The Father Ryan High School girls’ basketball team capped off a successful season with an appearance in the BlueCross State Championships for Division II-AA.
The Irish fell in the semifinals to Knoxville Catholic High School, 50-38, and completed their season with a 21-4 record.
Knoxville Catholic opened the second quarter of the game with a 12-0 run, building a lead they would never relinquish. Father Ryan’s shooters went cold in the quarter, hitting only two of 11 shots, as Knoxville Catholic built a 31-13 lead at the half.
In the fourth quarter, Father Ryan was able to trim the lead to 11 points but could get no closer.
Lilly Wilder led Father Ryan with 12 points, and Mary Mackie added 10.
Sydney Mains led Knoxville Catholic with 23 points, including 17 in the first half on five of five shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers, and five of from the free throw line. Jazmine Williams and Jaila Greenlee each scored 12 points for Knoxville Catholic.
Father Ryan finished the regular season with a second-place finish in the Middle Region with a 10-2 record in region play.
Bowling
Earlier this year, the Pope John Paul II High School boys and girls bowling teams advanced to the Division II state championships with the boys’ team finishing as the state runner-up.
The boys team opened the Team Championship tournament with a 21.5-5.5 win over Clarksville Academy. Matthew Mesecher led the Knights rolling a 226-232-195 series for a match total of 653. He was followed by Nicholas Herzer with a 220-181-180-581 series and Zane Collins with a 183-168-176-527 series.
In the semifinals, JPII, the top seed from the Middle Region, knocked off Notre Dame High School of Chattanooga, the number one seed from the East Region, 19-8.
Mesecher again led the Knights with a 214-168-224-606 series, followed by Kehan Patel, 202-190-198-590, Collins 209-171-175-550, and Herzer 185-148-183-516.
In the championship match, JPII fell to St. Benedict, the top seed in the West Region, 16-11. After three games, JPII trailed 13-11. But St. Benedict collected three bonus points for having the higher total pinfall, 3,243-3,191, a difference of 52 pins, to ensure the win.
Mesecher rolled a 258-165-183-606 series, followed by Patel 185-195-223-603; Herzer 194-179-203-576; and Finn Donnelly 162-212-168-542.
In the girls Division II tournament, JPII won its first match 24-3 over Boyd Buchanan. Katie Dorr led the Knights with a 163-119-177-459 series, followed by Xana Mayfield 150-171-136-457, and Mackenzie Francis 143-157-122-422.
In the semifinals, JPII fell to Lipscomb Academy 20-7. The top scorers for the Knights were Dorr, 216-112-157-485, and Mayfield 151-154-153-458.
In the boys Individual Tournament, Mesecher, a senior, finished seventh in the four-game semifinal round with a 199-183-163-186-731, one pin out of sixth place and a spot in the finals.
Collins, a freshman, finished 16th with a 199-183-163-186-731 score, and Herzer, a senior finished 17th with a 178-152-156-188-674 score.
Father Ryan senior Isaac Woods, finished 22nd, with a 149-139-143-189-620 score.
In the girls Individual Tournament, Dorr, a senior, finished ninth with a four-game score of 120-131-137-183-571. She was followed by Mayfield, a senior, who finished 18th 145-101-115-172-533 score, and Francis, a junior, with a 122-130-143-114-509 score.
Father Ryan junior Sydney Long finished 22nd with a score of 119-136-103-134-492.
