Lady Wildcats eye district opener against Bearden
Oak Ridge High School’s girls basketball team had a quiet Thanksgiving week, but the Lady Wildcats are preparing to return to action following a long early-season break.
ORHS (1-1) last played on Tuesday, Nov. 18, when it dropped a 67-27 road decision to Cookeville in a Hall of Fame game.
The Lady Wildcats won’t play again until they open District 4-4A play with a tough road test at Bearden, a perennial state power in West Knoxville.
“We’re just looking forward to getting to play again,” said Kevin Tubbs, Oak Ridge’s first-year head coach. “I inherited a schedule where we had the two Hall of Fame games, and now we’re getting ready to play what is really our first regular-season game.”
Bearden is far from a typical opponent. The Lady Bulldogs are the defending District 4-4A champions and return one of East Tennessee’s top players in senior point guard Natalya Hodge, a Missouri signee.
Hodge led Bearden to the Class 4A state semifinals in March.
Oak Ridge began the 2025-26 season with a 52-34 home win over Oliver Springs on Nov. 17. The matchup against Bearden will mark the start of a new chapter for the Lady Wildcats, who have a new head coach and five new starters.
The game also holds added significance, as Bearden seeks payback for last season’s Region 2-4A tournament championship loss to Oak Ridge.
“Bearden is a great team, and they’ll be a real challenge for us,” Tubbs said. “Hodge is a great player.”
Tubbs replaced longtime Head Coach Paige Taylor, who stepped down after leading Oak Ridge to 10-consecutive district championships.
After coaching last season at Seymour and previously compiling an impressive coaching résumé in Alabama, Tubbs said he embraces the challenge ahead.
“That’s part of the reason you come to Oak Ridge,” he said. “There’s a great tradition here, and you want to play against the best teams and coach against the best coaches.”