Cloudland’s Saharra McKinney (22) throws a pass to a teammate over the Sunbright defense during Saturday’s Class 1A sectional game at Sonny Smith Gymnasium.Â
With Peyton McGee tagging along defensively, Aaliyah Story goes hard to the bucket for the Lady Pioneers. (Photo by Earl Neikirk/Neikirk Image)
Earl Neikirk
Cloudland’s Saharra McKinney (22) throws a pass to a teammate over the Sunbright defense during Saturday’s Class 1A sectional game at Sonny Smith Gymnasium.Â
Ivan Sanders
Providence Academy's Kinley Painter drives towards the basket as West Greene's Alissa Lawson races to catch up.
Seven girls basketball players from Northeast Tennessee were named to their respective All-State teams by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.
Dobyns-Bennett’s Caroline Hill, the Carson-Newman bound District 1-4A tournament MVP, made a school-record 80 3-pointers this season while leading Northeast Tennessee in free-throw percentage (88.2%). She scored 14.9 points and averaged 2.5 triples a game, leading D-B to its first state tournament since 1995.
Wingate signee Kyleigh Bacon averaged 16.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals while making 76.9% of her free throws for Daniel Boone — joining Hill on the Class 4A team after Boone reached the region semifinals.
Aaliyah Story ranked second in NET in rebounds (9.8) and blocks (2.5) per game for David Crockett. The District 1-3A tournament MVP also averaged 15.5 points, as the Lady Pioneers enjoyed a historic campaign with a district title and their first region win.
Greeneville’s Kyla Jobe also made the 3A team, having averaged 15.4 points with 1.0 3s and 2.4 steals per game while hitting 77% of her free throws. She helped the Lady Devils earn their third straight trip to Murfreesboro.
Saharra McKinney led Cloudland to its third state tournament in four years after leading NET in steals (5.0) while ranking third with her 5.0 assists per game. She was named MVP of the District 1-1A and Region 1-1A tournaments.
Haley Bailey, a 1A Miss Basketball finalist, averaged 17.9 points and 9.2 rebounds (third in NET) to lead North Greene on its fifth straight trip to state.
Providence Academy’s Kinley Painter made the Division II-A All-State team after averaging 19.0 points per game, tied for second in NET. In addition, she ranked fourth in steals (3.9) while dishing out 4.0 assists with 1.8 3-pointers a night.
Stay Engaged
React to this article and join our community of readers sharing their feedback.
