Why Webb School - Bell Buckle girls' one TSSAA basketball season in DII-AA was frustrating

COOKEVILLE — Dasha Biriuk wiped her eyes and looked to the future following Webb School - Bell Buckle’s 48-41 loss to Knoxville Webb in Thursday’s Division II-AA state semifinals. 

The Lady Feet moved up a division this season, at the school's request, after winning three consecutive DII-A titles. The request was made in an effort to cool heated discussions regarding boarding schools with a proposal in place that would have moved all of the school's athletics to Division II-AA.

They will move back down to DII-A next year with title aspirations.

“My goal and I think my teammates’ goal is to win the state championship again,” said Biriuk, a DII-AA Miss Basketball finalist and Power 5 prospect who was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. “I don’t care what division we play, I just want to win another championship.”

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The Lady Feet finished their one season in DII-AA with a 15-10 record and almost reached the state championship game despite a scheduling quirk that had them play only four home games in 2023-24. Two home games were in the regular season, two were earned by advancing in the TSSAA basketball playoffs.

First-year coach Brody Curry said that happened because when Webb chose to reclassify in June, teams in the DII-AA Middle Region didn’t go out of their way to play home-and-home series with them.

He said teams in the region petitioned to play just one extra game for Webb, not two, which would have allowed Webb to play more home games. 

“No one told them they had to drop another home game to come play us (in Bell Buckle); they said ‘We’re not going to come,’” Curry said. “I think there was a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding on the front end as to why we were moving up.

“It’s frustrating for sure. They (the players) didn’t deserve that at all. It had nothing to do with them, which is probably the most frustrating part about it. But they figured it out. It was fun to see them grow in that way. If you saw us at the beginning of the year, it was a much different team.”

The TSSAA Board of Control approved Webb School - Bell Buckle's request to move back to DII-A for the 2024-25 season on Wednesday.

Webb School - Bell Buckle started the year 4-8 while adjusting without six Power 5 signees who graduated last year. It finished the season winning eight of its last nine games. 

“When we started playing as a team and persevered through (the schedule), it really just made us feel as if, it doesn’t matter if we play home or away, we can take on any team and play together,” said Lady Feet sophomore Kora Johnson, who scored a team-high 16 points with nine rebounds in the semifinals.

Webb School - Bell Buckle will be a DII-A title favorite next season. Most of its top players will return, including Biriuk.

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The Lady Feet led for all but 2 minutes and 31 seconds Thursday despite Biriuk being limited offensively. 

“That’s a good basketball player. I mean, she’s Power 5. She’s a stud,” said Knox Webb coach Greg Hernandez, whose team closed the game on a 15-2 run. “Watching her on film I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she made that shot?’ Our thing was, (let’s) make it hard for her.” 

Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.