GATLINBURG – The North Greene girls basketball team watched their lead slip away in the fourth quarter on Saturday, but the Lady Huskies found new life in overtime to capture the Red Bracket championship in the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School.
The Lady Huskies let an 11-point, second-half lead get away from them, but when the game went to overtime North Greene dominated and pulled away to a 68-59 win over Cascade.
“It was a struggle defensively and we were caught in a catch 22 most of the day. We tried to outscore them, and I don’t really like doing that. But my kids showed some grit,” North Greene coach James Buchanan said. “We got a score and a stop to force overtime, and I think that showed a little toughness. Then I felt like we dominated overtime. It’s nice to get three wins in a good tournament against good teams, we’re pretty excited about this.”
Saturday’s fourth quarter started with North Greene leading 41-40, but Tralyn Southerland scored six straight points to stretch that to 47-42. With 3:17 left in regulation Eva Leonard came down the baseline and put a high-arcing runner from an awkward angle. She was fouled on the play as well and turned it into three points for a 50-44 lead.
Cascade cut the lead down to one point at 50-49 when Lizzie Keele took a steal the other way, but just 15 seconds later Josie Graham knocked down a triple for North Greene.
Cascade had left Graham open from beyond the arc for much of the second half to put an extra defender in the paint. She reluctantly took and missed three attempts, but her make with just over two minutes left seemed to rejuvenate her on the offensive end of the floor.
Cascade found its stroke from deep as well and Keele and Jocelyn Laughlin hit from beyond the arc to give the Champions their first lead in 25:52 of game play at 55-53.
With 37 seconds left Southerland made two charity tosses to even things at 55-55. From there the Lady Huskies made a tough defensive stand and forced a contested three-pointer with three seconds left that was off the mark.
With 2:13 left in overtime Graham went up strong from the block and earned three points the hard way. After a miss by Cascade Graham launched a triple the top of the key that bounced off the iron twice before dropping through the net for a 63-57 lead.
To really change the dynamic Graham jumped a pass just beyond midcourt and Southerland turned the steal into two free throws for a 65-57 lead.
Graham finished Saturday with 16 points and 11 of them came in the final six minutes of game play.
“Sometimes defense fuels offense and Josie does such a good job on that end of the floor. The girls were encouraging her to shoot, and she is a good scorer, but I think sometimes she gets focused on not missing. I hope the way she finished boosts her a little bit and she plays with a little more confidence going forward,” Buchanan said.
In the final minute Ella Head made one free toss and Graham made two to secure North Greene’s 68-59 win.
“We’ve not had that many real close games. This is what Christmas tournaments are for. You get to see unfamiliar teams and you get situations that you may not see any other time. To see them battle through that was encouraging,” Buchanan said.
North Grenee started the day with three-pointers from Leonard and Southerland for a quick 6-2 lead. Cascade then went in front at 9-8 when Kaegan Young drove the lane and laid one in.
With 1:08 left in the first quarter Southerland sank a triple to break a 13-13 tie. She then turned a steal into a layup before Graham set her up for two more points and a 20-13 lead with 18 seconds left in the opening period.
Southerland poured in 27 points on Saturday and was a force inside on both ends of the floor for the Lady Huskies. In North Greene’s other two games in Gatlinburg Southerland scored 25 and 20 points.
“She gives us that interior presence that forces the other team to make decisions on how to defend her. With that we can do a lot of things based on what decision they make,” Buchanan said. “That is a luxury to have somebody you can throw it in to and get buckets. Then she’s a great rebounder and when she gets her hands on it she keeps it. This was a big tournament for her all three days.”
In the second quarter Natalie Foshie slashed to the basket for a layup that put the Lady Huskies in front 30-21.
Head then came down the baseline for a layup and with 42 seconds left in the first half Southerland put North Greene in front 34-24.
The Lady Huskies took a 34-26 lead into halftime.
Cadie McDevitt got the second half started with a triple from the corner that gave the Lady Huskies their biggest lead at 37-26.
From that point North Greene struggled to find scoring opportunities as the Champions started collapsing into the lane.
Cascade closed the gap to 40-37 when Keele rolled in a backdoor layup. That margin closed to 41-40 when Keele made one of two free throws.
Laughlin led Cascade with 19 points, Keele had 17 points and Young scored 12.
With the win North Greene improved to 10-1 on the year and heads into the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic after Christmas.
North Greene had to survive a comeback attempt and get it done in OT, but the Lady Huskies won three-straight to claim their Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic Championship with a 68-59 win against Cascade. Hear what Head Coach James Buchanan’s thoughts were to close it out. pic.twitter.com/8H8FoUgDSM
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) December 20, 2025
