GATLINBURG – North Greene stayed hot and carried out another win in Gatlinburg over Franklin-Simpson, Ky. on Friday afternoon, 51-36, to advance to Saturday’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Tournament championship game.
The Lady Huskies fell behind 13-8 in the first quarter and then went on a 32-6 run to take complete control of the game by the second half.
Tralyn Southerland delivered another big offensive outing and led all scorers with an even twenty.
“Another strong performance from Tralyn. She had 20. Missed a lot of free throws which is uncharacteristic or she would’ve had 25 like she did yesterday,” Head Coach James Buchanan mentioned.
Eva Leonard shot well from outside the arc and drained three three-pointers to score 11 points total.
“It was good to see some buckets go in for her,” Buchanan stated.
North Greene will meet Cascade in today’s championship. They improved to 9-1 after Friday’s win.
Franklin-Simpson went on a few short runs in the first quarter and led 13-8 towards the end of the period before Ella Head sank a triple and Southerland finished an and-one play to end the first quarter with North Greene on top 14-13.
Leonard at point guard took control in the second quarter and scored North Greene’s next eight. She sank a floater first before nailing back-to-back three-point attempts. Southerland scored the final six points to send the Lady Huskies into the half with a 28-19 lead.
Leonard did not cool off and drained a corner three out of the half. Head made a three-pointer next and Cadie McDevitt scored four straight to finish the 32-6 run. North Greene led 43-29 after the third.
“We took away some things that they enjoyed and the counters they have to that. Those kids just weren’t making shots and it snowballed,” Buchanan said.
North Greene led by as much as 21 points before Franklin-Simpson went on a 15-4 run to cut the margin to only ten at the midway point of the fourth.
“When the pressure got turned up late when they were down and came after us I was really pleased with how we handled that pressure,” Coach Buchanan said.
Head’s quick hands on defense poked the ball away and Josie Graham picked it up and laid it off the glass for two. Southerland put the game out of reach for good with a layup at the two-minute mark.
The Lady Huskies triumphed for a 51-36 victory to make their way into today’s championship game at 10:30. “We’re glad to be playing for a championship. I don’t care what month it is,” Buchanan expressed.
North Greene carried out a 51-36 win over Franklin-Simpson early Friday afternoon to advance into tomorrow’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Championship. Hear what Coach James Buchanan’s thoughts were after another win for the Lady Huskies. pic.twitter.com/ZR6o3cehK9
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) December 19, 2025
