Notre Dame could not have drawn up a better opening eight minutes.
The Pandas hit nine of their first 11 three-point attempts, all in the first quarter, accounting for 27 of their 29 points in that span.
They finished with 11 total triples, fueling a fast start that carried them to a 57–52 win over No. 4-ranked Cooper, the four-time defending 9th Region champion, on Wednesday night in Park Hills in the LINK nky Game of the Week presented by Mr. Kentucky and Skyline Chili.
Senior Bellarmine commit Emma Holtzapfel led the barrage, knocking down seven of Notre Dame’s 11 threes to earn Skyline Chili Player of the Game honors. Six of her triples came in the opening quarter, and she finished with 27 points.
The last time the Pandas made 11 threes in a game was Dec. 13, 2024, against Dixie Heights, a 60–58 win in which Holtzapfel also hit seven from beyond the arc and scored 25 points. Seven isn’t even her career high, however — she’s made as many as 11 threes in a single game.
“My teammates kept passing me the ball,” Holtzapfel said. “Even when I missed my first one, they kept finding me. Then we kept finding each other and we all got hot.”
While Holtzapfel had the hottest hand, she was quick to credit her teammates. Amelia Stallard buried back-to-back threes in the first quarter, while Joslyn LaBordeaux-Humphrey added another in the opening frame and finished with two triples in the first half and 15 points overall. Stallard had to leave the game in the second half due to a sprained ankle.
“It’s funny because the past couple games, we haven’t shot it very well,” Notre Dame head coach George Stoll said. “I’ve seen it in practice, though. I’ve seen how hot Emma and Amelia can get. I see it every day and the work they put in. It was really nice to see them get rewarded for that work.”
Notre Dame’s early shooting proved decisive, as the Pandas built a 29–16 first-quarter advantage. Cooper outscored Notre Dame over the final three quarters, holding the Pandas to eight points in the second quarter and seven in the fourth.
Despite never trailing, Notre Dame had to withstand a late push. Cooper, led by 21 points from Haylee Noel and 12 from Addyson Brissey, cut the deficit to four, 56–52, in the final minute.
Even after a first-quarter timeout during Notre Dame’s hot start, Cooper head coach Christian Prohaska saw resolve from her team.
“They were positive,” Prohaska said. “We got punched in the mouth, and they were like, ‘It’s a run. We’re going to respond.’ And we did.”
Still, the opening eight minutes loomed large at the final buzzer.
“It wasn’t enough,” Prohaska said. “We tried our best to come back, but we just couldn’t get into a flow. We’d turn it over, then go on a little run.”
The win came in a rematch of last season’s 9th Region championship game, a 60–57 Cooper victory, and snapped a five-game winning streak in the series for the Lady Jaguars. That loss lingered with the Pandas.
“We all came out ready,” Holtzapfel said. “We all felt the devastation from last year. We talked about it before the game. The energy we brought in warmups and in the locker room carried over into the whole game.”
Now 4–0 on the season, Notre Dame will head to the Queen of the Commonwealth, Dec. 19-22, in Bullitt County taking on Central in their first matchup Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Cooper falls to 2–2 and will also compete in the Queen of the Commonwealth, where the Lady Jaguars will face Hopkins County Central on Friday at 8 p.m.
MORE PHOTOS: Provided by Charles Bolton
PANDAS 57, LADY JAGUARS 52
NOTRE DAME — 29-8-13-7 — 57
COOPER — 16-9-14-13 — 52
Scoring
Notre Dame (57) — Holtzapfel 27, LaBordeaux-Humphrey 15, Stallard 8, Young 5, Ad. Lawrie 1, McGraw 1
Cooper (52) — Noel 21, Brissey 12, Rankin 8, Scott 8, Hooper 2, Allen 1
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Notre Dame 11, Cooper 7
Free Throws: Notre Dame 8/20, Cooper 9/16
Fouls: Notre Dame 11, Cooper 15
Records: Notre Dame 4-0, Cooper 2-2