Bearden junior point guard Natalya Hodge had a huge game Monday night and helped her head coach, Justin Underwood, reach a milestone victory.
Hodge scored 37 points as the No. 1-seeded Lady Bulldogs beat No. 2 Farragut 56-43 for the District 4-4A tournament championship at Hardin Valley Academy.
Underwood, in his 14th season as Bearden’s head coach, won his 400th career game.
“I’m very proud of him,” said Hodge, who was chosen MVP of the district tournament. “He pushes us. Both of our coaches (Underwood and assistant Josh Suttles) push us a lot. Even though they jump our butt a lot, we still believe in everything they say.
“We continue to grow and continue to listen to them and play ball how they teach us. I’m very grateful and our team is very grateful for our coaches.”
Bearden (29-4), ranked No. 3 in the state by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association, defeated rival Farragut (22-9) for the third time this season.
Both will play at home Friday in the Region 2-4A elimination quarterfinals. Bearden will host Karns, while Farragut will play host to Powell.
“Getting a chance to host Friday night,” Underwood said, “and be the 1 (seed) on our side, our district year in and year out is so difficult. It’s such a challenge to get out of. (Coach) Jason (Mayfield) does a great job at Farragut and they’ve got a bunch of college players on their roster.
“Playing them for a third time and holding them to 43 points, you saw how our kids were rotating and moving; they executed the game plan to a tee. They’ve got lot of weapons offensively and we were fantastic defensively tonight.”
Bearden was almost a two-player show offensively Monday with Hodge and senior wing Kendall Anne Murphy, who scored 15 points.
Senior wing/post Aisha Patel had three points and junior post Theola Mills scored one, rounding out Bearden’s scoring.
Underwood gave credit to Suttles for game planning.
“He’s been with me the last seven or eight years,” Underwood said. “He’s just the glue. These girls listened to his game plan, his scouting report, to a tee, and held them to 43 points. Defensively, we did a phenomenal job tonight.”
Hodge made 12 of 16 shots from two-point range, many on drives and layups. She was 3 of 8 from 3-point range after missing her first five from beyond the arc. She made 4 of 5 free throws.
Hodge, averaging about 26 points per game, has more than 20 Division I offers. Illinois was scouting Hodge on Monday night.
“Every night she’s got somebody showing up to come see her,” Underwood said, “and she continues to perform regardless of what defenders they put on her and what defenses they throw at her. She’s extremely gifted offensively.”
Junior guard K.J. McNealy led Farragut’s scoring with 14 points and sophomore post Trinity Curry added 12 points.
McNealy scored two points in the second half on two free throws.
Farragut made 9 of 23 shots from two-point range (39 percent) and 4 of 24 from 3-point range (16.7 percent). The Lady Admirals were 13 of 15 from the free-throw line (86.7 percent).
“It’s a tough one, but we know, we’re done with that (game),” Mayfield said. “We missed that opportunity and we’ll move on.”
Bearden made 15 of 20 shots from two-point range (75 percent) and 6 of 18 from 3-point range (33.3 percent). The Lady Bulldogs were 8 of 12 from the line (66.7 percent).
Bearden never trailed in the game, starting it with a 7-0 run. Murphy’s 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer gave Bearden a 22-11 lead. Hodge had 12 points and Murphy 10 in the first quarter.
“It was a tough opening to the game,” Mayfield said. “I think we gave up five offensive rebounds in the first quarter and I think we had five turnovers in the first quarter. When you’re playing a great team like that, we’ve got to do a much better job of starting games.”
Bearden had a 32-25 lead at halftime when Hodge and Murphy had all its points. Hodge had 17 at the half on 8-of-16 shooting, including 0 of 5 from 3-point range. She made her only free throw of the first half.
Murphy, who signed with Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) University, had 15 at halftime on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2 of 6 from 3-point range. She made all three of her free throws in the first half.
Murphy tried only one shot after halftime, missing a 3-point attempt.
“Those two have been our energizer bunnies,” Underwood said. “Natalya gets everything thrown at her, and she’s able to attack and finish. Kendall Anne looked like she was in a football game. That’s one of the toughest kids you’re going to deal with. Those two, you would never question their toughness. They’re Bulldog through and through.”
Farragut cut the deficit to four points midway through the third quarter and trailed 46-38 after three quarters.
Curry’s follow shot cut the deficit to eight again early in the fourth quarter. Hodge scored the next four points, giving Bearden double-digit leads the rest of the game.
“We had some foul trouble we had to play through a little bit,” Underwood said. “We played everybody, which we’re normally on a seven- or eight-person rotation.
“I thought we had good composure down the stretch. There was a possession with about 2 minutes left when we did such a great job and it didn’t seem like they were able to penetrate our (zone) defense, and I felt like that was a defining moment for us.”
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