road,” Mayfield said, “starting with our Thanksgiving Tournament this week (Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 21-22, and Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25-26).”

Despite an outstanding first week of basketball, “It’s still early,” the Lady Admirals skipper said.

In the annual FHS Thanksgiving tourney, “There’s some really good girls teams, and there’s some really good boys teams,” Mayfield added.