Lady Ads left smiling after big week
Teammate Lilly Mullins had just leaped into Curry’s arms to celebrate Curry’s first 3-pointer of the season, which she nailed during the Lady Admirals’ 75-17 win over West on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
That victory made up one part of a milestone week for the Lady Ads as they returned home following a post-holiday tournament in Gatlinburg.
“I didn’t think it was going in, but I’m glad they trusted in me,” Curry said of her shot. “I was like, ‘Lilly, what are you doing?’ But it was pretty funny though.”
Two days prior, FHS took down Rhea County in district action Tuesday, Jan. 6. That 58-49 win featured 20 points from Zoe Porter, who hit five first-half 3-pointers in the win to pace the Lady Ads.
“She’s getting better defensively and in her decision-making, but she’s a person that’s stepped into that role with Gabby (Vanacker) and Livi (Slagle) hurt,” Farragut girls coach Jason Mayfield said. “We’ve told her to fire it up when you see an opening, and she has done a really good job of that.”
Later in that same game, senior KJ McNealy set a new program rebounding record when she passed former Farragut assistant coach and 2002 graduate Alex Munday in career boards.
After the win and the record, Mayfield still noted a defensive lapse through the first portion of the game. But FHS put on the clamps in the second half to pull away.
“We were a step slow defensively, just not there,” Mayfield said. “But we held them to eight points the last 10 minutes, so that was much better.”
West was a different story, as Farragut jumped out to a 19-2 lead and never let up. The final tally saw five players reach double figures: Makenna Hartley (14), Curry (13), Porter (12 on four 3-pointers) and Reagan Sheridan (10).
Two of the Lady Ads’ first-quarter points came from Raina Styles, who returned from injury against a Lady Rebels team that has dealt with some hardships of its own.
“They’re dealing with some injuries and stuff like we are, and theirs is more recent,” Mayfield said. “But I felt like we put 32 minutes together and there weren’t a lot of lapses. (Styles) made a jump shot early in the game, so it was good to see them cheering for her.”
Mayfield noted Vanacker was cleared last week, though she has moved slowly toward a return depending on how her knee responds.
And the moment from Curry? It was icing on the cake from a week to remember.
“We want her to post more, and that’s the main thing, but she can step out and shoot it,” Mayfield said. “Her making that shot was fun. I can’t say enough about the culture of our program and our kids. It was a great culture when I took over 14 years ago, and I feel like we’ve continued that tradition.”
