Brentwood Academy reaches Division II-AA girls championship in Ravenwood transfers' season debut

Tom Kreager
Nashville Tennessean

NASHVILLE – Jaz Harmon sat out Brentwood Academy's first 29 games of the year after transferring from Ravenwood.

She was eligible for the Lady Eagles' 60-38 semifinal rout of Briarcrest Christian on Friday in the TSSAA's Division II-AA semifinals.

Harmon scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds off the bench in 18 minutes played against the Lady Saints.

Harmon, a Georgetown signee, said she knew she would be eligible starting with the state semifinals if her team advanced that far, but it finally set in during the Lady Eagles' quarterfinal win over Chattanooga Christian.

"With like five minutes left in the game, I just broke down crying," Harmon said. "I was like, 'This isn't going to be real.'"

Brentwood Academy's Jaz Harmon (20) drives past Briarcrest's Riley Willard (22) on Friday, March 6, 2020, during the TSSAA Division II State Basketball Championship semifinal at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena in Nashville.

Brentwood Academy (22-8) plays Ensworth (28-0) at 5 p.m. Saturday at Lipscomb's Allen Arena in the Division II-AA girls basketball state championship. It marks the fourth straight time the two Nashville-area programs have played each other in the final. Ensworth is the defending state champion.

Harmon chose not to go into detail on why she transferred from Ravenwood to Brentwood Academy. Teammate Savannah Dews also sat out until Friday after transferring from Ravenwood.

Dews, a 6-foot-2 junior, scored three points and grabbed three rebounds in 10 minutes.

"Any time that you can gain two players like that is a huge bonus," said Brentwood Academy senior Blair Schoenwald, a Belmont signee. "Our team has been great all year and to know that we were able to get to this spot and gain two incredible players who really help us out was huge for us."

Brentwood Academy's Savannah Dews (22) pulls down a rebound Friday, March 6, 2020, during the TSSAA Division II State Basketball Championship semifinal against Briarcrest at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena in Nashville.

Brentwood Academy appealed Harmon and Dews' ineligibility but it was denied, forcing both to be ineligible for one year from their last game played at Ravenwood, which was March 2, 2019. 

"All I'm going to say is I think it was God's plan for me to be at BA," Harmon said. "I don't think I would change a thing even if I could have my senior season."

Belmont signee Blair Schoenwald finished with 10 points and Millie Brown added nine off three 3-pointers.

Kathryn Echols and Riley Willard each had six points to lead Briarcrest (25-6). The Lady Saints shot just 27.8% from the field in the game. It marked Briarcrest's lowest point total of the year, surpassing 39 points scored in the DII-A quarterfinals in a win over Harpeth Hall.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.