Former Bradley Central basketball standouts, from left, Trecia Watson Murphy, Martha Montgomery Frazier and Traci Dixon Long were inducted into the Bearettes Hall of Fame on Tuesday night at Jim Smiddy Arena.
photo by Larry Fleming
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – On Friday, former Bradley Central coach Kent Smith, the winningest boys coach in school history, enjoyed his time in a hall of fame spotlight.
Tuesday, it was the girls’ night out.
Trecia Watson Murphy, Martha Montgomery Frazier – they played on the same teams from 1964-67 - and Tracey Dixon James (1974-77) were inducted into the Bradley Central Bearettes Hall of Fame at Jim Smiddy Arena.
All three Bearettes standouts played for the legendary Smiddy, who retired in 1993 as the nation’s winningest coach with a 1,217-206 record. Smiddy passed away in July 1995 and was inducted into the Naismith Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
On the Smiddy-autographed court, the Bearettes knocked off Stone Memorial, 67-37, behind season-high 31-point effort of Rhyne Howard. The sophomore point guard scored 15 points when Bradley blitzed the Lady Panthers with a 23-5 third-period blitz that produced a 56-25 lead.
It was Bradley’s eighth straight victory.
Following the halftime hall of fame induction, the Bears got a double-double performance from junior standout Cole Copeland and defeated Stone Memorial, 60-34, for the third time this season.
Copeland finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. He had 13 and 11 at halftime and the Bears’ had doubled the score on the Panthers at 34-17.
The Bears stretched their winning season to nine games, longest since winning 18 in 2006-07.
Watson and Montgomery each set single-game scoring records during their prep career.
Watson broke the school mark with a 64-point explosion in a 95-19 rout of Cleveland in the first game ever between the two schools. Watson is the Bearettes’ No. 6 all-time career scorer with 2,308 points.
In Bradley’s very next game, Montgomery went off for 65 points, breaking Watson’s record, in an 83-31 shellacking of Polk County. Later that season, Jane Brock scored 93 points – she had 40 field goals and 13 free throws – in a game to set the Bearettes’ all-time record. Montgomery is No. 13 on the all-time scoring list with 1,730 points.
Bradley Central was 127-11 during their time at Bradley and four losses came in state tournament appearances.
With Watson and Montgomery paving the way, the Bearettes went to four straight state tourneys and finished second in 1964 and third the following year.
“I always wondered why God let me shine, but he let me shine in basketball,” Watson said. “Playing basketball at Bradley was the best time of my life. All the girls depended on each other and we were very close. We still stay in touch.”
Said Montgomery, “I was surrounded by great players and we had great teams. Coach (Smiddy) was tough on us, but it paid off. I tell you, it wasn’t just about me. We were all good players. And once a Bearette, always a Bearette. This tonight is a humbling experience.”
Dixon came along 10 years after Watson and Montgomery, but the Bearettes’ success reached a phenomenal plateau with back-to-back 36-0 seasons, a 90-game winning streak, a national No. 1 ranking and two state titles in four years.
Dixon finished her prep career No. 10 on the Bearettes’ all-time scoring list with 2,157 points, led Bradley to a 129-6 four-year record and was the state tournament MVP in 1976.
Like the other two inductees, Dixon shared the glory of old.
“I had great teammates and I could always count on them,” Dixon said. “I’m grateful to have been coached by the very best, to have had great teammates and to have been a small part of Bradley’s great tradition that’s still strong today.”
All three players were on teams that won four regular season district titles, four district and four region tournament titles.
Bradley Central Girls 67, Stone Memorial 37: This year’s Bearettes’ scoring defense has been the team’s best since 1962-63, giving up an average of 33.2 points coming into the game. The 1963 Bearettes gave up 32.6 points per game when high school girls played seven-minute quarters.
Coach Jason Reuter’s current squad (20-3) has held 10 opponents under 30 points, three below 20 and held Sequoyah scoreless in the second and fourth periods on Jan. 18.
In their previous seven games, all wins by the way, the Bearettes won by an average score of 64-26.
Bradley’s points allowed were slightly up, but the Bearettes still hammered the Lady Panthers by 30 points.
