07-03-2025
How Ohio State signee Dasha Biriuk outdueled Lady Vols target Haylen Ayers in TSSAA basketball semifinal
COOKEVILLE — It's not an impression anyone would have gotten from watching Thursday's TSSAA Division II-A semifinal, but Dasha Biriuk and Haylen Ayers are good friends.
Their relationship, though, probably explains a lot about Webb School - Bell Buckle's win over University School of Jackson, a 64-57 instant classic in double overtime in which two Miss Basketball finalists gave everything they had. The stakes brought it out of them.
Ayers, who won the award last year, racked up 40 points and 13 rebounds for USJ, going 13-for-24 from the field. Biriuk finished with 26 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks, but the senior was content to be statistically outdueled, as it's her team that will face The King's Academy at 11 a.m. in Saturday's state championship game.
"On the court, we're not friends," Biriuk said of Ayers, a 5-star who 247Sports ranks as the No. 3 sophomore in the country and holds offers from schools like UConn, Tennessee and Texas. "It was a great feeling to play against her. I really wanted to play against her, especially since it's my senior year. I'm so happy I experienced it. It was a great game. She did so good."
Webb (27-7) is making its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance, which includes three championships from 2021-23 and a semifinal appearance last season. It was a frustrating campaign for the Feet, one in which they only played four home games due to scheduling quirks that resulted from a move to DII-AA, and they left the Hooper Eblen Center after last February's loss to Knoxville Catholic with one goal: a gold ball.
Back in DII-A this season, Webb made a statement in taking down the defending state champions. Biriuk, an Ohio State signee, started slow — the Feet trailed 13-6 after the first quarter with their best player scoreless — but turned things around with a nine-point second quarter that pulled Webb within one at halftime.
MORE: TSSAA basketball state tournament: Division II championships brackets
USJ (26-4) spent most of the game in the drivers' seat. The Feet only led for 3:38 in regulation. Webb coach Brody Curry said that had it been earlier in the season, his team would have been more affected by facing a deficit. Instead, they answered every Ayers highlight with one of their own. Biriuk had the bulk of them, including a deep 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in the first overtime that tied the game at 55. The Feet didn't trail after that.
"She's an all-around good player," Ayers said. "She makes tough shots. Towards the end of the game, that's a big shot that a big player makes in a big moment. Hats off to her."
Biriuk and her teammates gave just as much respect for Ayers — Curry called her a "warrior." She rolled her ankle in the first half, forcing her into her only bench spell of the game. It lasted just a minute. Afterwards, she scored 18 points in the second half and five more in overtime. The result didn't go her way, but the duel between stars went as advertised.
"It's just the mentality you have from the start," Ayers said. "You're under the biggest lights ... It's a confidence booster to play in this type of game."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@ and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA basketball state tournament: Dasha Biriuk, Webb School advance
