TCA's Olivia Lee named 2021-22 All-West Tennessee female athlete of the year

TCA junior Olivia Lee is not just a triple threat on the basketball court, but in high school athletics in general. 

Lee is the All-West Tennessee female athlete of the year after a successful 2021-2022 school year that saw her excel in soccer, basketball and track.

She was named to the Division II-A all-state soccer team after she scored 41 goals and had four assists, she was named Division II-A Miss Basketball after averaging 24.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game and she helped the school's 1,600-meter relay team finish fourth and set a new school record at the state meet.

ALL-WEST TN TENNIS TEAM:Camden's Elli Reynoldson repeats as All-West Tennessee girls tennis player of the year

ALL-WEST TN SOFTBALL TEAM:Lexington's Cadey McDaniel named 2022 All-West Tennessee softball player of the year

"(What was fun about this school year) we got to the first round of state (in girls soccer) for the first time. So, we strive to go even further and that was a big accomplishment for us," Lee said. "In basketball, we went to the semifinals of state which was really fun for us and for track we got to go to the state meet and beat the school record in the 4x400 and get fourth when we were supposed to be eighth.

"So, that's my favorite part — going to state and pushing yourself to the limit and pushing the people around you and growing together."

Lee's older sister, Macey, won the Division II-A Miss Basketball and All-West Tennessee female athlete of the year award in 2020.

Olivia said to be able to accomplish some of the same feats Macey accomplished two years ago is a great feeling because she looks up to her and has received help in and out of sports from her. 

"For me, it makes me happy to follow in her footsteps and hopefully be the (basketball) player that she is and do things she has done," Olivia said. "I think it's cool for me because I've always looked up to her since I was little and just getting to watch her play and how hard she works — I've gotten a lot from her."

TCA basketball coach Matt Coble said that what Lee does isn't easy but that it's an extraordinary feat to accomplish. 

"It just takes something special to do multiple sports and do them well," Coble said. "You just have to find some time (to practice each sport). So, for basketball she has to find sometime to shoot and ballhandling and she does the same thing for soccer. Track takes care of itself in that respect but you do got to find time to work on your game in a particular sport's offseason. 

Lee plans to participate in all three sports next season. She has 99 career goals and is less than 20 goals away from the school record.

Finalists

McCall Sims (Westview, Fr.): Sims was a two-sport star for the Lady Chargers playing basketball and softball. In basketball, she helped Westview win its first state title in 26 seasons. She was named to the All-West Tennessee basketball team after averaging 15.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 38% on 3-pointers. In softball, she was named to the All-West Tennessee team after batting .470 with six home runs, 12 doubles, four triples, 35 runs scored and 30 RBIs. 

Genesis Pearson (Jackson Central Merry Early College High School, Sr.): Pearson played basketball at Jackson Central-Merry High and ran track at Madison through a TSSAA co-op program as Jackson Central Merry Early College doesn't offer athletics. She was named to the All-West Tennessee basketball team after averaging 16 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In track and field, she made the All-West Tennessee team after she finished in the top eight in the high jump (third), 300 hurdles (sixth), 200 (seventh) and the pentathlon (seventh) at the Class A state meet. She also helped the 4x400 team win the state meet with a time of 1:44.75.

Jayla Davenport (Riverside, So.): Davenport was one of the leading scorers on a Lady Panthers basketball team that reached the state tournament for the first time since 2015. She averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and three steals per game. She also helped the softball team reach the state tournament for the first time since 2012 and was named to the All-West Tennessee softball team after batting .422 with seven triples, five doubles, three home runs, 50 runs scored and 25 RBIs.