TKA Girls Basketball Finishes Second at State
By Mark Nagi
The King’s Academy Lions have become a perennial state championship contender. Their run at the gold ball in Division II-A finished one win short of a title, but that shouldn’t take away from what was a terrific 2024-2025 season for their girls basketball team.
“We had a roller coaster ride, up and down,” said TKE head coach Dante Turnipseed. “We had some really good games that we played against some really good teams. At Regionals, we turned it around and got really good at the right time. They bought into what the coaches were trying to do for them. It didn’t become a selfish thing. More of a ‘we will do what we need to do when our backs are against the wall’ thing.”
On Thursday, March 6, the Lions played one of their best games of the season in the state semifinals at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. It was a convincing 57-36 victory over Providence Christian.
“That game was great for us,” said Turnipseed. “We have been to Cookeville a couple of times. We were like, ‘Hey, let’s go win a game.’ We had motivation and fire behind us. We are here to win, not just to be here. We defended and rebounded well. Everybody bought in and it came together.”
In that game, TKA sophomore Skylar Walden led all scorers with 24 points.
“She is a hard worker and will do whatever you ask her to do,” said Turnipseed. “She is a really good player. She is very skilled and has a great head on her shoulders. It is easy to coach her. She is going to do whatever it takes to win. She will take more responsibility and not complain about it.”
TKA faced Webb School-Bell Buckle in the finals on Saturday, March 8. The Feet (yes that is their nickname) won 3 state titles from 2021-2023, spent one year in Division II-AA, and returned to Division II-A ball this season. It was a close game throughout, but in the end, Webb was a little too strong. Senior Daria Biriuk, an Ohio State signee, had a game-high 26 points for the Feet in their 66-59 victory. TKA finished their season at 27-7.
“I think we battled and fought through some adversity,” said Turnipseed. “We were down but made some big plays. Then they made some big plays. It was a good lesson for us too. You’ll play good teams that will make some shots and make some runs, and you have to try to stop that. I was happy to see our girls fight and keep playing to the end.”
Walden led the Lions in that game with 22 points. She has two years remaining at TKA. Forward Emily Atchley and guard Kyle Young will be back for their senior years. While they do lose forward Brady Branam, a Wofford signee and guard Lillian Sims to graduation, another run to Cookeville is certainly possible next season.
“We have the majority of our team coming back,” said Turnipseed. “Having them there (in Cookeville) to see what goes on, they enjoyed it and want to go back. We want to get back and maybe win that game. But they know it takes hard work, summer ball and early conditioning. They have been there and now it is time to ramp it up.”
