Brentwood Academy’s Sydni Harvey has played beyond her years all season long, and that was no different Saturday at Lipscomb’s Allen Arena.
The 5-foot-8 guard looked more like a senior than a 15-year-old freshman, guiding her team to a 63-41 win over Briarcrest Christian for the Lady Eagles’ second straight Division II Class AA championship.
“Big games, I like to step it up,” the soft-spoken guard said.
Harvey, who notched her second BlueCross Basketball Championship MVP on Saturday, tallied 17 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting performance, including eight of her team’s first 10 points.
“She’s special,” Brentwood Academy coach Rhonda Brown said. “She does a lot of things for us, and she’s just a great player. She’s just Syd — she’s the same today as she was yesterday, and she’ll be the same tomorrow. … She’s not really a freshman. She plays a lot older and she always has.”
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Harvey knocked down a pair of first quarter 3-pointers to help put Brentwood Academy ahead early, but the 2015 Miss Basketball finalist was confined to the bench for the final 3:09 of the opening period after picking up her second foul.
Other Lady Eagles stepped up in her absence, though, stringing together an 8-2 run to claim an 18-6 advantage after one quarter.
Brentwood Academy’s Kathyrn Stockhoff (10) hugs Sydni Harvey as they celebrate their win against Briarcrest Christian in the Tennessee Division II AA girls high school basketball championship game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
“All year long, anyone could light you up,” Brown said. “They could all shoot 30 times a game, but they just take what the other team gives them. There aren’t a lot of high school kids that are that unselfish, but I think think they’re enjoying their two gold balls.”
Sophomore Bria Dial also finished with 17 points for Brentwood Academy, which tallied 24 points off 19 Briarcrest turnovers. Junior Breuna Jackson contributed 12 points, while freshman Makaila Wilson added 10.
“Turnovers killed us,” Lady Saints coach Lee Smith said. “We had 12 in the first half. We were pretty even on the boards — we actually outrebounded them — but when you have that many turnovers and shoot so poorly. … We didn’t make them work hard enough.”
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Briarcrest (23-7), which knocked off Harpeth Hall in Thursday’s semifinal, scored 19 of its 41 points from the foul line. The Lady Saints shot 26.8 from the field, managing just 11 field goals in the lopsided loss.
“After Baylor about beat us the other day, we watched a lot of film,” Brown said. “That’s what we talked about — getting stops. They bought in, and this group has bought in the whole season. They’ve probably even surprised me this season.”
Elyse Holden finished with 11 points and four rebounds to lead the Lady Saints, while her twin sister Brynn Holden added 10 points and five boards.
“It’s been a long road,” Dial said. “I feel like we’ve had a bull’s-eye on our back the whole time, and everybody had their best game against us. It wasn’t easy getting here.”
Reach Michael Murphy at 259-8018 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.