“We’ve been holding people down,” Reuter said. “In the third quarter tonight, we held Stone to five points and we put a lot of points on the board. You have to remember, we were up by 13 at halftime. You duplicate that in the second half and you win by 26.
“We landed a haymaker in the third.”
Swinging the heavy punch was Howard, who sparked a 23-2 run in the quarter to put the game away.
The Bearettes, 4-0 all-time against Stone Memorial, started the spree with an Emma Kate Brown 3. Howard dittoed that. Brown hit again from behind the arc and so did Howard. Then Howard converted a three-point play, giving her nine of the early 10 points.
Julia Gaither hit a field goal, Howard dropped in a layup, Halle Hughes followed with a bucket and Howard capped the outburst with two free throws.
Game over.
The only interruption in Bradley’s streak of scores was a field goal by Stone sophomore Tesa Johnson following Brown’s first 3-pointer.
“If I’m open, I’m going to start shooting the ball,” Howard said, “so we can put more points up. If I do that, the rest of the team gets pumped up as well.”
Howard, who had eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks, credited the Bearettes’ defense, which forced Stone into 29 turnovers and held the Lady Panthers to 2-of-11 shooting from 3-point distance.
“If we stop somebody defensively, that can leads to us scoring,” Howard said.
Halle Hughes finished with 11 points. Alex Eldridge and Johnson each scored 10 for the Lady Panthers.
Bradley Central Boys 60, Stone Memorial 34: Copeland, a Mr. Football semifinalist who could make a run at the Mr. Basketball award, was on fire in the first half.
His 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds on the clock gave the Bears a 12-3 lead and 10 points and seven rebounds in the first quarter.
Bradley outscored the Panthers 13-0 to start the second period and Copeland hit back-to-back 3s in the spree. Ty Beavers drained a 3 for Bradley’s next bucket and Bradley McCurdy’s field goal capped the quick start.
“Cole is just a real competitor,” Bears coach Chuck Clark said. “The will to win runs deep in that family.”
Bradley, which is 6-0 against Stone Memorial, began the third period about like the second, punishing the Panthers with a 15-3 burst that stretched the lead to 49-20.
After a Bradley free throw, McCurdy nailed a 3, Copeland made two in a row and added two layups and Beavers added a free throw.
Copeland spent most of the remainder of the game on the sidelines as reserves mopped up.
“I’ve scored 29 points two or three times this season and was trying to get over that hill,” he said. “I was shooting pretty well because I’ve been working on that, shooting more in practice and it’s starting to pay off. I think the team is playing well, too.”
McCurdy closed with 10 points. Tristian Norman led the Panthers with 21 points, including hitting six of their seven 3-pointers. Norman made four 3s in the first half.
BOXSCORES
Boys
Stone Memorial 3 14 10 7 – 34
Bradley Central 12 22 18 8 – 60
Stone Memorial (34) – Newcome 3, VanWinkle 4, Tristian Norman 21, Sexton 2, Barnwell, Headrick, Velker, Foster 4.
Bradley Central (60) – Cartwright 3, Brown 2, Cole Copeland 25, Tucker, Bradley McCurdy 10, Ware, Pitner 9, Beavers 4, Elrod 4, Williams 2.
3-Point Goals – Stone Memorial 7 (Norman 6, Newcome 1), Bradley Central 8 (Copeland 5, McCurdy 1, Pitner 1, Beavers 1).
Girls
Stone Memorial 10 10 5 12 – 37
Bradley Central 21 12 23 11 – 67
Stone Memorial (37) – Proffitt, Hinch 3, Alex Eldridge 10, Tesa Johnson 10, Stover 3, Selby 5, Hunt, Nelson, Reed 1, Tabor, Body 5.
Bradley Central (67) – Roberts, Halle Hughes 14, K. Brown, Emma Kate Brown 12, K. Hughes, Morgan, Rhyne Howard 31, Gaither 9, Davis, McRee 1, Lumbard,
3-Point Goals – Stone Memorial 2 (Stover 1, Selby 1), Bradley Central 11 (Howard 5, Gaither 3, E.K. Brown 2, H. Hughes 1).
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)