The King's Academy

Youth gone wild: Eighth-grader and fellow underclassmen propel Lady Lions to region championship berth

BY BRIAN HAMILTON WHITE PINE – The King’s Academy has often been led by seniors Juleigh Anne Tucker and Leah Thornton, but on Friday night the Lady Lions needed someone else to step up, as the two stalwarts didn’t have their best games. TKA relied on an eighth-grader, a freshman and a sophomore to guide the Lady Lions to a region championship berth. Walden finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting three from downtown and a buzzer-beating shot at the end of the third quarter. “I just shot a few and they just started going in and so I just …

Northview Academy defeats Gibbs 65-34, sets up rematch with Seymour in district final

BY BRIAN HAMILTON STRAWBERRY PLAINS – Northview Academy wrapped up the semifinal round of the Class 3A District 3 tournament in the same fashion as it did in 2022, defeating Gibbs convincingly to earn a championship game berth against Seymour. None of the semifinal games went much different than a year ago, but there is one thing Northview head coach Brooke Shelley would like to see go different this year, and that is the result of the championship game. The Lady Cougars earned a chance to right that with a 65-34 drubbing of Gibbs on Thursday night and will look …

Bailey McCoy

Seymour routs Carter 70-19 to earn berth in district championship game

BY BRIAN HAMILTON STRAWBERRY PLAINS – Seymour went about the semifinal round of the district tournament the same way it did in 2022, with a rout of Carter to advance to the championship game. The Lady Eagles got off to a hot start, offensively and defensively, en route to a 70-19 win, earning a rematch with Northview in the final, which it has won six straight against. Since the Lady Eagles had not played a game since last Friday, and will not play another until Monday, Seymour head coach Greg Hernandez said his goal was to make sure his team …

Lady Lions trounce Notre Dame 56-23 to advance to first region semifinal since 2020

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – TKA advanced to its first region semifinal since 2020 on Tuesday night, as the Lady Lions put their foot on the gas early and never let up, ending Notre Dame’s season with a 56-23 win in the region quarterfinals. “We just punched them in the mouth first and it gave us some cushion on the back end,” King’s Academy head coach Dante Turnipseed said after the game. The King’s Academy scored immediately to start the game, as freshman guard Bailey Tidwell caught the opening tip and sprinted down the court for a layup and a …

Tucker signs with Asbury

TKA star guard Juleigh Anne Tucker signs with Asbury

SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy girls’ basketball team finished as state runner-up in Division II – Class A during the 2019-20 season, a season that ended with an incomplete for most squads, as the Covid-19 virus shut down all high school sports in mid-March. That year’s Lady Lions’ squad did have the opportunity to play out the season with a team that featured 2022 Class 4A Miss Basketball Jennifer Sullivan, who finished her career at Bearden, along with Bailey Burgess, who also transferred to Bearden. Standout post players Amelia and Ainsley Pfeiffer wound up at Alcoa during the 2021-22 season …

South-Doyle vs Fulton

Historically bad shooting performance dooms Lady Kees in loss to Fulton

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – It might not be too rare to see a team go scoreless in the first quarter, but for a team to go scoreless in the first half and for almost three quarters, it is definitely a rarity. That’s what happened at Jody Wright Arena on Thursday night. The Lady Kees had multiple shots and layups that just seemed to either bounce or roll off the front rim. For most of the game, it appeared that there was some supernatural force diverting South-Doyle’s shots anywhere but through the net. Credit Fulton’s swarming defense just as much …

Heritage vs Bearden

Lady Mountaineers fall to top-ranked Bearden, despite Swaney’s 27

BY BRIAN HAMILTON WALLAND – Tuesday night’s game between Bearden and Heritage featured two teams with a combined one loss. The closest Bearden had come to being beat was at Alcoa earlier in the month, when the Lady Bulldogs used a furious rally to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat, winning 34-33. The Lady Mountaineers’ only setback was a 61-60 comeback loss to Cumberland County in the final of the Heritage Christmas Tournament before Christmas. This game lived up to its billing for all of three quarters, as Carsyn Swaney put forth a heroic effort with 27 points, …

Lady Eagles

Lady Eagles top Grainger 54-25 for sixth straight win

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – Seymour continued its hot shooting and defensive dominance on Monday night, as the Lady Eagles put the clamps on Grainger early and never let up. Seymour trailed once midway through the first quarter and never trailed again, as the Lady Grizzlies were unable to handle the Lady Eagles’ pressure defense, resulting in a 54-25 win for Seymour. After the Gatlinburg-Pittman loss over one month ago, Seymour was 4-6 and riding a four game losing streak. Since that game, the Lady Eagles have only lost one game, to Pebblebrook (GA) in the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational. …

Alcoa Champs

Lady Tornadoes defeat Knox Catholic to win Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Greeneville – Alcoa ended 2022 on a positive note Saturday night, as the Lady Tornadoes (14-1) defeated Knox Catholic (8-9) by a score of 58-47 to win their first ever Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic in Greeneville. The tournament is the second that Alcoa has won over the holiday break, as the Lady Tornadoes won the KSV Events Holiday Tournament in Orlando, Fla. before Christmas. “It says a lot about our team and the toughness we have” Alcoa coach David Baumann said. “That’s what we talked about before this game. We said, ‘This will be a suck …