A celebration fit for true Warriors
Net-cutting nice for CAK girls after earning Final 4 state berth
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Keira Leffew, CAK junior post, cuts a portion of the net in celebration - Photos courtesy of Jake Mealey/except coach celebration photo, by Alan Sloan
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Head coach Abby Williams (on ladder) waves the net and gets her team, and fellow students, fired up after their Sectional win - Photos courtesy of Jake Mealey/except coach celebration photo, by Alan Sloan
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Izzy Proffitt, CAK sophomore forward, is all concentration defending USN’s Charley Harper during this Division I-A Sectional clash Friday night, Feb. 25. - Photos courtesy of Jake Mealey/except coach celebration photo, by Alan Sloan
KNOXVILLE — Earning a TSSAA Division II-A “Final 4” Girls State Tournament bid was “net-cutting” good at Christian Academy of Knoxville after a rally and tense finish.
Head coach Abby Williams, the last to cut a strand on the net at the gym’s “north” goal, spun it around from her ladder perch as players and student section “rowdies” celebrated with loud cheers and raised arms (see photo above).
“It was a great environment that our students and fans brought,” Williams said following a 58-55 comeback win versus Nashville Christian School in a Sectional final Friday, Feb. 25. “Playing on this stage, we got here last year and lost.”
“To get down, then to rally and really just dig deep” was the key to success, the CAK coach added, as a nice closing kick improved their record to 26-7.
Though trailing most of the game, and down 43-40 heading to the final quarter, “I felt like the last eight minutes we really locked in and weren’t going to let go,” Williams said.
An offensive rebound and scoop shot, while drawing a foul, turned into a huge 3-point play for sophomore forward Izzy turning a 51-50 deficit into a 53-51 lead with 2:10 to play.
“The last week-and-a-half she’s really turned up and been the player we knew she was capable of being,” Williams said of guard Izzy Proffit, who scored nine points. “She fought hard ... she’s the toughest kid we’ve got.
“Kiera (Leffew, post/wing) played phenomenal; Madi (Jones, guard) shot the ball well,” the coach added, as Leffew led CAK with a game-high 25 points, 10 in the fourth quarer, while Jones added 13.
Following a key defensive rebound, Leffew’s two free throws with just 38.9 seconds left made it 55-50.
Three free throws by Jones in the game’s final 18-4 sealed the deal
About the team’s slow start, down 15-10 after one quarter, Jones said, “I think it was just our nerves in the first half. And they were really fast-paced.
Trailing 27-22 at halftime and 38-31 wit 3:40 left in the third quarer, “In the second half we did much better because we got calm,” she added.
About earning a state berth, “It’s pretty exciting ... I’ve never got to cut down the net or anything like that before,” Jones said.
“And that’s a great team, they’re skilled in what they do,” Williams said of NCS, the No. 2 seed from the Middle Region (27-6 final record). “Coach (Dustin) Patton does a great job with them.
“But we didn’t quit, we didn’t back down, we didn’t get scared,” she added. “We kept battling.”
