2025 Early Season Breakout: Bearden High School

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some teams to start the 2025-2026 season have come out of the gates blazing. One of those schools is Bearden High School from Knoxville, TN. They are currently 10-2 on the year and have won nine of their last 10 games. Here is a breakdown of some of the players on this squad who are contributing to their early-season success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["821770"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6944421299f7c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='821770' first='Riley' last='Hunt'] brings a lot to the guard position, one of her abilities being able to become a game-breaking scorer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> In a game against Oakland High School this season, Hunt scored 17 points in eight minutes. And while Hunt can score at a high level, she is unselfish and has other winning traits. A couple of them are her rebounding and wing defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hunt's effort is noticeable when she plays, as it looks like she never takes her foot off the gas. This is both prevalent in making her a menace on the boards in some games and a steal machine. In a game against West Ridge High School, where Hunt had 12 boards, and in a game against Sullivan East High School, she had four steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["513233"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-694442129a028"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Guard [player_tooltip player_id='513233' first='Natalya' last='Hodge'] has not only proven that her rank of the #3 best player in her class is deserved, but she is making an argument that she could go even higher in the ranks this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hodge, who was a lethal scorer last year, has shown that in spades in 2025 thus far. She already has multiple games with 20 or more points. Her three-point shot is a big part of her scoreboard-shattering scoring ability. In a contest against Morristown-Hamblen West High School, she made seven threes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hodge also this year has continued to be one of the best defenders every time she steps on the court. This was seen in a game against Oak Ridge High School, where she had nine steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["816550"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-694442129a08e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In her senior season, [player_tooltip player_id='816550' first='Emma' last='Rainey'] has had nothing but a positive impact on the Lady Bulldogs' games this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rainey does a little bit of everything, but one of the main things she likes to do when she steps on the court is get her teammates involved. With her above-average dribble, she creates space well, which also helps open up space for her teammates. With this, she is good at seeing the floor and locating them. She displayed this in a game against Rhea County, where she had seven assists. In this same game, she also showed her defensive prowess by getting five steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When it comes to Rainey's scoring ability, she can score in a multitude of ways, but shines especially in fast-break scenarios and with her jumper from the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"MC LeMarbre","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12124","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Bearden ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-694442129a14c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">As just a sophomore, MC Lemarbre is making a big impact for this Bearden basketball team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LeMarbre is an extremely versatile player who has performed especially well in the interior so far this season. Against Oak Ridge High School, she showed this by getting a double-double. She had 15 points and 10 rebounds. A lot of these buckets came off offensive rebounds followed by short shots in the interior. In this game, the second-year player looked more than comfortable scoring around the rim and through traffic, which she did a couple of times against Oak Ridge. LeMarbre also showed she can spread the floor by drilling a lefty three-pointer as one of her buckets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This season, LeMarbre has also proven to be a great defender. In this same game against Oak Ridge, she had four steals and two blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1230945"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-694442129a1a3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Center for Bearden [player_tooltip player_id='1230945' first='Katie' last='Foster'] has been a great defensive anchor for this team in her senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Surrounded by great wing defenders, Foster, when in the game, makes the idea of scoring for opposing teams feel bleak. Foster does a great job of reading the movement of opposing teams from the low post. This helps put herself in good spots to block and contest shots. This was seen in a game against West High School, where she had two blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Foster, with her experience in her four years of high school, has also become a good scorer in the paint on the offensive end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->