How Jailyn Banks helped lead MTCS basketball back to TSSAA DII-A girls championship game

COOKEVILLE ― Middle Tennessee Christian girls basketball coach Hannah Jones looked on with total confidence. Meanwhile, Christian Academy of Knoxville coach Abby Williams watched with an initial thought of, simply, "Please miss."

And all Jailyn Banks was thinking was: Just make a play.

The Belmont signee's step-back 3-pointer sent the teams' TSSAA basketball state semifinal to overtime before she and her MTCS teammates pulled out a 63-59 win over CAK in the Division II-A BlueCross Basketball State Championships at the Eblen Center at Tennessee Tech.

"I was just looking for an opening," said Banks, who shot 11-for-22 from the field and finished with a game-high 31 points. "Once I got it, I knew.

"Once I got my opening, I knew I had to relax and shoot it."

Banks and the Lady Cougars (27-10) advanced to their second straight DII-A championship game and play the winner between Webb School-Bell Buckle and King's Academy at 11 a.m. Saturday. Webb has won the past two championships and boasts a roster with six Power 5 signees, including two headed to LSU.

CAK finished the season 29-6, falling to MTCS in the semifinals for the second straight year.

Anna Clay Shirley, a freshman, scored 13 points with three 3-pointers for MTCS. Keirra Leffew had 19 points and 18 rebounds to lead CAK. Teammate Izzy Proffitt had 15.

Jones said putting Banks in clutch situations isn't anything knew for her senior, a Miss Basketball finalist.

"She's hit shots like that before," Jones said. "She has that work ethic and she's proven that she can make those shots. She's ready for those big moments."

Williams saw CAK turn an 11-point first-half deficit into a 3-point lead with less than 30 seconds left leading to Banks' shot to put it in overtime.

"Please miss," Williams said of what she was thinking. "'Don't foul her,' was the second thought. At the end of the day, 'Great, let's go to overtime and see what we can do.' She hit a big shot in a big moment.

"I couldn't ask for a better defense. Fadeaway. Three feet, four feet behind the 3-point line. And she hit a big shot."

MTCS built a three-point lead with 31.6 seconds left in overtime after Autumn Davis' two free throws. CAK missed two 3-point attempts to tie the game before Banks was fouled with 15.3 left and hit one of two free throws to pull out the win.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.