KCHS girls rally past rival, 1 win for Final 4
KNOXVILLE — It wasn’t easy, but Knoxville Catholic High School’s girls basketball team won the 2024 Division II-AA East Region championship Saturday afternoon, Feb. 17.
The Lady Irish overcame a double-digit deficit to notch a 50-46 victory over Cedar Bluff Area rival Webb School of Knoxville at KCHS.
The Lady Spartans (21-9) started fast and jumped out to an 11-point lead in in the first half, and held a 28-19 lead at the break.
But a halftime pep talk from head coach Travis Mains helped Catholic (24-4) right the ship by stepping up its defensive pressure and holding Webb to just 18 points over the final 16 minutes of the contest. Catholic swept the regular-season series against the Lady Spartans, winning by 21 points at home and notching a five-point victory at Webb. But this one was an uphill battle from the outset.
“Coach Mains gave us a pep talk at halftime and (senior guard) Sydney Mains got us together and told me ‘Amaya, you’ve got to pick it up,’” said jAmaya Redd, a junior forward who added the exclamation point to the Lady Irish’s third victory over the Lady Spartans this season by scoring the final basket of the contest with 15.9 seconds left in the game.
“After coach Mains gave us the talk and Sydney pulled us together, we really played well as a team,” Redd added.
Just before halftime, the Lady Spartans enjoyed their biggest lead of the contest after Meeyah Green scored on a putback after an offensive rebound to make the score 28-17 with 42 seconds remaining until the break.
After halftime in this physical game, which was sometimes a defensive struggle, the Lady Irish used a 14-6 third-quarter run to pull to within 34-33 heading into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Webb opened by committing a turnover and Sydney English cashed in and knocked down a long-range jumper to give the Lady Irish a 36-34 lead and setting the tone for the remainder of the game with seven minutes to go in the contest.
The Lady Irish were able to extend their advantage to 41-36 with five minutes when Sydney Mains scored off an assist from Redd, who finished with six points.
The Lady Spartans regained the upper hand briefly after a 3-pointer from Katelyn Overton made it 42-41 midway through the period, but that would be Webb’s final lead of the game.
By virtue of its region title, Catholic, the defending Division II-AA state champion, earns a bye in the first round of the state tournament. The Lady Irish will play the winner of the Father Ryan-Harpeth Hall game, which was contested Tuesday night. KCHS next will play in the state quarterfinals at home Friday, Feb. 23.
Sydney Mains and Caroline Krueger each scored 14 points to lead the Lady Irish, who were without the injured Logan Connatser. But Catholic picked up a big contribution from English, who came up with nine points, many in clutch situations.
“Sydney English came in today and was huge for us. She doesn’t get to play much, but she was huge when she was called upon,” coach Mains said. “She got big rebounds and made big 3’s for us.
Green, meanwhile, led Webb with a game-high 19 points and Cailyn Taylor added 11 for the Lady Spartans, who hosted a State XII game Tuesday, Feb. 20 (after deadline),
“I give my kids a lot of credit,” said Greg Hernandez, Webb’s first year head coach. “These are probably the two best teams, and it sucks that we both have to be in the same region. “They’re the defending state champion for a reason.
“Our goal, like I told the girls, is from here on out, we’ve got to buy our days, so hopefully we give ourselves another chance,” he added.
Hernandez lauded his team’s effort in a tough road enrivonment.
“They left it all out there,” he said. “If they win, it’s on them. If they lose, it’s on me.
“I’ll take the blame for this one,” Hernandez added. “I could’ve put them in better situations and given them a better chance to win the game.”
