GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The Lady Wildcats in the 2024-2025 season finished with a record of 18-13 and finished as first place in their district with an 8-2 record. There were ups and downs for the ‘Cats, but their resilience led them to winning the district championship over Franklin County 49-31.

Their run to the district title came after losing two straight games. This was the story of the Lady Wildcats throughout the year. They had a six-game losing streak after winning their first six games of the season, and instead of getting frustrated and letting the season start to go off the rails they stuck together and continued to try to play their brand of basketball. They took this mentality into the district tournament.

Brush off the mistakes, and continue to play with maximum effort.

Junior McLayne Bobo was a big part of that title run, as she put together another stellar season of hoops. She was awarded the district tournament MVP as well as the MVP of the district in the regular season.

“That’s what is so impressive about McLayne, her desire to improve her game and continue to put in extra work even as she has had success in her high school career. Her work ethic and how hard she competes raises the standard in our program and is a motivator for her teammates to know that it takes the extra effort and work to continue to improve and reach those types of personal goals,” head coach of the Lady Wildcats Chad Hibdon said regarding Bobo.

Her play alone leaves the ceiling extremely high for what the 2025-2026 season could become, as she was surrounded by a talented freshman class this year, including the likes of Addison Vincent, Kenzie Farrell, Zoie Roberts, Anabelle Smith, Madison McCarl, and scrappy freshman guard Lizzy Sharpton.

Sharpton in her first season made a huge impact on the court and earned the starting spot right away under coach Hibdon. Her hustle and agro-defense highlighted her skill set, and as the season went on Sharpton’s offense game began to grow with her already well-established defensive game. She began to hit three-pointers in games regularly and began to show off some fancy footwork around the basket that led to some touch floaters and finesse layups.

“Her ability to make plays and make the big plays has been really impressive. When we need a big defensive stop, she gets a steal, deflection, or a big block.  Lizzy does the same on the offensive end when we need a big play, she gets a big bucket or grabs a needed offensive rebound,” said coach Hibdon

Sharpton was recognized as one of the best players in TN in her graduating class after she was mentioned in a list of the top players for Tennessee I Class of 2028 players by Major Moves Media. She was also named on both the all district team for the regular season, and the district all-tournament team, along with Bobo, and senior Tullahoma forward Isabella Lidstrom.

Lidstrom was huge all year for the ‘Cats with her play on the floor and her leadership. She was the backbone of setting up the Wildcats defense, which held teams under 40 points 12 times this year. She was also one of the team’s best rebounders, and was the best post scorer on the Lady Wildcats squad.

“Isabella has really had such a great second half of the season, especially in district play. She has been more active in her scoring and rebounding during that time. With her size and how hard she plays she really impacts the game on offense and defense,” said coach Hibdon.

The Lady Wildcats will be without Lidstrom next year, as well as guard Lakaiyah Barnes. Barnes was one of the team’s better on ball defenders, and she really came alive as a player and played her best basketball in the district tournament.

“Confidence! We have been talking with Kai about having confidence in her ability to be an elite defender and making teams pay for not guarding her on the perimeter. She had shied away from being aggressive the last few games and we just emphasized for her to be her great,” coach Hibdon said regarding Barnes’ uptick in pay in the district tournament.

Some players fold in the big moments, and Barnes certainly did not.

Unfortunately for the Lady Wildcats, after earning a high seed in the regional tournament bracket–giving them home-court advantage–their season ended in the first round of the regional tournament. They fell to Livingston Academy 50-35.

Overall though it was a successful season for the ‘Cats. They overcame losing streaks and injuries to main rotation players and still carved out a path to be crowned the 2024-2025 District 3A-8 Champions.