By Michael Lindsay
The Stone Memorial Lady Panther softball team wrapped up their 2026 season on Thursday in the Class 3A state tournament as they fell to Cocke County in the consolation bracket, 7-0.
“At the very beginning of the season, the state tournament wasn’t necessarily on our list,” said Stone Memorial head coach Brittany Bilbrey. “We had some goals in the district and region, and we were able to push past those and make it to this stage says a lot about them as players and people.”
Stone Memorial seniors Ashley Whittenburg and Cadence Cox wrapped up their Lady Panther careers with the deepest run in program history, tying the 2007 team’s state tournament appearance. The Lady Panthers won the District 7-3A championship, Region 4-3A championship, Class 3A sectional and finished as a top-6 team in Class 3A.
“Their leadership and play have been so much to this program,” said Bilbrey on the seniors. “When I came back (to coach), we saw some glimmers of hope and what we could be. The standard’s been set by them, and now it’s up to these returners and the girls in the middle school program to put emphasis on what matters and what it takes to win. Now we’ve really seen what it takes to win in these games in this tournament.”
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