Katie Haitz saw some anxiety.
Ryle’s girls basketball team trailed Holy Cross, 32-29, early in the third quarter Friday, and Coach Haitz had a simple strategy – calm down.
The Raiders relaxed while mostly running away from the Indians. They rode a 13-2 run and Quinn Eubanks’ 20 points to a 60-51 win.
“Holy Cross is always a physical team, and for us, we’ve got to match the physicality,” Haitz said. “I felt we did that in the third quarter; we started calming ourselves a little bit. We’re still trying to figure each other out.”
Eubanks was not the only source of serenity – Jaelyn Jones scored 12 points and Sarah Baker added 10.
Holy Cross fell to 1-1, but the Indians frequently agitated Ryle – Julia Hunt led her team with 13 points, and Miyah Wimzie added 11.
You could summarize Friday’s first half in four words – no lead was safe.
After buckets from Hunt and Wimzie put Holy Cross ahead, 8-4, Eubank’s offensive rebound and stick-back layup and Jones’ 3 from the right corner put Ryle (2-0) ahead, 9-8 – a lead the Raiders extended to 17-13 on Eubanks’ two free throws.
To be sure, there was defensive gems. A late first-quarter example: a few seconds after Holy Cross Aumani Nelson stole a pass, Eubank blocked Nelson’s layup.
When Jones’ 3-pointer from the right wing gave Ryle a 20-13 advantage a little more than a minute into the second stanza, maybe Hunt, Wimzie and Aniyah Carter took it personally – their combined 11 points helped Holy Cross close to 27-26 at intermission.
After Eubank’s bucket 30 seconds into the third quarter, Wimzie’s field goal, Hunt’s 3 from the right wing and an Aaliyah Hayes free throw gave Holy Cross what turned out to be its last lead (32-29) with 6:08 left.
“We were thinking that we were letting (Holy Cross) dictate the pace of the game,” Baker said. “We came out of whatever we were doing.”
From there – the only angst was Holy Cross’s.
In order: Kassidy Peters’ 3-pointer from the left corner, Baker’s right-wing 15-footer, two Jones free throws, Jayden McClain’s steal from Hunt and eventual bucket, Eubank’s two and a pair of Gracie Carrigan free throws.
The result: Ryle, 42-34.
“We talked to ‘em at halftime about how the first three minutes of the second half were gonna set the tone for the rest of the game,” Holy Cross coach Ted Arlinghaus said.
Eubank opened the fourth quarter with perhaps the play of the game. She started right of the lane, dribbled to the free throw line – and split two Holy Cross defenders for the layup.
Was Eubank done? Well, no – four more points and a steal, part of a 13-1 streak.
The Indians made Ryle perspire late – Nelson’s bucket with 25 seconds pulled Holy Cross to within 58-51.
Both Holy Cross and Ryle are in Saturday’s Hoops for Harvest at Dixie Heights. The Indians take on Winton Woods at 4:30 p.m., and the Raiders meet Indianapolis Lawrence Central at 7:30 p.m.
Raiders 60, Indians 51
HOLY CROSS 13 13 8 17 – 51
RYLE 17 10 15 18 – 60
Holy Cross (51) — Hunt 13, Arlinghaus 9, Hayes 5, Nelson 4, Wimzie 11, Carter 9. 3-Pt. FG: 5 (Arlinghaus 3, Hunt, Wimzie). FT: 10-16. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.
Ryle (60) — Eubank 20, Peters 6, Miller 3, Jones 12, Carrigan 7, McClain 2, Baker 10. 3-Pt. FG: 6 (Peters 2, Jones 2, Eubank, Miller). FT: 16-18. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. Records: HC 1-1, R 2-0.