The Kirk Raiderettes knew they needed at least two wins at the State Class AAAA Tournament to qualify for this week’s Midsouth Association of Independent Schools State Overall Tournament.
It all started last Wednesday against Amite School Center of Liberty. The Raiderettes jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half, winning a 53-43 decision to make it to the semifinals last Friday.
Game 2 of the tournament was against arch-nemesis Rossville, Tenn., for the fourth time this season. Kirk fell behind 15-1 early in the second period getting as close as 10 points before losing a 50-33 decision.
The loss sent Kirk into the consolation round against Clinton Christian Academy, the No. 1 team from the South AAAA, last Saturday afternoon. Once again, Kirk got off to a slow start trailing 20-7 after one period. A fourth-quarter rally came up short as the Raiderettes dropped a 45-39 decision.
Clinton Christian
Against the Lady Wolves from Hinds County, the Raiderettes found themselves in a hole early, trailing 20-7 at the end of the first quarter. That slow start had Kirk playing from behind all day as they trailed 29-20 at halftime.
Kirk Academy Head Coach David Montgomery felt good about his team’s chances despite the slow start.
“After we got down by 13 points in the first quarter, we played better in the second quarter and cut their lead to nine points at halftime,” he said. “We talked in the dressing room about playing for an entire four quarters, making it a game heading into the fourth quarter. We actually took a two-point lead late in the third quarter and trailed by a point at the end of the fourth quarter. That extra bucket we needed never came for us.”
The Raiderettes made their move in the third period, taking a short-lived 30-28 lead before CCA took a lead 34-33 heading into the final quarter. Pressure defense by Kirk allowed them to get back into the game.
Kirk was outscored 11-6 in the final quarter to account for the final margin of 45-39. The Raiderettes points in the fourth quarter came on a pair of three pointers from Beissel.
Seniors Molly Lane and Abby Beissel both had 10 points to lead Kirk. Classmates Sophie Brister and K.K. Bailey each had six points. Freshman Charley Rose finished with four points and junior Grace Defenbaugh scored three points on a three-pointer.
With the loss, Kirk saw its season come to an end with a record of 24-10.
Rossville Christian
Kirk’s first bucket of the game came from Lane with 7:39 left in the first half to cut the deficit to 15-3. The senior guard added a second basket, a three-pointer, and two free throws to get KA within 16-10 with 3:56 remaining in the half. Rossville scored the final two baskets of the quarter to lead 20-12 at halftime.
The Lady Wolves exploded in the third quarter to lead 41-18 heading into the fourth quarter of play.
Kirk would get the deficit to as close as 13 points at 46-33 following two buckets from Beissel with two minutes left in the game.
Lane led the scoring with 17 points and Beissel scored 10 points. Defenbaugh, Brister and Rose all had two points apiece.
Lane paced Kirk with 18 points and Beissel scored 15 points. Rose scored seven and Bailey finished with six points. Brister scored four points and Defenbaugh chipped in two points. Parker Avant rounded out the scoring with a point.
The loss was the fourth to the Tennessee school this season.
Kirk Academy senior K.K. Bailey blocks an Amite School Center player during last week’s Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Class AAAA State Tournament at Kirk Academy.
Amite School Center
Kirk opened the tournament last Wednesday taking on the South No. 2 team from Liberty.
The Raiderettes led just 9-6 at the end of the first quarter but took advantage of their pressure defense to force turnovers leading to easy baskets and a 26-13 lead with 3:31 left in the first half following a basket from Beissel. Kirk led 33-22 at halftime.
Montgomery knew heading into the contest his team could cause defensive headaches with their pressure defense.
In the second half, foul problems continued to mount for Kirk. The Lady Rebels took advantage of it to cut the deficit to 39-26 heading into the final quarter.
The teams traded baskets to open the final quarter. Bailey had a three-pointer to make it 44-38 at the 5:48 mark. Three points from Rose, two from Beissel and one from Brister gave KA a double-digit lead at 50-39 with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter.
