TSSAA basketball state tournament roundup: Dasha Biriuk, Webb survive in 2 OTs to beat Haylen Ayers, USJ

Posted by author March 6, 2025 Basketball

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COOKEVILLE ― The TSSAA basketball state tournament has arrived for Division II schools.

The boys and girls Division II-A semifinal games kicked things off Thursday at the Hooper Eblen Center at Tennessee Tech. The DII-AA teams compete in Friday’s semifinals.

The state championships for both classes will be Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.

Thursday

Division II-A Girls

Webb School – Bell Buckle 64, USJ 57: USJ’s chance at back-to-back state championships ended in double overtime as Webb School – Bell Buckle survived a 40-point performance from an ailing Haylen Ayers to knock out the defending champs.

Ohio State signee Dasha Biriuk had 26 points, three rebounds and four assists and hit a critical 3-pointer to tie the game at 55 with 40 seconds left in the first OT. Sophie McInturff added 12 points in the win. USJ had chances to win it at the end of regulation and the first overtime but were bottled up by Webb’s defense both times.

Webb will face The King’s Academy for the state championship at 11 a.m. Saturday. Webb School is seeking its fourth state title in five years.

Webb pulled away late in the second extra period as USJ ran out of gas. Ayers injured her ankle in the second quarter and had a visible limp the remainder of the game but still had enough to nearly help her team pull off the win, adding 13 rebounds in the loss. Lilly Teague had 12 points for USJ, who had their 14-game win streak snapped.

The King’s Academy 57, PCA 36: Eva Birkofer was the lone Providence Christian player in double-figures as The King’s Academy made life difficult for PCA. TKA forced 19 turnovers and packed the paint, never allowing PCA to dictate the game from the post.

TKA point guard Skylar Walden finished 7-of-11 shooting for 24 points with three rebounds to lead The King’s Academy who advanced to the state championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday. It’s the first state championship game appearance for TKA since 2020 when it finished runner-up.

“The paint touch was hard for us to get and that is a focus that we have as a team,” PCA coach Tara James said. “Their size hurt us some. We haven’t seen a ton of that kind of size this season. That effect us early on.”

The King’s Academy outscored PCA 20-9 in a decisive second quarter that left Providence Christian scrambling in the second half to get back in the game. Walden was 9-of-10 from the foul line while Brady Branam finished with 11 points and seven rebounds and four steals.

Division II-A Boys

Providence Christian 76, Goodpasture 70: Goodpasture made a run in the fourth quarter cutting what was a 12-point deficit to just three, twice, in the final minute of the game. But PCA held on for the win returning the state championship game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We knew this was going to be an absolute war,” PCA coach Kerry Hammonds said. “I’m just proud of our guys to battle and fight though some adversity … the game gets cut to three and just finding ways to win.”

Chris Washington led PCA with 20 points while Preston Wade added 15 points before fouling out in the final quarter. Aiden Bolden added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Goodpasture had four players reach double-figures led by Joshua Huggins’ 22 points and 12 rebounds. Mr. Basketball finalist, Jayden Jones, added 19 points and Rhett Broussard added 13 points. King Keary finished with 10.

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.