The King's Academy

Big fourth quarter sends Lady Lions to fourth straight Final Four

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – “I memorize the basics. Making strange faces. Tread slowly, for I know, there’s a thousand miles to go.” “This is the night, this is the sound. Here comes the warm machine.” The lyrics of the song “Warm Machine” by the alternative rock band “Bush” can resonate with most Lady Lions fans because this team has already been in the position of needing to win the region with a lower seed after losing the district semifinal to Grace Christian. Just one season ago, The King’s Academy lost in the district semifinals to Grace Christian and then …

TKA vs Grace Christian

Lady Lions suffer difficult loss to Grace Christian in district semis

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – The King’s Academy swept Grace Christian in both regular season meetings and throughout most of the game, it looked as if the Lady Lions were going to take a third game from the Lady Rams, but Grace Christian hit big shots in the fourth quarter, while TKA went cold for much of the period, falling in the district semifinals by a score of 54-51. “We just had some mental letdowns and they hit some big threes and we’ve got to respond,” TKA head coach Dante Turnipseed said after the game. “We say that basketball is …

TKA Seniors

TKA thrashes Polk County 72-28 on senior night

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy put its four seniors on display Tuesday night when very few local teams suited up to play due to the inclement weather. Seniors Kyle Young, Adit Kuol, Emily Atchley, and Matazja Goins started and made a profound impression on the game early on, as the Lady Lions went on to a convincing 72-28 win over Polk County on senior night. “I told them I wasn’t going to make it all sad, so we wouldn’t cry, because I believe we should get some more home games, but they’ve been a blessing and you’ve …

Girl's Top 10 Rankings

Smoky Mountain Sports Girls Basketball Top 10 Rankings (2/1/26)

Cocke County (24-3, 9-0 Class 3A District 3) Bearden (21-3, 9-0 Class 4A District 4) The King’s Academy (20-6, 10-2 Division II, Class A East Region District 1) Alcoa (17-6, 6-0 Class 3A District 5) Northview Academy (17-3, 5-2 Class 3A District 3) Gatlinburg-Pittman (18-3, 5-0 Class 2A District 2) Morristown East (18-5, 4-1 Class 4A District 1) Sevier County (13-5, 3-0 Class 4A District 2) Heritage (19-5, 4-2 Class 3A District 5) Farragut (16-8, 9-1 Class 4A District 4)

TKA-CAK

Lady Lions fall at CAK to finish 2nd in district

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – The King’s Academy came into Friday’s road contest needed to beat CAK by at least 16 points to win the district, or a win by 15 or less and a CAK loss to Grace Christian next week to take the district. The former never really looked possible, but the latter did, as the Lady Lions led in the fourth quarter, but TKA ultimately fell 55-48 to take second place in the district. “We can score the ball, but we’ve got to get stops, and that’s what killed us,” TKA head coach Dante Turnipseed said after …