BY BRIAN HAMILTON
SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy came back from an 11-day layoff due to winter weather and laid an egg at Grace Christian on Tuesday, as the Lady Lions lost their first district game in 64-61 in overtime.
“We were a little salty about that and we had to get back out and get a win and get our motor going,” TKA head coach Dante Turnipseed said after the game. “I think we needed that, to be punched in the mouth by Grace (Christian) and to know that we’ve still got to play basketball. Nobody is scared of us. We’ve got to go out and play every night like it’s the championship.”
TKA’s Brady Branham looks to go up for a basket during the Lady Lions’ 89-17 district win over Berean Christian on Thursday. Photo by Brian Hamilton
TKA responded in the best way possible on Thursday night, notching a convincing 72-point win over district foe Berean Christian, as the Lady Lions disposed of the Lady Eagles 89-17.
“We really wanted to try and execute some of our stuff,” Turnipseed said of the blowout win. “We only have eight (players), so we felt like this was a good time to work on our plays. It was also a big confidence booster because we’ve not been shooting well. Just seeing the ball go in a couple times, that’s a confidence booster, along with just executing and doing what we need to do.”
Emily Atchley scored the first three points of the game for TKA, which was followed by a nice assist from Skylar Walden to Brady Branham for a 5-0 lead with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.
Walden then hit a three-pointer to stretch the Lady Lions’ lead to 8-0. An old-fashioned three-point play by Branham then made the score 11-0 with 5:11 left in the opening period.
Berean Christian would finally get on the board when Jordyn Baird hit a pair of free throws to cut the TKA lead to 11-2 with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.
Another Walden three, followed by a hook shot by Branham would increase the Lady Lion lead to 18-2. A driving layup by Atchley would make the score 20-2 with 3:08 left in the period.
TKA’s Lillian Sims goes for three during the Lady Lions’ win over Berean Christian. Photo by Brian Hamilton
A three-pointer by Lillian Sims with seven seconds to play would give TKA a 29-2 lead after the first quarter.
Berean Christian’s Deanna Aian would split a pair of free throws to trim the Lady Eagles’ deficit to 29-3 to begin the second quarter, but Berean would not score again in the quarter, as TKA went on a 26-0 run to close the first half, leading 55-3 at intermission.
The Lady Lions did not allow a field goal in the first half.
“With us being out for the snow days, we’re still trying to get in shape,” Turnipseed said. “We have to learn how to play when we’re tired and sit down and play defense. We were able to get steals and jump into passing lanes and I thought it was a good opportunity to score in transition.”
Olivia Loveday opened the third quarter with a three-pointer to stretch the TKA lead to 58-3. A triple by Kyle Young would the extend the lead to 61-3.
Berean Christian scored its first field goal of the game when Baird hit a three with just under six minutes left in the third quarter, making the score 61-6.
Back-to-back TKA threes by Atchley and Young would push the Lady Lions’ lead to 69-6, which was followed by a rebound and score by Atchley to make the score 71-6.
Baird would hit two more three-pointers in the third quarter, including a long range three at the buzzer, cutting the Lady Eagles’ deficit to 77-12 heading into the fourth period.
There would be a running clock in the fourth quarter, which limited the scoring for both teams.
Brady Branham hit a layup to open the quarter, giving TKA a 79-12 advantage with 6:35 left. Berean would score two more baskets in the fourth quarter, but Atchley put the icing in the cake when she grabbed a missed free throw by Leah Smelcer and put it back for a basket with six seconds remaining, as the Lady Lions would go on to win 89-17.
Skylar Walden and Brady Branham led all scorers with 20 points apeice, while Emily Atchley had a big game with 16. Lillian Sims also finished in double figures with 11 points.
“It’s a good confidence booster for (Emily and Lillian). It’s good to see your name with double digits in points,” Turnipseed said. “We tell them that when we play the Grace’s, we need the same person. We can’t just have Skylar and Brady trying to score all the points. If they can chip in with 10, eight, or seven, it helps.”
Jordyn Baird led Berean Christian with 16 points and was the only player to make a field goal for the Lady Eagles. The only other player to get in the scoring column for Berean was Deanna Aian with one point.
The King’s Academy (15-5, 8-1 Class A District 1) will travel to White Pine to face district rival Lakeway Christian (7-10, 4-4 District 1) on Friday night in an important district tilt.
Berean Christian (1-13, 0-6 District 1) suffered its worst loss of the season since an 83-2 loss to CAK in December. The Lady Eagles will be in action again on Friday, as they host First Baptist Academy (1-10, 1-7 District 1).