This game had the word classic written all over it.
Both teams came into the 33rd District semifinal game at Ryle with impressive winning streaks. The Conner Lady Cougars (22-4) won 17 in a row entering the postseason and the Cooper Lady Jaguars (19-9) won five straight including an overtime 62-58 win over the All A State champion Owen County Lady Rebels on Friday.
But from the beginning, it turned into anything but the expected battle between two teams not wanting to see their seasons end. Cooper scored the game’s first 10 points and never looked back in a 51-18 victory shooting the ball well. Cooper Head Coach Justin Holthaus said he’d have said it’s a good night if someone told him Cooper would hold the Lady Cougars to one point above the number of their winning streak.
“For this game, the focus was defense,” Holthaus said. “Our gap defense was really good. We were ready for what they were going to bring.”
Cooper had 1.06 points per possession to .39 for Conner and .87 points per shot to .46 for Conner. The Lady Jaguars also did a better job taking care of the ball recording just seven turnovers to 15 for the Lady Cougars.
Cooper had 11 steals to four for Conner. Cooper outscored Conner, 17-0 off the turnovers.
Cooper wound up shooting 33 percent from the field making 17 of 51 shots including five of 13 from three-point range for 39 percent. The Lady Jaguars also made 12 of 14 free throws for 86 percent to go with 31 rebounds and eight fouls. Only one player had two fouls for Cooper.
Junior standout Whitney Lind led Cooper scoring just above her average with 17 points making all six free throws. The versatile forward/guard drew five fouls attacking the rim to go with seven rebounds and five steals. Sophomore guard/forward Logan Palmer scored 16 points making five of six free throws.
Junior guard Kay Freihofer tied Lind for a team-high with seven points. She did a lot of dirty work in the paint.
“I’m a little undersized for a post player,” Freihofer said. “But I take a lot of pride in just whatever I can do for my team whether that’s rebounding, getting an assist or helping on defense. Even if it’s not scoring, I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
All four teams in the 33rd District each have one senior. It wound up not being the last game for Cooper senior guard Jesse Palmer.
“We all lead together. We’re all for one, one for all,” Jesse Palmer said. “We all work together. The girls that don’t get many minutes are also putting work in. It’s really a team effort no matter how old or young one of us is. We came out prepared. We knew they were going to be a challenge. We stayed tight and stayed together.”
Conner made just 6 of 36 for 17 percent including two of 15 from three-point range for 13 percent and four of six free throws for 67 percent. The Lady Cougars had 24 rebounds and 12 fouls. Conner had two players finish with four fouls.
“We knew they were going to play straight man,” said Michelle Gambrel, Conner head coach. “Our defense wasn’t horrible. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. We hadn’t done this all year. It never turned around. But Cooper is a good team. They were hitting three’s and banking everything in. That’s what happens in an environment like this. We just came out flat.”
Conner had three players average in double figures in sophomore guard Anna Hamilton, senior forward Lauren Hawthorne and junior forward Juliet Strange entering the game. Strange and Hamilton led Conner with eight. But Cooper held Hawthorne scoreless.
“I think defense keeps us in a lot of our games,” Logan Palmer said. “We didn’t want too many girls to get their shots to go in. We wanted to help on the drive. But they’re also a team that has historically been shooting very well. We had to get a hand in their face every single time.”
Cooper led 17-1 after one quarter. Sophomore forward Bella Deere finished off the quarter making a triple from the top of the key with seconds remaining. Conner did not dent the scoreboard until Hamilton made one of two free throws with 2:26 remaining in the quarter.
“When you come into a game and you get a lead, especially early because there’s a lot of tension, a lot of emotion in the games, I kind of think it relaxes your kids a little bit more,” Holthaus said. “(Conner) didn’t shoot it very well. But I give a lot of credit to our defense in how we guarded. We knew Conner was going to fight. They did that. But I felt our girls really executed the game plan and stayed to it all night long.”
Cooper extended the margin to 23-2 with 4:50 left following a Logan Palmer three. Stange and Hamilton made three-pointers in the final 3:50 of the second half and held Cooper scoreless in the final 4:50 to pull within 15 at 23-8.
Cooper put the game away in the third quarter outscoring Conner, 15-6 to go up 38-14 entering the fourth quarter. Freihofer made a three in the final minute to make that score. Cooper started using a four-corner offense to take time off the court and only took wide-open shots, especially near the basket, near the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Jaguars used a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to go up 51-16 before sophomore forward Aubrey Depenbrock scored the final bucket for Conner. Lind scored six points during that run.
Hawthorne may have played her last game for Conner. But she agreed the memories made with her coaches and teammates will last a lifetime.
“I’ll always remember this team,” Hawthorne said. “They’ll forever be in my heart. They’re my best friends, my family and I love them.”
During the 17-game winning streak, Conner beat a number of good teams. That includes defending 9th Region champion Dixie Heights, Ryle, Lakota West (Ohio), Newport Central Catholic and Boyd County.
