Let's Gooooo!!!!!! March Madness is here!

Let the madness begin, baby. It's March! With the weekend approaching, with regional public school games, the past two days have been about the private school state championships. The final 4 in both DII-A and DII-AA tipped off and let me tell you, Eblen Center was rockin. Yeah, a trip to the finals was on the line, and the girls competed every possession. Here is a recap of the semi final games in both classifications.   Let's start with the Thursday slate of games. It was Leap Day and boy these teams were ready to leap into action. Starting with the noon game, we saw the CPA Lady Lions and a red hot Knox. Catholic Fighting Lady Irish ball club duke it out.  The game was back and forth and a close one going into the half. There was a total of 7 lead changes and the game was tied four times. The girls competed like crazy and then the Lady Irish dialed it up a bit. What was their secret recipe, well getting points in the paint, that's what. When you get high % shots and defensive stops, well it leads to success. The Lady Irish of Knox. Catholic leap into the final game with an impressive win of CPA 45-40.   Key Stars:   Knox Catholic:    [player_tooltip player_id='245355' first='Sydney' last='Mains']  (18 pts, 4 rebs)   [player_tooltip player_id='631091' first='Amaya' last='Redd'] (12 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assists)   CPA:   [player_tooltip player_id='513275' first='Lily' last='Morrow'] (17 pts, 3 rebs, 1 assist)   [player_tooltip player_id='810567' first='Julia' last='Speedy'] (9 pts, 2 rebs, 1 assists)   In the 3:30 slot it was the battle of the Webbs. Webb School of Knoxville took on The Webb School of Bell Buckle and to be honest, it was a close game in the first half. Webb Knoxville had a game play to play aggressive D, and limited international sensation Daria Biriuk to 8 points. Kora Johnson stepped up big for the Lady feet, dropping 16 pts of her own. But it was [player_tooltip player_id='513227' first='Meeyah' last='Green'] of the Webb Knoxville Lady Spartans pulling her ball club through. She played all 32 minutes, dropping 27 points along the way. She was too much to handle as she got numerous paint touches by slicing through the D. [player_tooltip player_id='825239' first='Kyndall' last='Mays'] dropped 16 points in a tremendous effort as well. Final score was the Lady Spartans of Webb Knoxville 48 and the Lady Feet of Webb Bell Buckle 41.   Key Players:   Webb KNX   [player_tooltip player_id='513227' first='Meeyah' last='Green'] (27 pts, 8 rebs, 2 assists)   [player_tooltip player_id='825239' first='Kyndall' last='Mays'] (16 pts, 7 rebs)   Webb BB   Kora Johnson (16 points, 9 rebs, 4 assists)   Daria Biriuk (8 points, 5 rebs, 1 assist)   It will be an east Tennessee showdown as these two Knoxville teams battle it out for the state championship!   To kick off the first day of March, we saw the Lady Cougars of Goodpasture battle it out with the Lady Lions of TKA. The game was built up to be the battle of the young guns. A freshman matchup with two stellar guards who have been big-time contributors to their ball club throughout the course of the season.. Early on, it looked like TKA had a solid game plan, limiting the touches of [player_tooltip player_id='821983' first='Brooklyn' last='Jones'] by going to a  Box and 1 defense. However, the X factor was Lazavionna Hawkins as she went to work and sliced through the defense. When she got paint touches, it opened up so much for others. Guard [player_tooltip player_id='810655' first='Addi' last='Ruffin'] got hot, Madi Crocker got in on the action. TKA battled down the stretch and [player_tooltip player_id='838514' first='Tiana' last='Branam'] got into the mix. Freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='583370' first='Skylar' last='Walden'] came in clutch down the stretch from the free throw line, going 7 for 8.But Goodpasture was too much for the Lady Lions of TKA. Goodpasture moves on as they pull it out winning 58-47.   Key Players:   TKA:   [player_tooltip player_id='583370' first='Skylar' last='Walden'] (17 pts, 7 rebs, 2 assists)   [player_tooltip player_id='838514' first='Tiana' last='Branam'] (10 pts, 2 rebs, 1 assist)   Goodpasture:   Lazavionna Hawkins ( 19 pts, 4 rebs, 3 assists)   [player_tooltip player_id='810655' first='Addi' last='Ruffin'] (13 pts, 2 rebs)   The final semifinal game was between the University School of Jackson Lady Bruins and Christian Academy of Knoxville Lady Warriors. This was a pure defensive battle that saw each team value each possession. Patience and details were so important as girls were efficient in running their plays. Both teams got down and dirty in the paint, shooting around the rim at a high clip. Both teams tied throughout the course of the game and when someone always took the lead, the team behind may only be down a possession or two. The bench scoring came in clutch for the Lady Bruins as they outscored the Lady Warriors 10-3 in that category. USJ had a stifling defense that shut down a hot senior guard in [player_tooltip player_id='290962' first='Izzy' last='Proffitt']. Leading the charge was freshman sensation Haylen Ayers, who led the way not only getting buckets, but contributing on the boards. The Lady Bruins of USJ clawed their way out to win this game 36-35. They will take on Goodpasture for the chance to bring the gold ball to Jackson.   Key Stars:   USJ:   Haylen Ayers (12 points, 10 rebs, 3 assists)   Ava Barham (10 points, 9 rebs)   CAK:   [player_tooltip player_id='519799' first='Colie' last='Thompson'] (11 points, 6 rebs, 3 assists)   [player_tooltip player_id='821765' first='Maddie' last='Braden'] (9 points, 1 assist)

Let the madness begin, baby. It's March! With the weekend approaching, with regional public school games, the past two days have been about the private school state championships. The final 4 in both DII-A and DII-AA tipped off and let me tell you, Eblen Center was rockin. Yeah, a trip to the finals was on the line, and the girls competed every possession. Here is a recap of the semi final games in both classifications.