SCISA 1A Championship: Newberry Academy vs. Cathedral Academy

Championship Saturday at the Sumter County Civic Center commenced with the SCISA 1A girls final that morning between Newberry Academy and Cathedral Academy. When that game had concluded, coach Barry Kesler’s Eagles followed up last season’s championship-winning campaign (the first in the history of Newberry Academy’s girls basketball program) with a repeat performance. Newberry Academy had topped the Generals by a final of 52-38. The Eagles’ 14-point margin of victory on Saturday morning was only a four-point advantage at the halftime period when Newberry Academy’s lead over Cathedral Academy was only 24-20. The two teams are familiar foes from earlier this season. Newberry Academy met up with Cathedral Academy on December 10 in North Charleston. In that get-together, coach Chris Pouyat’s Generals got the better of the defending 1A SCISA champs by a 43-40 margin. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1297-scaled-crop-2483x1630-1645960918.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393379" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1297-scaled-crop-2483x1630-1645960918-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171756" first="Daja" last="Taylor"]</strong> concluded the game – and her stellar high school career – having scored 29 points and will depart from Newberry Academy with two state championships. She particularly had success shooting the ball from deep as she was 4-9 from 3-point range. Taylor was also comfortable at the free throw line, shooting 15-18 from the stripe. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1292-scaled-crop-2531x1662-1645961009.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393381" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1292-scaled-crop-2531x1662-1645961009-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="258007" first="Kailey" last="Cheeks"]</strong> will also depart from Newberry Academy a two-time champion. She finished with nine points – including going 2-3 from the free throw line. Cheeks tallied six of her nine points in the third quarter. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393382" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1298.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> Speaking of seniors, <strong>Madison Rivers (2022)</strong> will also depart from the Eagles with two championships. She had seven points – four of which were scored at the free throw line. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1162-scaled-crop-1774x1165-1645961306.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393385" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1162-scaled-crop-1774x1165-1645961306-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="257989" first="Paige" last="Pouyat"]</strong> led her Cathedral Academy bunch with 14 points. She found her shot from the 3-point line as the game went on as Pouyat connected on a trio of triples in the latter three frames. She also came up big at the line as she would sink five of her six attempts from the stripe. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1187-scaled-crop-1164x765-1645961408.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393387" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1187-scaled-crop-1164x765-1645961408-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="258010" first="Matti" last="Riddick"]</strong> scored nine points in her final game sporting the Cathedral Academy navy blue and Vegas gold colors. Riddick, part of the Generals’ starting five, was held off the scoreboard in the first quarter before coming through for her team particularly from the free throw line where she made five of her seven tries. She is the lone senior on the Generals roster. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1099-scaled-crop-1231x808-1645961573.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393389" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1099-scaled-crop-1231x808-1645961573-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="185223" first="Jalyn" last="Almeida"]</strong> added eight points to Cathedral Academy’s championship-seeking cause. Six of her eight came in the first half – and five of those eight came in the first quarter alone. The Eagles’ path to this season’s state crown saw the team defeat St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic, Dorchester Academy and Patrick Henry Academy to clinch its berth in Saturday’s matchup for the championship trophy. Patrick Henry Academy is a familiar name to Newberry Academy fans – the Patriots were who Newberry Academy defeated in last season’s SCISA 1A title game at Columbia’s Heathwood Hall to claim its first ever state championship. The Eagles also completed an undefeated record that season as they went 25-0 in addition to an 11-0 mark in Region 1-A. As for the Generals, its path to the state championship game saw the team defeat Lowcountry Prep, Georgia-based Curtis Baptist and Wardlaw Academy. Cathedral Academy’s appearance in this season’s championship game was the second in the Pouyat era since he was hired in the summer of 2018. Interestingly enough, both the Eagles and Crusaders came into Saturday’s title game with identical records of 22-6. It may not have been the same undefeated mark that Newberry Academy managed last season, but the Eagles still finished season with a 23-6 mark along with a 12-0 record in Region 1-A play. Newberry Academy graduates Taylor, Cheeks, Rivers, Caroline Senn and Allison Joyner in its Class of 2022. The book closes on Cathedral Academy’s 2021-22 season having gone 22-7 with going 4-0 in Region 3-A SCISA play. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1379-scaled-crop-2174x1427-1645961768.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-393391" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/IMG_1379-scaled-crop-2174x1427-1645961768-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <em><strong>SCISA 1A All-Tournament Team</strong></em> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171756" first="Daja" last="Taylor"]</strong> – Newberry Academy</em> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="258007" first="Kailey" last="Cheeks"]</strong> – Newberry Academy</em> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="315513" first="Claire" last="Griffin"]</strong> – Cathedral Academy</em> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="185223" first="Jalyn" last="Almeida"]</strong> – Cathedral Academy</em> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="249922" first="Saniah" last="Sexton"]</strong> – Patrick Henry Academy</em> <em><strong>Reaghan Whitlock (2023)</strong> – Wardlaw Academy</em>