Hancock, Redman, McGowan Inducted Into Bearettes' Hall Of Fame

  • Sunday, December 9, 2018
  • Larry Fleming
The Bradley Central High School Bearettes inducted three former stars into their Hall of Fame Saturday evening prior to their East-West Classic II contest with Arlington. Those honored, shown with Bradley's girls coach Jason Reuter  were, left to right, Alice Hancock, represented by her family, Paige Redman, Reuter, and Amy Geren McGowan.
The Bradley Central High School Bearettes inducted three former stars into their Hall of Fame Saturday evening prior to their East-West Classic II contest with Arlington. Those honored, shown with Bradley's girls coach Jason Reuter were, left to right, Alice Hancock, represented by her family, Paige Redman, Reuter, and Amy Geren McGowan.
photo by Dennis Norwood

Three former Bradley Central Bearettes basketball stars were inducted into the program’s Hall of Fame on Saturday prior to the team’s East-West Classic II game against Arlington at Jim Smiddy Arena.

The Bearettes made it an eventful night watching the induction ceremonies and then going out and thrashing Arlington, 53-32.

The inductees are Alice Hancock, Paige Redman and Amy Geren McGowan.

Alice Hancock: Alice played on legendary coach Jim Smiddy’s first state championship team in 1962.

She became one of the best defensive players in the state and one of the leading rebounders. She helped lead the team back to the state tourney in 1964 where they finished second and 1965 when they placed third.

During her career, the Bearettes accumulated an incredible record of 129-15.

Hancock’s No. 15 jersey is retired along with other great former Bearette legends. Hancock passed away in February 2013 and was represented by family members.

Paige Redman: Paige began her career under Smiddy in 1992-93, his final season coaching the Bearrettes. During her career she scored 2,251 points, which is eighth all-time in Bearette history and she did it in three seasons due to Bradley not having a freshman class at the time.

The Bearettes went 90-10 during her career and finished runner-up in the state tournament in her senior season.

The Bearettes won three regular-season district titles along with the District-5-3A tournament championships and two Region 3-3A titles in postseason play.

One of the highlights of Paige’s career was being named the MVP of the prestigious Greeneville Lady’s Classic won by the Bearettes in 1993 and 1994. In the 1993 tournament they defeated Chicago Marshall who came into the game with a 70-game winning streak and back-to-back Illinois state titles.

In the 1994 tourney Bradley a 44-game winning streak of nearby Meigs County in the semifinals and then defeated the No. 18-ranked team in the country, James Madison, of Virginia, in the championship game.

Redman was twice named to the all-state team and along with teammate Amy Geren was nominated for Miss Basketball award in 1995.

Paige, who signed and played four seasons with Vanderbilt, is currently the girls’ coach at Oak Ridge and serves as a counselor at the school. The Lady Wildcats took part in the East-West Classic this weekend.

Amy Geren McGowan: Amy finished her career at Bradley with 1,995 points in three seasons, a figure that stands 12th in Bearettes history. The Bearettes were 90-10 during her career and finished 2nd in the state her senior season.

During the 1995 state tournament, she was named the MVP. She was twice named all-state and was nominated for Miss Basketball that same year.

In each of her three seasons, the team won regular season district championships and the District 5-3A tournament along with the Region 3-3A tournament. The Bearettes achieved their highest national ranking at No. 11 in the USA Today girl’s poll during the 1994-95 season.

McGowan also led the Bearette volleyball team to back-to-back state titles in 1994 and 1995 and has her No. 44 jersey retired in both sports.

She signed with Clemson University and set numerous records during her playing days under Jim Davis, who hails from nearby Calhoun, Tennessee. She led the Lady Tigers to back-to-back 25-win seasons, a first for the school and helped them to the Sweet 16 in 1998. The Lady Tigers won the conference championship in her freshman and senior seasons.

McGowan still holds the Clemson record for 3-point shots made in a season with 70 in 1998. Amy won the 3-point shooting contest at the NCAA Final Four in 1998 and after winning the ladies’ portion, she out-shot future NBA pro Jason Terry in a challenge match on national television.

McGowan’s late father, Barkley Geren, and her mother Mabel Delay Geren both played on state championship teams for the Bears and Bearettes in 1961-62. Amy is currently a teacher and coach at Cleveland Middle School.

 

 

 
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