The girls 36th District tournament semifinals took place Tuesday night at Newport Central Catholic as the host Thoroughbreds took on Bellevue and Highlands faced Dayton.
Here’s how they went down:
Newport Central Catholic 63, Bellevue 51
This was a game Newport Central Catholic had circled for a year. The chips needed to fall the right way, but NewCath wanted revenge on a Bellevue team that ended their season at this point last year on Feb. 27, 2004.
The Thoroughbreds got their revenge with a 63-51 victory.
Caroline Eaglin led the way with 27 points, Jaylee Brannen pulled down her 500th career rebound and NewCath can breathe a little easier with this game out of the way.
“Trevor (Steiner) has had this one circled since he stepped into the office when he became our head coach,” Eaglin said. “He told us this is the one we’re getting and this one was personal. We weren’t going out like we did last year and it’s our home court. Now we’re gonna bring out everything we have on Thursday.”
A second quarter in which NewCath outscored Bellevue 16-8 was a big difference maker. It gave them a 38-23 lead at halftime.
PHOTOS: NewCath-Bellevue girls 36th District tournament semifinals (provided by Charles Bolton)
“Really liked what we got out of our bench production in the second quarter,” NewCath coach Trevor Steiner said. “I thought that really kept us going especially as we got a few girls into foul trouble.”
But a spirited Bellevue team with seven seniors and coach Tommy Sorrell ending his 17-year head coaching tenure at the end of the season wasn’t laying down. They went on a 15-4 run in the third to get within 44-38 headed into the fourth.
“I can’t fault the effort,” Tigers coach Tommy Sorrell said. “They played so hard and sometimes you come up short. The thing I love about these kids is it’s never been about who they played. They didn’t care, they just want to win.”
The amount of energy exerted for the Tigers to get back in it in the third showed in the fourth. NewCath scored the first six points of the frame thanks to their transition offense to extend the lead back out to double-digits.
“We’ve really excelled in transition against them this year,” Steiner said. “You saw them kind of turn the table on us there in the second half a little bit and all of a sudden those outlets that we’ve been getting that helped us in the first half were getting run outs on us. That’s discipline to our balance, the stuff we’re trying to get into and just executing.”
Bellevue was unable to get any closer than nine from that point, ending the career of the seven seniors and Sorrell’s tenure with the team, who he has coached since the fourth grade.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride, 24 years total, 17 as a head coach,” Sorrell said. “I have so much Tiger pride. All I’ve tried to do is love my players, show them what Tiger pride is and to bleed black and gold. I’m not just their basketball coach, I truly care for these girls and wanted to make them feel special, teach them how to work hard and be good people.”
They were led by Sydni Massey with 18 points. Jayda Dowell added 10, Paulina Long with eight.
After Eaglin’s 27, Jaylee Brannen had 12 points and got solid contributions elsewhere.
“First off, hats off to Tommy on an incredible career. I really admire all he’s done and what he means to that community,” Steiner said. “We’re at our best when we have other weapons stepping up. And whether it be filling space in the offense, making shots, hunting their own shots, then we really get into our rhythm as a team.”
Newport Central Catholic will meet Highlands on Thursday at 7 p.m. back at NewCath.
NEWCATH 63, BELLEVUE 51
BELLEVUE — 15-8-15-13 — 51
NEWCATH — 22-16-6-19 — 63
Scoring
Bellevue (51) — Massey 18, Jayda Dowell 10, Long 8, Jayla Dowell 6, MacPherson 4, Wight 3, McCarty 2
NewCath (63) — Eaglin 27, J. Brannen 12, McFarland 7, Cole 6, Schill 4, K. Brannen 3, Thompson 2, Giesler 2
3-Pointers Made: Bellevue 7, NewCath 5
Free Throws: Bellevue 14/18, NewCath 8/9
Records: Bellevue 18-13, Newport Central Catholic 16-15
Highlands 56, Dayton 20
The Bluebirds (20-8) led 40-10 at the half and got the game to a running clock with 6:29 left in the third with a 45-10 lead.
They had 11 players enter the scoring column, led by Maren Orme and Marissa Green with nine points apiece. It’s the 15th straight district championship game appearance for Highlands as they seek a third straight district title and vie for an 11th title in that span.
Katie Bucher added eight points, Kaylee Mills with seven and Tyriana Berry with six.
Dayton was led by Tayah Smith and Axie Jimenez with five points apiece as their season comes to a close at 13-16, their first under Laura Hall. They feature a young team with just two seniors, one of them Smith who recently scored her 1,000th career point.
Highlands beat Newport Central Catholic 62-43 in the regular season back on Jan. 17 at NewCath. The two have won the last 18 district titles dating back to 2007. Newport was the last team other than the two to win a district title in 2006.
HIGHLANDS 56, DAYTON 20
DAYTON — 4-6-8-2 — 20
HIGHLANDS — 17-23-7-9 — 56
Scoring
Dayton (20) — Smith 5, A. Jimenez 5, Hall 4, Hull 2, J. Jimenez 2, Harris 2
Highlands (56) — Orme 9, Green 9, Bucher 8, Mills 7, Berry 6, Nzekwu 5, Barrett 4, Barlow 4, Lickert 2, Richey 2
3-Pointers Made: Dayton 2, Highlands 2
Free Throws: Dayton 0/0, Highlands 8/14
Records: Dayton 13-16, Highlands 20-8