The Holy Cross girls and Newport boys will be playing in the All “A” State Tournament semifinals Saturday back at The Corbin Arena. Here is how they both made it past the quarterfinals:
Boys
Newport 46, Danville Christian 34
The Wildcats advanced past the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
“In the first half, we really struggled,” Newport head coach Rod Snapp said. “Credit to Danville Christian. They just guarded real hard. We couldn’t get anything going offensively. We came out after halftime and knuckled up.”
Taylen Kinney returned to the starting lineup and led the Wildcats with 14 points to go with three assists. James Turner followed with 12. Snapp credited freshmen Amontae Lowe and Griffin Starks for coming in and playing composed basketball.
“We came ready. We get a lot of reps in practice,” Lowe said. “We just tried to translate that to the game. We just treat it like any other game. We play our game.”
Newport turned up its defense in the second half as Danville Christian scored just 11 points. The Wildcats led 29-26 after three before outscoring the Warriors, 17-8 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Newport (19-3) has won 11 in a row and earned a spot in the semifinals against Lyon County at 4 p.m. It’s a rematch of last season’s first round Sweet 16 game at Rupp Arena.
Lyon County 64, Walton-Verona 52
The Bearcats battled the Lyons for three quarters, trailing just 34-33 at halftime and 54-50 after three quarters. Walton-Verona only scored four points in the fourth quarter, allowing Lyon County to pull away.
Julian Dixon had a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Bearcats. Aaron Gutman led Walton-Verona with 15 points and Max Montgomery scored 12.
University of Kentucky signee Travis Perry scored 23 to lead Lyon County. Jack Reddick and Brady Shoulders followed with 17 and 14, respectively.
Walton-Verona (15-7) hosts Aiken (Ohio) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Girls
Holy Cross 67, Owsley County 45
The Indians trailed 15-10 after the first quarter, but a defensive tweak changed that and Holy Cross outscored the Owls, 57-30 the rest of the game.
“Owsley County did a great job of handling our trapping there in the first quarter,” Holy Cross head coach Ted Arlinghaus said. “We went full-court man. There were three or four possessions in a row where they couldn’t even cross halfcourt. We finally got into some of our transition and fastbreak opportunities.”
Holy Cross wound up recording 17 steals off 21 Owsley County turnovers. Aniyah Carter guarded Owsley County guard Carly Smith and finished with 15 points and six steals.
“(Smith) knew how to handle the ball,” Carter said. “Everything they ran was based off her. Getting her out of her game is what changed the game from the first quarter.”
Julia Hunt led the Indians with 17 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double to go with three assists and two blocked shots. Aumani Nelson followed with 12 points and Miyah Wimzie scored 10 points to go with four steals.
Holy Cross (17-5) has won five in a row. The Indians take on Nicholas County at 11 a.m. in Saturday’s semifinals.
Nicholas County 66, Walton-Verona 38
The Bearcats shot just 20% from three-point range in the loss to the Blue Jackets.
Ava Kendall led Walton-Verona with 10 points and Cam Christy scored eight. The two went into halftime tied at 25, but Nicholas County outscored Walton-Verona 41-13 in the second half.
Nicholas County won the rebounding battle, 30-19. Maggie Simons led the Blue Jackets with 26 points with Nevaeh Davis recording a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tessa Humphries added 15.
Walton-Verona (12-8) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. The Bearcats play at Boone County on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball
Covington Catholic 70, Highlands 39
The Colonels bounced back from the home loss to Cooper on Tuesday with a convincing win over the rival Bluebirds at Truist Arena in Highland Heights.
CovCath shot 49% from the field and held Highlands to 25% shooting and won the rebounding battle, 40-28. The Colonels also had 15 assists to 12 turnovers while the Bluebirds had 10 turnovers to five assists.
Caden Miller dominated the paint for the Colonels, tallying another double-double with 22 points and 18 rebounds to go with five blocked shots. Noah Johnson added 16 points and Cash Harney scored eight to go with six assists.
Brayden Moeves and Nathan Vinson led Highlands scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively.
CovCath (16-5) travels to Ashland Blazer on Saturday at Noon.
Cooper 60, Lexington Christian 57
The Jaguars edged the Eagles for their fifth straight win.
Shaun Pouncy led Cooper with 18 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double as Cooper outscored Lexington Christian, 38-22 in the paint. Jaidan Combs added 16 points with Yamil Rondon and Isaiah Johnson scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Cooper dominated the rebounding battle with a 42-19 advantage. Combs followed Pouncy with seven rebounds.
Cooper (14-7) hosts Campbell County on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Mason County 63, Holy Cross 58
The Indians came up short in the non-region road game.
Nate Rominger led Holy Cross with 14 points with William McElheney and Luke Arlinghaus scoring 11 points each.
Holy Cross (13-7) travels to Grant County on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Boys Basketball Scores
Ludlow 85, Dayton 50
Simon Kenton 71, Gallatin County 63
Oneida Baptist Institute 83, Heritage Academy 64
Girls Basketball
St. Henry 47, Conner 43
The Crusaders pulled off the 9th Region win.
Kayla Unkraut led St. Henry with 20 points and Sydney Bollman scored 12 with Jayne Knollman adding eight.
Alexis Craddock led Conner with 17 points and Aubree Depenbrock had eight. St. Henry held Conner’s leading scorer Anna Hamilton to six points – just more than 10 points below her season average.
St. Henry (10-8) has won three in a row. The Crusaders travel to Scott on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Conner (10-11) takes on Ashland Blazer in the PrepSpin Classic at Lexington Christian on Feb. 3 at 1 p.m.
Bishop Brossart 69, Holmes 18
The Mustangs snapped their two-game losing streak with a convincing win.
Brossart shot 52% from the field. Greylee Kramer scored 15 points to lead the way with Kylie Smith and Zoee Meyers scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively.
India Tye led Holmes, scoring 12 points.
Bishop Brossart (13-5) plays at Newport Central Catholic on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Holmes (2-20) hosts Paris on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
Notre Dame 53, Henry Clay 35
The Pandas outrebounded the Lexington visitors, 34-21 on their way to a convincing win in the home makeup game.
Emma Holtzapfel led the Pandas with 12 points and Sophia Gibson scored 10 points to go with six rebounds. Amelia Stallard and Maya Lawrie scored nine points each and Stallard grabbed a team-high seven rebounds with Addy Lawrie recording team-highs of four assists and three steals.
Notre Dame (15-4) travels to Campbell County on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Other Girls Basketball Scores
Beechwood 32, Louisville Collegiate 25
Lloyd Memorial 64, Villa Madonna 44