“I told them they can’t define the season by this,” Gambrel said. “22-4 is a dream season for teams. They have to hold their heads high when they come out of that locker room.”
Cooper lost twice to Ryle (19-8) during the regular season. But the losses came by less than 10 points Feb. 1 (53-49) on the road and 57-50 at home Dec. 14. The title game is Thursday back at Ryle at 7 p.m.
Basketball, Girls:
33rd Semifinals:
Ryle 63, Boone County 17
Ryle (19-8) did run away with this one like expected. The Lady Raiders brought in the reserves in the fourth quarter beating the Lady Rebels (2-26) for the third time this year. Both teams played hard to the very end despite the lopsided result.
Ryle beat Boone County, 72-18 at home Jan. 25 and 57-22 on Feb. 9 in Florence. The average margin of victory for the three meetings was 45 points.
Ryle wanted to rebound from two losses in the final two regular season games. The Lady Raiders lost 63-34 at Notre Dame a week ago before battling Sacred Heart better in a 72-56 defeat at home.
“We talked about that and some things we wanted to continue to improve,” said Katie Haitz, Ryle Head Coach. “Those were games we wanted to get in. Those are tough opponents for us. We were in the Sacred Heart game until the very end when we had to start fouling and some things that we normally wouldn’t have to do. But we were trying to get back in the game quickly. I was happy with them. They wanted to play as a team. They moved the ball well, tried to communicate, tried to stay focused knowing that this is a game we should be winning, but to be able to respect our opponent and continue to work to get ready for Thursday.”
Ryle displayed its usual balance putting four players in double digits. Junior guard Austin Johnson led the way scoring 18 points. Sophomore forward Quinn Eubank scored 16 with sophomore center Sarah Baker scoring 10. Eighth grade small forward Jaclyn Jones came off the bench to score 12. Junior guard Abby Holtman did not play for Ryle.
Ryle recorded 20 steals off 23 Boone County turnovers while yielding eight steals off 14 turnovers. The Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Rebels, 30-8 off turnovers. Ryle had 1.14 points per possession to .33 for Boone County.
“We talk about that a lot,” Haitz said. “You can’t just play on one side of the floor. You have to be able to play on both sides – being able to create a lot of pressure where they make some turnovers and us not getting in position where we’re just lunging for the ball, but making them have to make decisions that they may not want to with the ball because our pressure is so good.”
The Lady Raiders controlled the paint outscoring the Lady Rebels, 48-8 there including 14-0 on second-chance points. Ryle won the rebounding battle, 37-10 including 16-2 on the offensive glass. Eubank had 14 for a double-double.
Baker often took the ball at the top of the key and made key passes against the Boone County zone. Baker said Boone County ran a Box and One defense in the game. She drew a lot of double teams up top and in the paint. Baker finished with three assists and four steals. Johnson also had four steals.
“I trust my team a lot. If I know they can score, we’re going to have a great chance of winning every single game,” Baker said. “If I’m not hitting, I’m willing to pass up a better shot for one of my teammates.”
Ryle made 27 of 56 shots for 48 percent including 3 of 11 from three-point range for 27 percent and 6 of 11 free throws for 55 percent. The Lady Raiders also had seven assists and five fouls. They were not afraid to attack from different angles and pass up good shots for better shots.
Ryle has one senior in guard Lele Nguyen. But she said it never crossed her mind it could be her last game in a Ryle uniform.
“With all our ups and downs, we’ve built chemistry,” Nguyen said. “We know our strengths and weaknesses. I think that’s what has helped us be so great in our transition (game). It’s one of our strengths.”
Boone County made 7 of 30 shots for 23 percent including 3 of 12 from three-point range for 25 percent. The Lady Rebels took no free throws committing seven fouls and recording one assist.
Ryle led 17-2 after one, 30-10 at halftime and 50-17 entering the fourth quarter before holding Boone County scoreless in the fourth quarter. A Eubank score in the first minute of the fourth quarter enforced the running clock.
Boone County also has one senior in Lesley Ishimwe. The leading scorer for the Lady Rebels was sophomore Kassidy Peters at 8.7 points per game. Boone County started two sophomore, one junior, one freshman and a seventh grader. They Lady Rebels started an eighth grader for half the season. Freshman Mya Bennett led Boone County with six points and Peters scored five.
Todd Humphrey, II just completed his first season as the head coach of the Lady Rebels. He is trying to revive the once-proud program that has not made the 9th Region Tournament since the legendary Nell Fookes retired in 2015. Humphrey said facing tight pressure will be a focus in the offseason.
“We’re going to work on that from March 15 to October 15 just having girls up on us,” Humphrey said. “I think we’re going to do some extra (things) on the football field just getting some one on ones teaching our girls how to get people off their bodies.”
Humphrey said he felt the Lady Rebels played a good game in the loss at Franklin County on Feb. 16. He hoped some of the good things would carry over to the district semifinals.
“We had a lot of learning experiences,” Humphrey said. “This is a lot of our girls’ first times playing in districts. It’s just a bigger atmosphere for them. Our biggest goal is to get them in the gym as soon as possible to start working on the little things that we need to keep pushing forward.”
