Back to back! Newberry Academy girls win basketball state championship
Daja Taylor didn’t show a lot of emotion as the final seconds ticked down in Saturday’s SCISA Class A girls basketball championship game.
But the Newberry Academy senior was all smiles afterward, taking photos as the team celebrated its 52-38 win over Cathedral for the Eagles’ second straight state championship.
Newberry Academy’s latest title comes almost three months after the Eagles volleyball team won its own back-to-back championships. Taylor and the rest of the Eagles’ starting five — Caroline Senn, Kailey Cheeks, Allison Joyner and Madison Rivers — all are seniors and were part of the volleyball team, too.
“I’m really excited, but me personally, I’m not going to be one who jumps around and yells. I was definitely excited,” Taylor said. “It feels great. We have been together, most of us since we were in sixth grade, and have that glue. I’m just happy to be playing with all of them and win four state championships.”
Taylor, the school’s all-time leading scorer with more than 2,000 career points, poured in a game-high 29 points Saturday and helped the Eagles get off to a strong start.
Newberry came out strong from the perimeter in the title game, hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter to lead 14-7. Cathedral held Newberry without a field goal most of the second quarter until Taylor hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Eagles a 24-20 lead.
“That three before the half bailed us out,” Newberry Academy coach Barry Kesler said. “We made a bone-headed play, took a quick shot and they hit a three. Then, Daja answered.
“That’s what she has meant to us since I started coaching her. If you need a bucket, she is able to get it.”
In the second half, Taylor’s lone field goal was a 3-pointer to start the third, but she got to the free-throw line and was 11-of-11 there in the game’s final quarter.
This was the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Cathedral (22-7) defeated Newberry Academy 43-40 on Dec. 10. But the Eagles (23-6) didn’t lose a game the rest of the year, racking up 20 straight victories to finish the season.
“Up until last year, we never really got to the dance, got to the party,” Kesler said. “It is special for these girls in the school — and a lot of younger girls in the school that were sitting up in the stands — that they have something like this to look forward to.”
NA: Daja Taylor 29, Senn 3, Cheeks 9, Joyner 4, Rivers 7. C: Paige Pouyat 14, Almeida 8, Jackson 3, Riddick 9, DeSouza 4
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 12:31 PM.
