Kenwood Lady Knights Charge Past Northeast in District 10-AAA quarterfinals, 52-45

Clarksville, TN – The Kenwood Lady Knights fended off a late rally to win their District 10-AAA tournament quarterfinal match up against the Northeast Lady Eagles, 52-45.

The Lady Knights charged to a solid lead and held it comfortably for three periods. However, nine turnovers in the last period gave the Lady Eagles a chance to rally late in the fourth. The Lady Eagles made three, 3-pointers in the last 89 seconds of the game to get within six points of the Lady Knights. But the lead the Lady Knights had established held for the win.

Alonja Thomas led the Lady Knights, scoring a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds. She was one of four starters who scored in the game including Analiese Osborne and Katie Robards. Osborne scored 12 and Robards added 10.

“We go as Alonja goes. If she is playing well, we do well. She is a great player and she makes our team go,” Bucciarelli said.

Thomas and the rest of the Lady Knights took control of the game early. Osborne opened up with a 3-pointer and followed it with a layup off a fast break as part of the Lady Knights opening 7-2 run.

The Lady Eagles looked to live or die by the 3-point shot. They constantly worked the ball to their shooters who shot fearlessly from downtown, but found little success early. They made only 3-of-15 shots from the field in the first period.

The Lady Knights kept the Lady Eagles from second chance shots by attacking defensive rebounds.

The Lady Eagles shooting woes continued in the second period. By halftime the Lady Knights led 22-14. Thomas had 12 points and 7 rebounds in the first half.

The Lady Knights ate up the clock and padded their lead in the third quarter. They shot 6-of-18 from the field to score 19 third period points. They had a double-digit, 41-26 point lead going into the fourth period and appeared on their way to an easy win.

But all the 3-pointers the Lady Eagles missed before started finding the net in the last two minutes of the game. Turnovers let the Lady Eagles go on a 8-0 run. Ashanti Henry capped the run with a 3-pointer that was all net, bringing the Lady Eagles within six, 45-39, with 1:19 remaining in the game.

After a timeout, the Lady Eagles started fouling Lady Knights to slow down their offense. They made two more 3-pointers in waning minutes, but the Lady Knights converted 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to get the win.

The win advances the Lady Knights to the semifinals where they will play either West Creek or Northwest Saturday, February 15th at 7:00pm.

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Box Score

Kenwood 52, Northeast 45

Kenwood
Alonja Thomas 20, Analiese Osborne 12, Katie Robards 10, Mikaela Smith 4, Samone James 6.

Northeast
Jazzmyn Simpson 14, Sepe Moore 7, Shinya Horn 4, Erecha Portis 5, Essence Brown 3, Nataszja Freeman 3, Ashanti Henry 5, Michelle Donner 4.