Hardin Valley 50 Campbell County 44

TOP PHOTO: WLAF’s Clayton Carroll says so long to the Lady Cougars as his tenure as Voice of the Lady Cougars comes to a close.

By Clayton Carroll

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- You know what they say…all good things must come to an end, and unfortunately, that statement was true for the Lady Cougars’ basketball season on Friday.

Campbell started off well, leading the Lady Hawks of Hardin Valley 12-9 after one quarter.

The Lady Hawks flew ahead of the Lady Cougars, and never turned back. Due to transition buckets and an advantage on the offensive glass, Hardin Valley was able to hang on and grab a 50-44 victory against the Orange-and-Blue. This unfortunately ended the Lady Cougars’ 2024-2025 season and was the final basketball game the six Campbell County seniors would play.

Carley Kitts, the Mills Door and More Player of the Game, was the top scorer with one of her best performances of the season, scoring 20 points. Lacey Pemberton also totaled double digits with 14 points. Jayden Kitts scored six on the night. Preslee Chapman and Saylor Hutcheson rounded out the scorebook with two points a piece.

Six seniors, Bella Lester, Carley Kitts, Destiny Rutherford, Lacey Pemberton, Saylor Hutcheson, and Aleeah Woodson, laced up their basketball sneakers for the final time dressed in Blue-and-Orange. This was a group that finished with a 77-45 record, had back-to-back district tournament championship appearances, and made it to the region tournament all four years.

Looking ahead to next year, the future is bright for the Jason Kitts led Lady Cougars. Jayden Kitts and Preslee Chapman will get a chance to shine even more in their junior season. Also, Reagan Davis, who will be the lone senior on the squad, will have a chance to show off her skills on Brown Court. 

Between this, and the impressive 8th grade class headlined by Jacksboro’s Addy Coleman and Alexa York, Campbell will be somewhat young, but very talented which should be a recipe for a successful and thrilling season.

The district also features the addition of a former member, and the exiting of a long-standing one. Oak Ridge heads to district four, and West comes back to district three. District 3-AAAA will feature Campbell County, Karns, Powell, Halls, Knox Central, and Knox West.

It’s a tough end to the season for sure, but the feature is bright and exciting for the Lady Cougar Basketball program.

NOTE FROM AUTHOR:

Thank you so much for the memories, Lady Cougars! The two years I had the privilege of announcing the Orange-and-Blue were something special. I’ll never forget the two trips to Pensacola, the district championship games, and just the all around good times! And for one more time, “Splash!!!” And Go Lady Cougars! (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-03/03/2025-6AM)

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