The Chuckey-Doak Lady Black Knights look to build upon their success of recent years as the new 2024-25 season approaches in just a few short days.
Head Coach Kyle Donahue remains in charge for the third-straight season with assistant coach Nicole Riddle next to him on the bench.
The Lady Knights finished with a 13-16 (5-5) record last season and suffered a defeat in their Region 1-2A opener at Gatlinburg-Pittman. They’ve managed to advance to the regional tournament the past three years, but are still searching to get past the semifinal round.
A group of four seniors have been a part of the program for the better part of those three years and step into their final seasons looking to leave a lasting impact. Kennedy Brown, Saniah Atchison, Tavyn Southerland, and Layla Fox are the four seniors looking to step into those leadership roles and lead Chuckey-Doak to success. All four are expected to play significant minutes this season.
“Last year leading us in scoring was Kennedy Brown. She’s back along with Saniah Atchison who ran point guard for us. Tavyn Southerland will be in the utility spot for us. She can play inside or outside. Layla Fox is back for her second year. We’re excited about our senior class. They all bring something different to the table. They all fit in well with each other where one is deficient another one is strong,” Donahue stated.
While the boy’s team might not have any seniors, the girl’s team will be without any juniors. They only have two sophomores listed on their roster and they are Isabelle Karriker and Chloe Kirkpatrick.
“Karriker is pushing six feet and she’ll be a great asset for us in the post. She plays a lot of volleyball so she can jump well and long arms always help in basketball. We’re working on getting her tougher and kind of owning the paint. Chloe will be a wing for us. She’s grown up a lot as we’ve progressed through the summer,” Donahue spoke about both sophomores.
All six seniors and sophomores are the only returning players.
A good-sized freshman class of five players will suit up looking to gain playing time also. Tralyn Southerland, Khloe Henderson, Sarah Yates, Jayden Myers, and Jessie Dayton will suit up as first-year players.
Southerland will gain valuable varsity minutes right away and will be a key addition to Chuckey-Doak’s team as a freshman. “Tralyn brings a lot to our team and has stepped into a leadership role as a freshman so that’s good to see.”
“Jayden Myers will also see some varsity time. She’s a guard. We’ve got to get her to slow down a little bit, but she’s getting to the point where she can give us some good minutes,” Donahue said. He continued talking about his freshman group, “Khloe Henderson will play in the post. We’re working on refining some things with her. Jessie Dayton will be a wing and Sarah Yates will also be a wing/post combo.”
The Lady Knights were known as a team with lots of depth last year and rotated many players in and out of their starting lineups. Coach Donahue expects to see the same this season and does not have a set starting lineup at the moment.
“We’re still trying to work that out,” he mentioned. “It really depends on what we like in matchups and how we want to make teams defend us. To me, it’s more about who’s playing well throughout the game. I know starting is a big thing and everybody likes to run through the doors, but we have to find finishers. We want to start the game fast and attack people, but we also want to finish strong.”
Chuckey-Doak finished 3rd in the regular season standings last season and want to improve within the District 1-2A rankings this season. They will be joined by South Greene, West Greene, Hampton, Happy Valley, and Johnson County.
“I think our conference is pretty solid from top to bottom. It’ll be an interesting season,” Coach Donahue stated.
Their first game is on November 19th at Washburn as one of their two Hall of Fame games.
