Kay Maynard State Farm Showcase Recap (Hosted by Lebanon HS)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"If you build it, they will come." Coach Barrett is a builder, and everywhere he has gone, good stuff has tended to happen. He his great add putting events together, and more importantly, having the connections, respect, and credibility to get some of the best teams in the state to show up. This past weekend, Lebanon HS hosted the Kay Maynard State Farm Classic, and some great basketball was played by some of the best teams, and players, in the state. Here are recaps from all four games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game 1: Bearden over York 47-40 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York's "do it all" Clemson Commit [player_tooltip player_id='408995' first='Reese' last='Beaty'], coming off a 35 point performance at Cookeville earlier in the week, helped get York out to an 9-2 lead in the early minutes of the 1st quarter as Bearden took a little longer to get warmed up. As sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='513233' first='Natalya' last='Hodge'] goes, so does Bearden, and she caught fire from behind the arc (5 of 11 from three) and finished with 19 pts, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds in a back and forth game. It wasn't until the final minutes that Bearden secured a victor. York's super '26 Raylee Warner finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds lead the way for York. I expect both of these teams to be dancing in Murphy Center come March. York's ability to hang with the big time 4A schools should give them a lot of optimism.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game 2: Knox Catholic over Bartlett 41-29</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No girls team in the state has traveled more, and played a tougher schedule, than Coach Wes Shappley's Lady Panthers Bartlett squad; and, I believe it will equate in a return trip to Middle Tennessee in March. A rematch from the holidays in which Bartlett won 55-52, Catholic had revenge on their mind. Their stifling 2-3 zone made every bucket tough on Bartlett only giving up 29 points. Bartlett did begin to make a late comeback, but 2026 Ari Swain drilled a huge three to stop the run, and KC pulled away after that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offensively Catholic was efficient and took high percentage shots. FAU signee [player_tooltip player_id='245355' first='Sydney' last='Mains'] once again led the way for Catholic with 18pts, 7 rebs, and 4 assists. Defending D2AA State Champion looks poised to make another run at the title in 2024. With [player_tooltip player_id='636390' first='Andrea' last='Flores'], Syndney Mains, [player_tooltip player_id='631091' first='Amaya' last='Redd'], [player_tooltip player_id='886656' first='Tinsley' last='Walker'], [player_tooltip player_id='290992' first='Caroline' last='Krueger'], [player_tooltip player_id='686347' first='Logan' last='Connatser'], and M. Frana--this team is LOADED!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game 3: Lebanon over The Webb School 52-35</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending D2A State Champion jumped out to a 16-9 1st qtr lead over host Lebanon but the lead was trimmed to 25-22 at half with [player_tooltip player_id='631089' first='Daria' last='Biryk'] pacing Webb with 11 points. Defense, defense, defense must have been the message at halftime as Lebanon (who started 3 freshmen) took control of the game forcing a flurry of turnovers in the 3rd. Sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='509171' first='Tiara' last='Spencer'] hit the first of back to back 3s to break the 30-30 tie and carry a 36-31 lead in to the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter was much of the same as turnovers for Webb turned in to points for the host outscoring the Lady Feet 16-4 in the final frame. [player_tooltip player_id='509171' first='Tiara' last='Spencer'] finished with a game high 15 points, Freshmen E.B. McDonald finished with 13 pts, 4 rebs, and 3 steals while fellow freshman Naleiya Withrow-Walker had 10 pts, 8 assts, and 4 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game 4: Westmoreland over Rockvale 34-28 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tough Defense and physicality was the theme in the night cap as buckets were hard to come by for the Lady Eagles and Lady Rockets in the final game of the Kay Maynard State Farm Showcase. Westmoreland tandom of Amelia Richardson and Baye Dobbs combined for 23 points and 9 rebounds as the Lady Eagles prevailed. Rockvale's [player_tooltip player_id='821989' first='Havyn' last='Harris'] led the way with 14pts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->