Why Sydney Mains hugged everyone on Knox Catholic bench in TSSAA basketball title repeat, especially her parents

COOKEVILLE — Sydney Mains sauntered off the basketball court. The senior donned her Knoxville Catholic jersey for the final time. 

She substituted out of the Lady Irish’s imminent Division II-AA girls basketball state championship victory with 40 seconds remaining. When Mains made it to the sideline, she gave a bear hug to her coach and dad, Travis Mains. The five-second embrace seemed to feel like a lifetime. 

Sydney Mains hugged her teammates and then made it to her assistant coach and mom, Missy Mains. 

More:Celebrate Catholic's repeat Division II-AA girls basketball title with our commemorative poster

This display of affection between the Mains family is emblematic of their love and the storybook ending to their daughter’s career that Travis Mains admits he would’ve never predicted would end with back-to-back state titles. 

“Going back and hugging them and hugging every single one of them, it was more than just a game for us,” Sydney Mains said. “It was closing a chapter for me and (senior) Caroline (Krueger) and opening up a new one.”

Knoxville Catholic beat rival Knoxville Webb 53-39 at Tennessee Tech’s Hooper Eblen Center on Saturday. The Lady Irish (28-5) have reached the state championship round in three of the last four years. 

Mains, who was named the tournament MVP, finished with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. The sharpshooter signed to Florida Atlantic made three of her five 3-pointers. Junior Amaya Redd had 17 points and nine rebounds. 

Webb (21-9) was led by sophomore Meeyah Green who had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. 

Best basketball player in Catholic history

Travis Mains began coaching at Catholic during the 2020-21 season, moving his family from Johnson City. This was also his daughter’s freshman season. While he missed being close to his parents and other family members after moving to Knoxville, he said it was the right decision.

“We pitched all our chips to the middle table and it paid (off),” he said. 

Sydney Mains, a Miss Basketball finalist for the second straight year, picked up her fourth foul with 4:08 left in the third quarter. The Lady Irish played the remaining minutes of that period without their star shooter. When she returned for the final eight minutes, she scored her final eight points.

“She’s a big-time basketball player, she’ll probably be named Miss Basketball,” said Webb coach Greg Hernandez. “She’s deserving of that and she got the gold ball to go with it ... She competes, we did everything we could.”

CATHOLIC STAR:How Sydney Mains led Knox Catholic to third straight TSSAA basketball title game minus best part of her game

Mains ended her high school career with the most points scored in Catholic's prestigious history for boys and girls basketball. She also led the girls to its only two state titles. 

Does Mains view herself as the best player ever for Catholic basketball? Unsurprisingly, Mains' answer said a lot to her character. 

“I don’t really see it that way,” Mains said. “I see it that I have great people around me who have been able to help me become the person I am. They pushed me every day in practice to be better. He (pointing to Travis Mains) pushed me, he’s trained me, so has my mom.”

Toyloy Brown III is a Knox News sports reporter. Email toyloy.brown@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly Twitter, @TJ3rd_.