The Clarksville Academy Lady Cougar basketball team weathered a stormy drive Tuesday afternoon in order to add to their newly chiseled historic run, ending upstart Silverdale Academy’s run in the Division II-A state tournament with a 69-56 triumph on the Lady Seahawks’ home digs.
The 150-mile journey to Chattanooga on wet roads was nothing compared to the decades long stretch the program has weathered to get to this Friday’s upcoming state quarterfinals against Harding Academy in what will be a battle for a Final Four berth.
When Clarksville Academy coach Carrie Daniels took over the Lady Cougars basketball program four years ago about the only history it has was that of losing.
Prior to her arrival, CA had exactly one 10-win season and not one single region berth. In fact, last night’s school-record 28th win gives them more wins than they had accumulated in the entire five-year span before Daniels’ arrival on the scene.
“This is a tribute to the fact these girls bought into a system. We had to change an entire culture and we are still in the process of doing that, but I’m just so excited for these girls and what they have meant to the program,” Daniels said after the historic win.
No one has meant as much as Miss Basketball Finalist Sydnee Boykin. The junior guard poured in 33 points on the night and canned 11 of 14 free throws in the final 2:35 to hold a never-say-die SBA team at bay. The 65 wins over the last three years since Boykin first laced up her Lady Cougar sneakers is more than the program compiled in the 12 years prior.
“She has been a leader in so many ways, but the fact she came in and has been a constant for us since her freshman year has been a key. These girls love each other on the court and away from it, but Sydnee has been the key,” Daniels added.
As good as Boykin was on the night, though, it would be hard-pressed to say anyone on the court was better than SBA sophomore Laney Bone, and with two other sophomores in the Lady Seahawk starting lineup by her side there could well be another meeting ahead down the road between these two programs with even more on the line.
Bone scored the final 23 points of the first half to keep the Lady Seahawks in the thick of this contest against a squad which had lost just five times all year, including three times to the state’s top-ranked Goodpasture squad. Bone wound up with a game-high 35 and added five blocks, and left it all on the court, including a determined proclamation as she walked off it for a final time this season.
“We are going to be back,” Bone said as she walked to the dressing room.
It was SBA’s first trip to the state tourney under the new format, although the 2012 team lost in a state sectional. The Lady Seahawks end the year at 21-10, but the young corps of players were all grown up by the time the postseason arrived in storming to the District title as a third seed.
“We had a couple of injuries late in the year and had some girls step up to get us here. It’s a really great group of young ones, and we only lose one senior (Audrey Canter), and she will be hard to replace, but it’s been a great season and I absolutely know we will back again,” SBA coach Victor Underwood said in his postgame chat.
The Lady Cougars got off to great start and led by 20-12 at the first break, forcing SBA into six first quarter turnovers. The Lady Seahawks, though, got stingy in the second period and limited CA to just one field goal as Ryleigh Hoover stepped up to take on Boykin in a box-and-one set, sticking in her hip pocket with every move she made.
“Ryleigh probably averaged about six minutes a game for us this year, but she was one of the ones who stepped up. We did a lot of things to keep them off balance, but I’m really proud of the way she competed,” Underwood praised.
Boykin had just 10 points in that first half and just three made field goals with Hoover in her grill. Fortunately, Boykin had some company in the scoring column a luxury Bone didn’t have much of until late in the game when SBA found the range from long distance.
“A lot of it was by design,” said Underwood. “We just didn’t think there was anyone on the court as good as Laney and we were going to take advantage of it.”
Bone had 28 of SBA’s first 35 points through three quarters, but CA still managed to increase the lead to 45-35 heading into the final quarter.
“We planned on trying to limit (Bone’s) touches going into the game, but she is just so crafty. She didn’t want to collapse on her because we knew they could shoot it, but the things she did once she got the ball made it really hard. She had a game, and you just tip your cap to her,” Daniels said.
CA pushed it out to a 55-38 margin to open the final period, but SBA would not go gently into the night. Audrey Canter and Marlee Montgomery started hitting bombs and got it all the way back to single digits at 67-58 after a 20-12 run, but CA made 15 of 25 free throws in the final period and 27 of 35 for the game to make sure the long drive home was happy.
“If I had one word to describe my bunch it would be resilient. They weren’t going to go quietly and they weren’t going to give up. I like the direction we are headed,” Underwood said.
Bone wound up making 13 of her 20 shots and Montgomery added 11 points, but the rest of the squad made just three baskets on the night. SBA had 17 turnovers to just six for the Lady Cougars, who got double figures from Diamond Bryant and Ashley Roberts each netting 11. Boykin had 33 including 19 from the charity stripe.
Clarksville Academy 20 7 18 24 – 69
Silverdale Academy 12 11 12 21 – 56
CLARKSVILLE ACADEMY (69) – Sydneey Boykin 33, Diamond Bryant 11, Adolphin 6, Hunter, Conn, Pridgen 3, Ashley Roberts 11, Artis 5.
SILVERDALE ACADEMY (56) – Jarrell, Canter 6, Hoover 3, Stiner, Kugler, Laney Bone 35, Gibson, Montgomery 11.
3-point goals: CA 6 (Roberts 3, Boykin 2, Bryant); SBA 5 (Montgomery 2, Canter 2, Hoover)
(Contact James Beach via email at 1134james@gmail.com or Twitter @beachnut1134)