By Nazario Pangallo
With the game tied 21-21 midway through the second quarter, Newport Central Catholic guard Caroline Eaglin took charge scoring 10 straight points. The Thoroughbreds never let their lead dip below seven for the rest of the game and captured the Stephanie Wilson Memorial Tournament Championship with a 66-46 victory over Bellevue.
“We really put a lot of effort into it. We gave 100% every single minute,” said Newport Central Catholic center Emma Beck.
Eaglin displayed her plethora of scoring abilities early and often in this game, knocking down both mid-range and three-point jump shots while also finishing at the rim. While being the leading scorer on the team finishing with 30 points on the night and being named tournament MVP, Eaglin provides the Thoroughbreds with much more than just points on the scoreboard.
“Caroline does a fantastic job all the time. She leads the team in practices. She leads the team in stretching and exercising and all that stuff,” said Thoroughbred Head Coach Dan Albrinck. “She’s fantastic on and off the court.”
After both teams exchanged baskets for 10 minutes between the second and third quarter, the Thoroughbreds squashed any comeback aspirations with a 27-8 run to extend their lead to 63-37 early in the fourth quarter.
“We just kept up the pressure for the whole game. Either full court or half court. We just kept it up the whole game and tried to wear them out,” said Albrinck. “We got pretty good depth on our team. That’s one of our strengths.”
Another strength of this Newport Central Catholic team is their knowledge of their roles on the team. While Eaglin catches most of the spotlight, the other players have no problem watching their teammates shine. Consequently, the Thoroughbreds have discovered ways to spread the ball around with nine different players scoring in the game.
“We all have to take up different different parts of leadership,” said Beck. “We can kind of do a hands-on type thing. It makes us more tight-knit with each other for sure.”
Newport Central Catholic forward Jaylee Brannen aided Eaglin on offense scoring 11 points and was subsequently named to the all-tournament team. Guard Madison McFarland was the second Thoroughbred named to the all-tournament team finishing with eight points in the championship game.
Bellevue fought valiantly throughout the game and scored nine straight points late in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 17 before both teams removed their starters. The Tigers two guards Ally MacPherson and Sydni Massey were both named to the all-tournament team. MacPherson scored eight of her 10 points in the paint while Massey nailed two three-pointers.
Newport Central Catholic will attempt to extend their win streak to five Thursday night when they take on Villa Madonna in the first round of the 9th Region All “A” Classic Tournament.
The Tigers face off against St. Henry in their first-round matchup of the tournament on Tuesday night.
Thoroughbreds 66, Tigers 46
Newport Central Catholic — 17-19-18-12 — 66
Bellevue — 13-16-8-9 — 46
Scoring
Newport Central Catholic (66): Eaglin 30, Beck 2, Brannen 11, McFarland 8, Alaina Albrinck 7, Delaney Green 2, Brooklyn Cole 2, Emma Cleves 4,
Bellevue (46): MacPherson 10, Paulina Long 14, Jaylah Dowell 2, Massey 6, Courtney McCarty 6, Jayda Dowell 8
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Newport Central Catholic 6, Bellevue 4
Free Throws: Newport Central Catholic 14/19, Bellevue 6/14
Fouls: Newport Central Catholic 16, Bellevue 16
Records: Newport Central Catholic 7-3, Bellevue 8-3
Beechwood falls to Augusta, Panthers finish 2-1
By Audrey Carrico
The Augusta girls basketball team took home third place in the Stephanie Wilson Memorial Tournament after defeating Beechwood 54-42 at Bellevue.
Augusta limited Beechwood’s offense early as the Tigers were only able to convert on one field goal in the opening quarter.
The Panthers press defense forced the Tiger’s into five quick turnovers as senior guard Megan Jones converted on four early first quarter points in transition to give Augusta a 9-5 lead heading into the second quarter.
“To start the game, we knew our full court pressure would bother them a little bit,” says Augusta head coach Todd Kelsch. “Playing our third game in a three-day span, I wanted to test our defense to see if we could create an early lead.”
While the Panthers held their defensive mindset in the second quarter, Beechwood’s offense caught fire as eighth grade guard Gia Jones hit two deep triples to spark an early 7-3 run.
For Jones, age is just a number. The eighth grader recorded a 30-point performance the week prior in a matchup against Dominican Academy (Ohio), hitting a program record eight 3-pointers in the game.
“Watch out in a couple years,” says Beechwood head coach Isaac Speicher. “With help from Jones and our veterans, we still have a lot of growing up to do, but we don’t have a problem playing hard.”
To finish out the half, Augusta junior Kensington Hinson had seven second quarter points off the drive to help give the Panthers a 25-14 lead.
After a tough offensive half for Beechwood, baskets finally began to fall in the third quarter. Jones poured in a pair of triples while fellow eighth grader Emme Kelly drained a three to bring the Tigers within three points heading into the final quarter of play.
