With football season winding down and even ending for some schools, the Kirk Academy Raiderettes opened the 2022-23 basketball season last week by taking part in the Madison Madness Tournament.
First-year KA coach David Montgomery sent his girls into battle with two of the top Class AAAAAA teams in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools. Last Tuesday, the Raiderettes faced Hartfield and dropped a 47-25 decision to open the season. They bounced back Thursday and defeated defending Overall Champion Jackson Prep 45-42 to take a 1-1 mark into the season opener next week at Washington School in Greenville.
“We got out of the two games exactly what we wanted to get from it,” Montgomery said. “Playing teams like we played last week does nothing but make us better. I thought it was a good effort considering we had only seven practices. We found out some things about ourselves that we need to work on in practice. Overall, I was pleased with a 1-1 split against two of the top teams in the state. Both of those teams will be in the Overall at the end of the season.”
Senior Molly Lane led the way with 10 points against Hartfield and classmate Abby Beissel chipped in nine points. Seniors K.K. Bailey and Sophie Brister each scored two points. Freshman Charley Rose rounded out the scoring with a basket.
Jackson Prep
Kirk led the contest from start to finish, building as much as a nine-point advantage on several occasions.
“We had a good first quarter with 19 points,” Montgomery said. “Then, fatigue set in during the second period with the pace we played. We addressed how important being in proper shape will be.”
Offensively, the Raiderettes saw a 20-point improvement from the opening game.
“We are in that offensive confusion stage right now – not hitting on all cylinders,” Montgomery said. “We played good defense, forcing some turnovers and turning them into some points.”
Lane again paced the Raiderettes with 18 points, while Beissel added 14 points. Grace Defenbaugh had five points and Bailey scored four points. Gracie Summers and Brister each had two points.
Kirk was scheduled to return to action Tuesday night with game against Washington School in Greenville. Thursday, the teams open the home schedule against Winston Academy of Louisville.
Junior Varsity
The Raiderettes dropped a 27-18 decision to Hartfield behind 12 points from Rose. Charlie Sultan had four points and Abby Mattox chipped in two points.
Against Jackson Prep, KA lost a 17-10 decision. Rose led the way with six points. Cecile Brister and Mattox had two points apiece.
