For the first time since 2017, the Holy Cross girls basketball team can hold up the 35th district championship trophy.
In a defensive clinic, the Indians limited Notre Dame 53-39 for their 27th win of
the season.
Ball pressure was the difference maker. Holy Cross caused the Pandas to turn it over 24
times and had 17 steals to Notre Dame’s seven.
“We’ve been working on it since last offseason” Holy Cross head coach, Ted
Arlinghaus said, “That’s the staple to our team. Defense travels. There’s going to be
nights where the shots aren’t going down or it’s tough to get looks, but as long as you
can defend, you can be in every game. We’ve made it known on this team, if you
want to get minutes, you had better learn how to defend.”
It helped that the Indians had three players in double-digits. Aumani Nelson,
who was named district tournament MVP, led the team with 20 points.
“In this tournament, it was driving.” Nelson said, “My shots weren’t always falling so
I’d say driving was my best asset to the team. It also helped me to create open shots
for my teammates.”
Then it was Julia Hunt and Miyah Wimzie. Wimzie put up 16 points and Hunt
finished with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. She also added on five
blocked shots.
“Last time we only won 39-30 so we knew we had to get out and work even harder”
Hunt said, “Our defense was already great, but we needed to make it better. And
rebounding? That’s my job. My job isn’t to dribble or make plays, it’s to rebound, and
that’s what I did.”
Wimzie and Hunt were also named to the 35th district all-tournament team.
The Indians trailed 6-4 early on, but that was the last time they found themselves
down. They closed out the first quarter with a 14-9 lead and outscored the Pandas
20-6 in the second quarter for a 34-15 halftime advantage.
They hit a bump in the road offensively out of the locker room. They didn’t score
their first points until the three-minute mark in the third quarter and were
outscored 11-3 during that period as Notre Dame cut the lead to 37-26. Holy Cross never looked phased.
“Was that due to defense?” Arlinghaus said, “That’s absolutely what it was. We
switched things up a couple times, tried to keep them off balance and I remember
turning to our coaching staff between the third and fourth quarter and said, ‘With
everything that went wrong in that quarter, we only lost it by two points.’ We still
maintained the lead and got the job done.”
After losing the last five district championships to Notre Dame as a head coach and
assistant, it felt good for coach Ted Arlinghaus to finally get over the hump.
“I was an assistant for two seasons, and this is my fourth season as a head coach.”
Arlinghaus said, “We’ve never got to experience a district championship. The
seniors never had a chance as well, so our goal was to win a district championship
this year and they accomplished that. This was really exciting.”
For Notre Dame, the season isn’t over. They will head to the 9th region tournament on Sunday at Truist Arena as they await their opponent. The Pandas, who move to
20-9 on the season were led by Sophia Gibson with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Gibson and Maya Lawrie were named to the 35th district All-tournament team.
Holy Cross will head to the region tournament as one of four district winners,
including Highlands, Dixie Heights and Cooper. Their potential first round matchups are Ryle, St. Henry and Bellevue. The Pandas will get either Cooper, Dixie Heights or Highlands.
All-Tournament Team
INDIANS 53, PANDAS 39
HOLY CROSS — 14-20-10-9 — 53
NOTRE DAME — 9-6-12-12 — 39
Scoring
Holy Cross (53) — Nelson 20, Wimzie 16, Hunt 11, Hayes 4, Carter 2
Notre Dame (39) — Gibson 24, Holtzapfel 8, M. Lawrie 5, Collins 1,
Stallard 1
Game Stats
Field Goals: Holy Cross 20/47, Notre Dame 14/45
3-Pointers: Holy Cross 2/10, Notre Dame 2/13
Free Throws: Holy Cross 11/16, Notre Dame 8/14
Rebounds: Holy Cross 23, Notre Dame 37
Assists: Holy Cross 7, Notre Dame 9
Turnovers: Holy Cross 13, Notre Dame 24
Steals: Holy Cross 17, Notre Dame 7
Blocks: Holy Cross 5, Notre Dame 2
Fouls: Holy Cross 20, Notre Dame 13
Records: Holy Cross 27-5, Notre Dame 20-9