“We tried to play zone a little bit in the third quarter and they shot the lights out,” says Kelsch. “We had to switch to a box and one there for a while just to get out on Jones, but we found our way later in the fourth quarter.”
The Tigers made another push as Jones hit her fifth three-pointer of the game. However, the Panthers offense took over late as the team shot 10-of-11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Augusta scored 21 points in the final eight minutes while limiting the Tigers to 12. Hinson contributed 10 more points in the fourth to cap off a career-high 22-point performance while Jones and junior guard Reagan Tackett each had 11 to improve to 6-6 on the season.
For Beechwood, Jones finished the game with 16 while Kelly and junior Charley Conarroe each delivered with eight and nine-point performances, respectively, as the Tigers fall to 4-7.
“I told our team at the half that we didn’t want to be a team who just lays down when faced with adversity,” says Speicher. “I was really proud of them, we found a way to hit a couple of big shots late but we just got to cut out our mental lapses.”
Saturday night’s contest marked the third consecutive game in a three day span for both programs. Regardless of the outcome, this early season challenge may prove beneficial for both squads as they are set to compete in the upcoming All “A” Classic tournament.
“This was good preparation for us,” says Kelsch. “This tournament sort of prepared us against some of the small schools we may face in the tournament ahead.”
Both Megan Jones of Augusta and Gia Jones of Beechwood were named to the all- tournament team
Beechwood (4-7) will face Dayton next Wednesday in the first round of the 9th Region All “A” Classic while Augusta (6-6) will go head-to-head against the Paris Greyhounds Jan. 6 in the 10th Region.
Ludlow hangs on in win over Lloyd Memorial
By Josh Kalb
What started as a commanding double-digit lead for Ludlow turned into a scare in
the final minutes of the fifth-place game in the Stephanie Wilson Memorial
tournament at Bellevue.
The Panthers held off Lloyd Memorial, 57-54, for their second win of the tournament
and seventh win of the season.
Ludlow (7-6) looked like they had put the game away at the end of the first quarter,
leading 18-6, but that wasn’t the case. The Juggernauts (3-8) went on to outscore the
Panthers 48-39 the rest of the way, but the damage had already been done.
“Anytime you dig a hole for yourself, it’s difficult to comeback. We used a lot of
energy to get back and trying to get over the hump was difficult. We just have to
start better,” Lloyd head coach Paul Sturgeon said.
The tremendous scoring performance by Ludlow’s Addy Garrett made it tougher.
She would score 19 points in the first half and 30 total.
“Addy Garrett played her butt off. We’re asking her to play a position on the ball,
being a primary ball handler. Only a sophomore, but she can impact the game in so
many ways,” Ludlow head coach Blake Clary said.
Ava Hoffmeister also stepped up with huge shots down the stretch. She would finish
with 13 points and be named to the all-tournament team.
Even when Lloyd would cut it to a one-possession game, the Panthers would answer
by knocking down their free throws. They went 12-of-17 from the line, hitting nine in the fourth quarter.
“They’ve been something we’ve stressed all year to them. We’ve had games where
we haven’t shot free throws real well and if you look at our percentage on the
season, it’s around 60%, maybe even under. It’s something we’ve really
worked on and we always tell them it’s going to win games and it did today.” Clary
said.
The Juggernauts had a chance to tie with seven seconds left, but Sierra McCoin’s
3-point attempt just missed.
McCoin made the all-tournament team scoring 13 points. Maleah Ham also had 13
and Mya Holden-Hopkins added 12.
Lloyd Memorial went 1-2 in the tournament, but the
Juggernauts know they have the potential to be better by improving the small
things.
“We’re down three, she’s on the free throw line and we don’t get the rebound. We
don’t secure the rebound and get a shot in transition, instead I have to draw
something up. It’s little things like that. We’re a work in progress,” Sturgeon said.
They’ll be back in action at home against Pendleton County Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Ludlow will look for their third straight win when they start the 9th Region All “A” Classic against Newport at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
PANTHERS 57, JUGGERNAUTS 54
LLOYD MEMORIAL — 6-14-12-22 — 54
LUDLOW — 18-11-9-19 — 57
Scoring
Lloyd Memorial (54) – Ham 13, McCoin 13, Holden-Hopkins 12, Brown 4, Jackson 4,
Williams 4, Young 4
Ludlow (57) – Garrett 30, Hoffmeister 12, O. King 8, P. King 7
Game Stats
3-Pointers made: Lloyd Memorial 4, Ludlow 5
Free Throws: Lloyd Memorial 12/20, Ludlow 12/17
Fouls: Lloyd Memorial 8, Ludlow 7
Records: Lloyd Memorial 3-8, Ludlow 7-6