Coming into Thursday’s KHSAA Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 matchup with Mercy, Cooper knew they’d have to knockdown the outside shot.
Cooper struggled to do so and a 70-64 defeat came with it, effectively ending their season on the Rupp Arena floor in Lexington in the first round.
Cooper shot 19-of-55 in the contest, including 3-of-22 from the 3-point line.
“Just an off night. We got a lot of open looks, you look at the stat sheet we shot 3-of-22 from deep. It was just an off night. We didn’t make enough shots and then on the back end and trying to get offensive rebounds, which we typically do, we just didn’t get enough offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities. It’s part of the game and we put ourselves with an opportunity to win it at the end of the game and that’s all you can ask for,” Cooper coach Justin Holthaus said.
It’s a sour ending for Cooper as they were hopeful to get to Saturday night’s championship game, entering the tournament as the second highest ranked team in the field behind defending champ Sacred Heart on the other side of the bracket.
But the path there may have been met with what the most resistance was going to be in the opening round, star-studded sophomore Leah Macy and Mercy standing in the way. Macy is ranked top 25 nationwide for the 2025 class and showed every reason why on Thursday, finishing with 37 points and 21 rebounds.
Anytime Mercy needed something, they turned to Macy, her interior post presence a menace to the Cooper defense coming in allowing less than 40 points per game. Macy finished 11-of-21 from the field and 15-of-20 from the free throw line.
“She’s tough. A really good player. Tried some different looks as far as matchups and tried to double her at times, she shoulders the load. Scored 37 against us last time, held everybody down pretty much, but tonight Barnett went off and she had 14. It’s kind of pick your poison there,” Holthaus said.
Cooper held firm early, taking a 14-12 lead after one and 26-24 into the half. They were able to force nine first half turnovers and able to overcome hitting just 9-of-27 shots.
But the missed shots started to add up in the third, Whitney Lind’s layup with 1:44 left in the quarter their only made field goal of the frame as they missed 11 others, Mercy taking full advantage by building a 47-38 lead into the fourth.
The lead got to as much as 15 in the final quarter, Macy’s two free throws giving them a 55-40 lead with 6:17 remaining. But Cooper put the full court pressure on and started to mount their comeback.
They’d get all the way within four at 68-64 with 43 seconds to play, but couldn’t inch any closer from there as they ran out of time.
It puts an end to the high school careers of Whitney Lind, Kay Freihofer and Yamilet Rondon as they finished with two straight region titles and closing out on Rupp Arena’s floor, every team’s goal to start the season. Lind closed her high school career with 2,267 points and 999 rebounds. Lind finishes as the second all-time scorer in program history.
Freihofer got to experience her high school career with her younger sister Liz, a junior on the roster who will be one of the key returnees for Cooper next year. Rondon joined the team her sophomore year.
“Cooper has been the best five years of my life playing basketball, it’s kind of surreal that it’s over now,” Kay Freihofer said. “It’s been really special to play with Liz, we have a really tight bond since we’re a year apart and I could always rely on her the last four years. Someone to come home to practice to and someone who understands, and someone who has always had my back. I’m so thankful for a great coach, a great team and a great sister.”
Cooper finishes with a 29-4 record and went 71-19 over the last three seasons. Quite the contrast as to when they went 12-43 the prior two seasons.
“I always thought when I’d come in and I just wanted to leave Cooper in a better place then when I found it. We won three games my eighth grade year and now being here in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year is kind of crazy. I didn’t really ever really expect it to be that kind of turnaround,” Lind said. “I love my teammates all so much and they’ve done so much for me and this is a hard one knowing I’ll never play with them ever again. I’m so proud of this program and they’ll continue to be successful.”
Lind led Cooper with 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Liz Freihofer had 15 points and four assists, Maleah Alexander chipping in 10 points.
Mercy was also dealing with the loss of second leading scorer Alyssa Murphy, sidelined after suffering an injury in the Sixth Region championship. Mercy’s Emma Barnett complimented Macy well, hitting 4-of-4 from deep and finishing with 14 points. Mercy avenged a 67-64 loss back on Jan. 27.
“Defense. We switched up our defenses a lot today. We played man, one-two-two and two- three. First time played two-three most of the game and I think getting better in man since January to now has helped us a lot,” Macy said. “We’ve been able to throw in a couple possessions of man here and there. That might not always be a stop every possession, but it throws something different out of it and allows us to just change it up for a second.”
Mercy advances to Friday’s quarterfinals against the Simon Kenton-Henderson County winner at 8:30 p.m. It’s their first state tournament win since 2018.
COOPER — 14-12-12-26 — 64
MERCY — 12-12-23-23 — 70
Cooper (64) — Lind 16, L. Freihofer 15, Alexander 10, Parnell 9, K. Freihofer 8, Noel 6
Mercy (70) — Macy 37, Barnett 14, Smith 9, Arnold 4, Pifer 3, Becker 3