Keira Leffew (11) of CAK. (Photo by Michael Lindsay)
Thursday’s Division II-A girls semifinals at Tennessee Tech proved to be heart-wrenching ones for Christian Academy of Knoxville and The King’s Academy.
CAK lost in overtime, to the team that bounced them in the same round last season.
And TKA, playing against huge odds and the defending state champions, had its postseason run come to a harsh halt.
The Lady Warriors of CAK finished its season at 29-6, having its 18-game win streak snapped in Thursday’s overtime loss to Middle Tennessee Christian School (26-9).
MTCS beat CAK by a 65-47 count in the 2022 semifinals, a game in which CAK trailed by a 17-point margin only to battle back and tie the game. The Lady Warriors ran out of gas late.
This time, though, CAK had plenty of petrol.
Despite trailing 28-17 late in the first half, it rallied again and trailed just 35-33 heading into the fourth.
Madi Jones hit a pair of foul shots with 44 seconds left in the fourth to put CAK ahead 50-49. Teammate Karlie Whited got a steal and dished to Chatham Ibach for a layup, and CAK led 52-49 with 27 seconds remaining in regulation.
But MTCS’s Miss Basketball finalist Jailyn Banks hit a 3 with 14 seconds left that ultimately forced OT. Banks is a 5-9 senior guard and Belmont signee.
Izzy Proffitt (15 points) of CAK twice cut the MTCS lead to one point in the final minute of overtime, the latter of which came with 36 seconds to play.
Once MTCS went up 62-59, CAK missed a couple of 3s. MTCS regained possession, and Banks made a foul shot for a 63-59 lead with 15 seconds to go that all but sealed it.
She finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals to narrowly overshadow a monster game by CAK senior Keira Leffew.
Leffew, a 6-foot Lee University signee, posted 19 points and 18 rebounds in her final high school game.
CAK only committed eight turnovers in the loss but shot 18.2 percent (4 of 22) from 3. MTCS committed 10 turnovers and shot 43.8 percent (7 of 16) from 3.
MTCS, for the second year in a row, will take on Webb Bell Buckle at 11 a.m. Central on Saturday at Tennessee Tech in the Division II-A championship. Webb-Bell Buckle won the title-game matchup last season, 68-48.
Webb-BB (31-4), a team replete with major college basketball talent, defeated The King’s Academy 69-21 on Thursday.
Daria Biriuk led Webb-BB with 22 points.
TKA made just three field goals on 30 attempts.
Still, while the season’s end was a sobering one for TKA, the future is undoubtedly bright.
The Lady Lions (21-11) graduate two seniors. The remaining players on their roster are from the Classes of 2025-2027.