FHS girls in command
KARNS — Most basketball coaches are likely to say they prefer balanced scoring in their teams.
Sometimes imbalance works just fine.
In its 52-35 non-district win on the road Friday night, Jan. 5, versus Karns, Farragut’s girls basketball team got 48 points — an astounding 92 percent — from just three players.
And by the end of the first quarter, the scrappy, physical game was never in doubt.
“You got two good teams, both of ’em playing hard,” Lady Admirals head coach Jason Mayfield said. “You just have to tough it out. Points have been hard to come by for us the past four or five games.”
Jaci Neubert, FHS’s speedy junior point guard, led all scorers with 21 points while running the offense. Senior wing Mya Johnston got 14 while sophomore wing KJ McNealy added 13.
Points were especially difficult for the Lady Beavers. Reece Roberts led Karns with 11.
“Keeping ’em off the three-point line,” McNealy said when asked about the key to victory. “We know they like to shoot, so keeping them off the three-point line was our focus.”
Down 3-2 barely a minute into the game, the Lady Admirals (8-10 to star the week) ran off 11 straight to lead 13-3 with 2:46 left in the first quarter — and never looked back. It was 18-6 after one quarter.
“They had a very quick start; we were slow to start, and that was pretty much the ballgame,” Lady Beavers head coach Lauren Trent said.
The teams mostly traded baskets in the second quarter. FHS led 28-14 at the half.
Karns hung around, with Farragut leading 39-27 after three quarters.
A jumper by Johnston and four points by Neubert — two free throws and a lay-up — promptly put the game on ice early in the fourth quarter.
“They’re a good team, they can shoot the ball really well,” Mayfield said. “Finishing shots at the rim really helped.”
