Harding's Alex BlackHarding Academy 52, Davidson Academy 49
In a Division 2-A substate matchup pitting a pair of Miss Basketball finalists, it was a heady defensive play by Harding Academy sophomore reserve Ki'ana Christy that helped the host Lady Lions preserve a 52-49 victory over Nashville Davidson Academy on Friday and advance to next week's D2-A state tournament in Nashville.
Christy's defensive pressure on DA guard Lindsey Seigenthaler with 18.9 seconds left induced a five-second call after the Bears had cut Harding's lead to three (52-49) on a Seigenthaler 3-pointer with 45.3 seconds left.
"That was huge," said Christy's senior teammate, Alex Black, a 5-7 Chattanooga signee and D2-A Miss Basketball finalist who finished with a team-high 22 points for the Lady Lions (25-5).
Though Harding would go on to miss the front end of a 1-and-1 with 15.2 seconds left, DA junior Alex Warfield, the Bears' Miss Basketball finalist, threw the ball away on DA's next possession, and Christy ran out the final ticks after taking the inbounds pass.
"Ki'ana has been really good defensively for us all year," said Harding coach Becky Starks, whose Lady Lions advanced to state for a third straight season. "She's come up big and shut down some big-time players."
Harding, the No. 1 seed from the West Region, led by as many 12 points (31-19) in the third quarter before fourth-seeded DA (23-4) came storming back on the inside play of 5-11 freshman post Faith LeGate.
After a 1-of-6 start from the field in the first quarter, LeGate scored 23 of her game-high 25 points over the final three quarters, including 11 in the third to help slice Harding's lead to 38-33 after three.
The Bears, though, never got closer than three points the rest of the way.
Freshman guard Kaylah Keys had 12 points and senior post Christina Brown added eight for Harding. Warfield finished with 10 for DA while Seigenthaler had 11.
Briarcrest Christian 50, Brentwood Academy 37
Briarcrest Christian School punched its return ticket to the State Girls Division 2-AA semifinals Friday night with a 50-37 win over Brentwood Academy that they described as a team effort.
And you have no idea how good it felt for the Saints (21-5) to collectively say that.
"Really we didn't come together until the regional final (against St. Benedict)," said senior Anne Panagon, who had 12 points, including a coast-to-coast layup. Panagon then followed with two free throws that opened some space, 44-35, with 1:08 to play.
"Until last week, it was everybody kind of thinking, 'I've got to do this' or 'I've got to do that,' " Panagon said. "Now, we're playing for each other, and trusting each other. It took a long time for it to come."
Sophomore Dakota Doss, who wasn't eligible until early January, had six of her 12 points early, then hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute. Junior center Taylor Pugh added nine points, seven rebounds and did yeoman work against 6-2 Eagles' post Taylor Reece, who had 14 points.
“She was the focus all night. My job was to stay behind her, and force them to go with other options,” said Pugh, who was munching on a piece of a giant celebratory cookie with her shooting hand wrapped in ice after the long night’s battle in the lane.
Senior Amy Metcalfe, like Panagon playing her final home game, had 10 points, five assists and four steals. The bigger story was on defense as the Saints allowed the Eagles (16-13) just 13 second-half points.
"The pieces are coming together, and we're excited," said Saints' coach Lee Smith. “They offered some challenges, especially in the middle, but we did a really good job. We thought if we could keep Reece under 10 points, we’d do well. Over 20, then we have problems.”
The Eagles' only other scorer was 5-3 freshman guard Brooke McFarland, who had 11 points, including 3-point shots at the end of the first and second quarter. The second cut the Saints' lead to 29-24 at the break. Reece then opened the third quarter with back-to-back shots to make it 29-28.
"We didn't panic. Everyone just did their job," said Metcalfe, going to her third state semifinal after missing last year following a bitter homecourt quarterfinal loss to Baylor. "We've wanted this so bad."
After Reece’s third-quarter mini-run, Briarcrest’s defense largely shut off the middle. The Saints also forced the Eagles into 20 turnovers, while giving up just 11.
Smith said at times it’s been a struggle to re-form this unit around his two seniors.
“Taylor really stepped up today and did an outstanding job against a very tough player,” Smith said. “Anne and Amy steadied us when we needed it, but they now know they don’t have to do it all themselves. Dakota has shown us flashes of what she can do, but she’s still getting comfortable, and isn’t quite there yet.”
But the kids showed enough to let Panagon and Metcalfe have one more try at getting the Saints into a state championship game for the first time since 2006. BCS won four state titles from 1998-2004.
“This is it for us. So this means everything,” Panagon said.
St. Benedict 55 Chattanooga Baylor 32
A buzzsaw.
St. Benedict welcomed Chattanooga Baylor to Memphis with an old-fashioned whipping Friday. The Red Raiders traveled 350 miles and six hours only to run into a strong Lady Eagles basketball squad.
SBA improved to 25-5 with a 55-32 triumph over Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Division 2-AA state tournament. SBA advances to next Friday's state tournament at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
"(Friday's) win verifies that we are not a flash-in-the-pan team; we have built a strong program that is emerging," said St. Benedict coach Don Sebren. "We are two wins away from the gold ball; a state championship. It will take everyone pulling together to reach our goals."
Senior Allison Hotz said returning to state is a dream come true.
"Advancing to state in back-to-back years is a great accomplishment," said Hotz, who snagged eight rebounds and played stingy defense. "Hopefully, after next weekend, we will be champs."
Junior Kayley Coggin led the Lady Eagles with 12 points. Symone Daniels chipped in 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Amber Howard's 12 points led Baylor.
The Lady Eagles put on an offensive show in the first half, building a comfortable 22-3 cushion on a jumper by senior Elaina McCracken with 4:19 left. Julie Eckel sank one from the foul line to lift the hosts to a 29-13 advantage at intermission.
SBA coasted in the second half, leading 44-23 after three quarters and continued to pour it on in the fourth.
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