NSA advances to championship
Published 9:12 pm Friday, February 24, 2017
The Lady Saints defeated Cape Henry 57-47 Thursday evening, advancing them to the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools tournament championship Saturday at Hampton Roads Academy at 4 p.m.
Lindsay Knierbein had 16 points and 15 rebounds against Cape Henry in a TCIS conference semifinals win for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. The Lady Saints will play Norfolk Christian in the championship Saturday at HRA at 4 p.m.
Sam Mizelle photo
NSA will play Norfolk Christian in the title game after defeating Cape Henry in the semifinals. The Lady Saints got the win behind a big performance from Lindsay Knierbein, who had 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the way for NSA.
“I’m very proud of how our kids have responded this year,” Lady Saints coach Kim Aston said. “We’ve had a target on our back because for the past four years we have been the regular season champs. Everybody wants to beat us, and it’s a tough position to be in when a lot of kids didn’t have the necessary experience coming into the season.”
After the first quarter, NSA led 21-6. NSA started off the game blazing, knocking down six three-pointers in the first quarter. Kelly Hogan was in foul trouble for much of the second quarter, and Cape Henry took advantage, outscoring NSA 11-9. In the second half, NSA was able to hold off a strong Cape Henry comeback to win by 10.
“Collectively, we played well and fought hard,” Knierbein said. “Even when things didn’t go right, we adjusted and prevented any big runs. The offense was distributed pretty evenly, but I think executing our defensive game plan got us the win.”
Kaylah Brown had another impressive game with 16 points and a hot shooting night. Brown shot 80 percent from beyond the arc and 60 percent for the game. Logan Harrell added 12 points and six assists. NSA as a whole shot 50 percent on threes, going 9-18.
“She is playing much more confident now,” Aston said about Brown’s performances. “I hope she continues to play hard. She has the potential every night to have games like these.”
NSA and Norfolk Christian will face off in the TCIS championship Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hampton Roads Academy. In the last meeting, NSA defeated Norfolk Christian 60-51. The teams are the top two seeds.
“We are going to have to take care of the ball,” Aston said. “With Norfolk Christian and the state tournament, we are going to see teams that pressure us a lot. We are going to have to keep our composure.”
NSA 57, NC 47
NSA- Knierbein 16 pts 15 rebs, Brown 16 pts, Harrell 12 pts 8 asts, Hogan 6 pts 16 rebs, Herrod 4 pts, Saunders 3 pts,
3’s- Brown (4), Harrell (3), Saunders (1), Knierbein (1)
