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Lady Crusaders win battle of champions

john cate, the sanford herald, n.c.
·4 min read

Nov. 21—There's not much better for a basketball team to play in the last game of the year and walk out of the gym with a win. But last year, both Grace Christian and Knoxville Catholic got to do that.

The Lady Crusaders won the NCISAA 2A state title in women's basketball, while the Fighting Irish did the same in Tennessee's Division II-AA division of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. After being barely over .500 through 26 games, Knoxville Catholic ended its season on a 7-0 tear and won the state championship.

Both teams are expecting big things this season and aren't afraid to seek out challenges, and this had Grace heading over the mountains this past weekend to the land of Rocky Top. It turned out to be a happy trip for the Lady Crusaders, who cruised to a 62-52 victory.

Grace (2-0 overall) actually trailed early in the game, but soon took control with its imposing frontcourt tandem of Sarah Strong and Icyss Storm, and held a five-point lead at halftime. The Lady Crusaders continued to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before coasting in from there.

Knoxville Catholic (2-1) had blown out its first two opponents of the season and its fans were excited to have Strong, the nation's No. 1 prospect in the class of 2024, in town. Pulling an upset on her team would have been even bigger, and the Fighting Irish jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead as Florida Atlantic University commit Sydney Mains sank two early jumpers. At 5'11", Mains had a size and strength advantage on the Grace guards.

However, things changed on the inside, and Storm scored the first six Lady Crusader points of the game. Catholic led by as many as eight in the opening period, but Grace was able to slow down Mains and trailed 14-8 after the first eight minutes of action.

They started pushing back in the second quarter. Grace's guards got their first two baskets of the game when Serenity McNair and Isa Roman scored to open the period. Roman then scored a second time before Strong got inside and cut the lead to one point. Another defensive stop by Grace led to a basket for Storm and an 18-17 lead. The first half ended on a 14-2 Lady Crusader run and a 24-19 lead for the visitors.

The run actually got to 19-2 in the first minutes of the second half, on shot by Roman and then a 3-pointer by Miyah Campbell that put Grace up by 10. Mains hit a shot for the Irish that kept them within 10, but then Roman, who transferred from Cardinal Gibbons to Grace during the off-season, hit a 3-pointer. Mains poured it on for Catholic, scoring three more times before the quarter ended, but Strong hit two more baskets for Grace and Reagan Lindholm hit a three to make it 43-29 at the end of the quarter.

Mains made one last-ditch bid to get her team back into it, cutting the lead to eight with back-to-back threes to open the fourth. But then the Lady Crusaders answered with a 12-0 run capped off by back-to-back threes from Campbell, and took their biggest lead at 55-35.

Grace then played out the string over the last four minutes.

Mains led everyone with 29 points, followed by her sophomore teammate Andrea Flores, who already has five Division I offers and tallied nine points.

For Grace, Strong had 18 points and 21 rebounds, while Storm posted 16 points and five boards. Campbell scored 12 points and Roman had 11.

The Lady Crusaders were back in action Monday night at home against Richmond County High, and then will be off until Tuesday of next week, when they visit Ravenscroft.

Grace 72, Carolina Day 35

The Grace men were also on the road Saturday, but rather than being in the Volunteer State, they stayed closer to home and played in a showcase event at Providence Day School in Charlotte. The Crusaders' assignment was Carolina Day School of Asheville. The game started out close but Grace dominated the final three quarters of play.

The first quarter ended with the teams tied at 13, but Grace (2-1) moved out to a 29-20 lead by halftime and then outscored the Wildcats 43-18 in the second half to win going away.

Nate Jones led Grace with 17 points. Ma'kyi Butler and Isaiah Streeter each had 10; Matt Foster, Conner Stone and Caleb Ellis eight each; Jimmy Zimmerman seven and Grant Jacques four.

The Grace men will face Rock Creek Christian of Maryland in the first round of the Bull City Classic at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham on Friday evening.