These two girls basketball teams owned the longest streak of consecutive appearances in the 9th Region Tournament entering the quarterfinals Sunday.
The Highlands Bluebirds (12-17 overall) made their 12 straight appearance and the Dixie Heights Colonels (25-7) made their 11th straight. Beyond that, the Colonels had more experience and it showed in the 58-40 balanced win over the Bluebirds at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
Dixie Heights moves on to the 9th Region semifinals for the fifth year in a row taking on the Cooper Lady Jaguars (21-9). The Colonels lost 58-44 to 16th Region champion Russell in the first round of the state tournament last year.
The defending 9th Region champion Colonels scored the game’s first five points and never looked back. They built a 22-6 lead after the first quarter and expanded it to 30-10 at halftime. They had to fend off the pesky Bluebirds in the second half. Highlands outscored Dixie Heights, 30-28 in the second half.
“Our defense picked up where it left off in the 34th District championship (a 51-49 win over Ludlow),” said Joel Steczynski, Dixie Heights Head Coach. “We played really disciplined defense in the second half of that game although we were a lot more aggressive. We just tried to put a little bit additional pressure on them to understand that there was a time when we were the young team against Highlands. Highlands was able to do a pretty darn good job of that against us.”
Dixie Heights started one senior, three juniors and one eighth grader. On the other side, Highlands started one player from each of the top five grades.
Junior guard Samantha Berman led Dixie Heights scoring 20 points making 7 of 14 shots including two three-pointers and all four free throws. Senior forward Madalyn Lawson also made 7 of 14 shots and 3 of 4 free throws on her way to 17 points. Lawson also had seven rebounds, five blocked shots, one assist and five steals. Berman had six rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and five steals.
“Highlands always comes out and has really good energy,” Lawson said. “We gave everything we got and didn’t panic when we had the pressure in the fourth quarter. I’m really proud of them. If you hold it too long in the paint, (opponents) double and it’s a turnover. I had that happen a couple time. It was important to get the ball, do your move or kick it out quick.”
Dixie Heights made 22 of 56 shots for 39 percent including 7 of 23 from three-point range for 30 percent and 7 of 10 free throws for 70 percent. Junior guard Ella Steczynski made 3 of 6 three-point tries on her way to nine points to go with four assists. Dixie Heights also blocked eight shots to four for Highlands.
“When we have a fast start, everyone is just built up by it,” Berman said. “When someone has energy and enthusiasm on the team, everyone just feeds off it. Then when we make quick shots, everybody feeds off that energy and we just work as a team from there.”
On the other side, Highlands made just 15 of 38 shots including just 1 of 11 from three-point land for nine percent and 9 of 12 free throws for 75 percent. Outside shooting had been a struggle a good part of the season for the Bluebirds.
Highlands 6-foot-2-inch center Marissa Green put on a show down low recording another double-double with 28 points and 15 rebounds to go with three blocked shots. But no one else scored more than five for the Bluebirds.
Dixie Heights scored 1.05 points per possession and .95 points per shot to .7 per possession and .91 per shot for Highlands. Dixie Heights built the nice halftime lead off turnovers. Dixie Heights outscored Highlands, 28-5 off turnovers recording 16 steals on 23 Highlands turnovers while yielding six steals off 10 turnovers. The Colonels also had 38 defensive stops to 32 for the Bluebirds.
Dixie Heights passed the ball better recording 15 assists to 10 for Highlands. Junior guard Reese Smith, sophomore guard Jalynn Brooks and freshman guard Catherine Budenberg had two assists each. Third-year starting point guard Alyssa Harris recorded seven assists playing in her 12th game this year for Highlands.
Dixie Heights finished the first half on a 9-0 run applying a 2-2-1 full-court press. Lawson scored twice during that run.
Ella Steczynski made a three from the right corner to put Dixie Heights up 25-6 before another Lawson score put the Colonels up 27-6. Following two Green scores, Ella Steczynski made another three just before time expired to end the first half.
Dixie Heights built its largest lead at 23 points with 1:50 left in the third quarter. Sophomore forward Abby Thelen made a jumper in the center to put the Colonels up 40-17.
But Highlands finished the quarter with a 7-0 run. Senior guard Meg Gessner scored her five points during that run making the only three-pointer of the game for the Bluebirds. Dixie Heights led 40-24 entering the fourth quarter.
“We challenged the girls at halftime,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. “We said, ‘You can either just give up or you can continue to compete.’ They chose to compete and they did awesome. That’s what we talked about how we’re so proud of their effort. I think our youth showed in there in the first half. Dixie is a veteran team. (The Colonels) have been in these positions before. They came out hot. Kudos to Dixie for being ready to go. But I can’t say enough about Marissa Green and the game that she played.”
Highlands did trim the lead to 11 twice including 46-35 with 4:54 left in the game following two Green free throws. But Lawson responded with a three-point play and the Bluebirds came no closer.
“Our girls handled the ball well. (10 turnovers) is not our best performance,” Coach Steczynski said. “But it’s a good performance knowing Highlands would pin its ears and come after us. We didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half. Our percentages went down. But we’re happy to have the mix we had in the first half to build the lead and extend it.”
The score was closer than the regular season game Dec. 2 that marked the first game for Highlands and the second for Dixie Heights. Dixie Heights won it 62-22 at home. But Highlands did not have three of the players that started the game Sunday including Harris.
“Alyssa gave it her all,” Richey said. “She made a huge difference for us. We can’t say enough about Alyssa for the pain that she went through just to be able to get out on the court.”
Two Bluebirds graduate from this year’s team. They are Gessner and 6-1 center CC Shick. Shick did not play the last couple games because of injuries. Richey commended the two for their leadership.
Highlands had won 20 or more games in a row the last nine years losing to Notre Dame in the 9th Region championship game in 2013. This marked the first losing season for Highlands since the Bluebirds finished 12-16 during the 2005-06 season.
9th Region Tournament Schedule at BB&T Arena at NKU:
Quarterfinal Results on Sunday, Feb. 27:
Ryle 53, Notre Dame 51
Newport Central Catholic 55, Ludlow 42
Dixie Heights 58, Highlands 40
Cooper 59, Holy Cross 46
Semifinals on Wednesday, March 2:
Ryle (20-9) vs. Newport Central Catholic (22-10), 6:30 p.m.
Dixie Heights (25-7) vs. Cooper (21-9), 8 p.m.
Championship Game on Friday, March 4:
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.