The Dixie Heights Colonels and Simon Kenton Pioneers girls basketball teams have not been in the same region since 2005 when the Kentucky High School Athletic Association sent Simon Kenton to the 8th Region as part of the massive statewide redistricting trying to eliminate three-team districts.
But that has not stopped the intensity of this Kenton County School District rivalry over the years. This one saw the Colonels (5-2) score the game’s first seven points before pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 49-34 win over the Pioneers (4-2).
“We moved the ball and saw the court, which is really, really important against a team like Simon Kenton that is so active on defense,” said Joel Steczynski, Dixie Heights head coach. “They did a great job against us taking away some of the things that we wanted to do and. It was a good win for us.”
Senior guards Sammy Berman and Ella Steczynski led the way with 17 and 14 points respectively for the Colonels. Berman hitting a lay-up with 7:31 left in the second quarter to score her 1,000th career point.
Dixie Heights led 23-14 at halftime before Simon Kenton made its run scoring the final eight points of the third quarter to trim the margin to 30-28. Senior forward Emilee Eggleston finished off the run with a three-pointer from the top of the key with eight seconds left.
“In all of our games so far, we’ve gotten off to slow starts,” said Brenden Stowers, Simon Kenton head coach. “We’ve been working on that so we’re not having to battle back and waste all the energy early on so we can get out to a fast lead and cruise that way. I’m proud of our effort trying to fight back in. We had a couple unfortunate turnovers and that was the game there.”
But Ella Steczynski took over in the fourth quarter making two three-pointers on her way to 10 points in that final quarter. Simon Kenton trimmed the margin to 30-29 when sophomore guard Rylie Flynn hit a free throw. But freshman guard Coralee Pelfrey and Ella Steczynski hit consecutive threes to put Dixie Heights up 36-29.
“I wasn’t hitting very many shots early in the game so I just had to keep going, hit the game shots when it really counted,” Ella Steczynski said. “We had to keep pushing even when we were making bad turnovers, mistakes and not hitting our shots. We came out strong in the second half and kept going.”
Flynn hit a jumper then one of two free throws to cut the lead to 36-32 with 5:12 left in the game. But the Pioneers came no closer after that as Dixie Heights recorded some steals and converted them using their 2-2-1 zone full-court press.
Dixie Heights junior guard Jalynn Brooks hit a triple in the first quarter. But she played a big role in bringing the ball up the court against Simon Kenton’s pressure defense.
“(The seniors) definitely help a lot with that,” Brooks said. “You definitely have to have trust in your team, which I do, especially this year because we’ve formed such a good bond. Then you can just play the game.”
The Colonels rallied around injured senior guard Reese Smith. Smith left the game with 37.5 seconds left in the first half with an injury.
Flynn and eighth grade guard Brynli Pernell led Simon Kenton with 10 points each.
Both teams play again Thursday. Dixie Heights plays host to Newport Central Catholic (3-2) at 6 p.m. and Simon Kenton plays host to Lloyd Memorial (2-3) for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Other Girls Basketball Scores
Boone County 56, Dayton 35
Ludlow 75, Bellevue 54
Holmes 59, Newport 57
Cincinnati Purcell Marian (Ohio) 55, Cooper 47
Ryle 47, Cincinnati (Ohio) Mount Notre Dame 37
Scott 72, Lloyd Memorial 39
Notre Dame 57, Walton-Verona 45
Boys Basketball
Simon Kenton 32, Cooper 30
Mason County 80, Holmes 45
Cincinnati (Ohio) Hughes 89, Newport Central Catholic 74
North Oldham 91, Walton-Verona 68
