The Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish faced the Harpeth Hall Bears in a TSSAA Division II-AA state tournament semifinal at Hooper Eblen Center on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Cookeville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY and DANNY PARKER
COOKEVILLE — Sydney Mains had no reason to panic Friday in the first half of a Division II-AA state semifinal at Tennessee Tech.
Sure, her typical 3-point stroke hadn’t paid off yet, but the stage wasn’t too big; she had played in the arena in two prior state tournaments.
And, the Lady Irish still had the lead late in the second quarter, even though the talented junior was then 0-for-4 from the arc.
But with 1 minute, 37 seconds left before the break, Mains connected from deep, seemingly serving as the trigger point for her offensive outburst that ensued.
She scored 19 of her game-high 27 points after the break, and the Lady Irish knocked off Harpeth Hall, 56-46, to advance to their second state-title game in a three-year span.
The first came during Mains’ freshman season of 2020-21. Catholic fell in the semifinals last year to Ensworth.
They’ll play Ensworth (27-4) again; however, this time, it’ll be for the title at 4 p.m. Central on Saturday.
Ensworth defeated Briarcrest (27-5) by a 73-58 score on Friday in the semifinals, and Ensworth boasts Jaloni Cambridge, a junior and the No. 1 ranked player in the country in the Class of 2024.
She’s also the two-time reigning Division II-AA Miss Basketball, a basketball award for which Mains is also again a finalist.
While Ensworth won state with ease last year and had a long win streak this season, it showed vulnerability on Feb. 18 in a region championship loss to Harpeth Hall (25-5).
Catholic owned the rebounding edge (34-27), had fewer turnovers and never trailed against Harpeth Hall, only once allowing a tie at 10-all at the 7:25 mark of the second quarter.
The Lady Irish led 23-20 at the half and Mains led with eight points on 3-for-8 shooting — 1 for 5 from 3.
She went 6 for 13 in the second half and made 4 of 9 from deep across the third and fourth quarters.
“Kinda just keep shooting. I practice a lot, so I know that if it doesn’t start at the beginning, it’ll eventually fall,” Mains said. “And if it doesn’t, then just attack and pull up or score in the paint. Keep shooting.”
She was the only player to reach double-figures for Catholic, still amazingly doing all this some 9-10 months after a knee injury and surgery.
Jazmin Williams and the Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish defeated Harpeth Hall in a TSSAA Division II-AA state semifinal at Hooper Eblen Center on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Cookeville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Jazmin Williams, a senior guard, led Catholic with eight assists. She also tallied six points and two steals.
“It’s bright lights. We know what we’re prepared for because we’ve done it here before,” said Williams. “You can’t come here too cocky or too confident. We know to keep a chip on our shoulder.
“Nobody wants us to make it to the top, so we come in here knowing that. And I think that’s what’s going to help us get to the top tomorrow.”
5STAR PHOTOS: Division II-AA Girls Semifinals: Knoxville Catholic vs. Harpeth Hall