Ryle has won four consecutive district championships. The Lady Raiders also won three straight 9th Region crowns between 2018 and 2020, also winning the state championship in 2019.
35th District Semifinals:
Notre Dame 61, Beechwood 19:
The Pandas (22-3) continued their solid play into the postseason dominating the Tigers (10-21).
“Our girls were pretty dialed in. We didn’t get off to the best start in the first two minutes. But beyond that, we played a lot of bodies and went deep in our bench,” said Kes Murphy, Notre Dame Head Coach. “Our starters did not play the end of the third nor the fourth quarter. We got some good reps in. We got out there and got away injury-free, which is the biggest win.”
Senior guard Lacey Bradshaw led the way scoring 13 points. Junior forward Noelle Hubert followed with 11 as 10 different Pandas scored. Senior guard Kyle Aytes scored eight points. Senior point guard Macie Feldman had six assists and senior forward Abby Breeze had five offensive rebounds.
Notre Dame made 26 of 58 shots for 45 percent including 5 of 15 from three-point land for 33 percent. The Pandas made 4-of-12 free throws for 33 percent.
Beechwood made 5-of-20 shots for 25 percent including 3-of-10 from three-point range for 30 percent. The Tigers also made 6-of-11 free throws for 55 percent. Junior Maya Reis scored nine points to lead Beechwood.
Notre Dame has seven seniors. One is not able to play currently in guard Jillian MacKnight. But she is still on the bench helping out.
“Our team has always talked about the importance of how each player needs to play into her role,” MacKnight said. “I have a new role. But my role is to support my team and I think about that every day. I hope I’ve been able to be a good supporter for them.”
Notre Dame faces Holy Cross back at Beechwood for the district championship Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.
36th District Semifinals:
Highlands 60, Bellevue 39:
The Bluebirds (12-15) avenged a 52-45 loss at Bellevue (16-12) nearly two weeks ago. They also extended the 9th Region’s longest streak of consecutive appearances in the tournament to 12.
“Obviously, I’ve been playing for a long time. I couldn’t imagine not going to the region tournament my senior year,” said Meg Gessner, Highlands guard. “I had a lot of motivation to get the younger girls to want to be there and want to win. We played smart.”
The Bluebirds consistently found 6-foot-2-inch freshman center Marissa Green in the middle. She had a triple-double of 32 points, 10 blocked shots and 15 rebounds making 14-of-20 shots for 70 percent. Highlands senior 6-1 center CC Shick is not able to play for the rest of the season.
Highlands made 20-of-39 shots for 51 percent including 3-of-9 from three-point range for 33 percent and 11-of-17 free throws for 65 percent. The Bluebirds also had 11 assists, 14 steals, nine turnovers and 25 rebounds.
“The girls know it’s one and done so we knew we had to take care of business against Bellevue,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. “We knew the last time that we played them, we didn’t play up to our potential. We just continued to switch defenses and we communicated well on defense.”
The Bluebirds hoped third-year starting point guard Alyssa Harris would play and she did. She scored eight points with two three-pointers along with sophomore guard Laney Smith. Freshman Adrienne Harris added seven including the other Highlands three-pointer. Alyssa Harris also had three assists and four steals. Eighth grader forward Katie Bucher also had three steals.
Bellevue made 9-of-12 free throws for 75 percent. Freshman guard Sydni Mossey led the Tigers with 12 points.
Highlands will attempt to win an eighth straight district championship Thursday at 7 p.m. back at Bellevue. The Bluebirds face the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (20-10) for the sixth straight year in the district tournament title game.
NKY District Tournament Schedules:
Girls:
32nd District at Walton-Verona:
Semifinals on Monday, Feb. 21:
Simon Kenton 68, Williamstown 24
Walton-Verona 48, Grant County 44
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Walton-Verona (14-13) vs. Simon Kenton (17-11), 7 p.m.
33rd District at Ryle:
Semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Ryle 63, Boone County 17
Cooper 51, Conner 18
Thursday, Feb. 24:
Ryle (19-8) vs. Cooper (19-9), 7 p.m.
34th District at Ludlow:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Lloyd Memorial 61, Villa Madonna 27
Semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Dixie Heights 59, Lloyd Memorial 35
Ludlow 57, St. Henry 44
Thursday, Feb. 24:
Dixie Heights (23-7) vs. Ludlow (25-6), 7 p.m.
35th District at Holy Cross:
Semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Notre Dame 61, Beechwood 19
Holy Cross 65, Holmes 39
Thursday, Feb. 24:
Notre Dame (22-3) vs. Holy Cross (19-12), 7 p.m.
36th District at Bellevue:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Newport 59, Dayton 39
Semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Newport Central Catholic 65, Newport 39
Highlands 60, Bellevue 39
Thursday, Feb. 24:
Highlands (12-15) vs. Newport Central Catholic (20-10), 7 p.m.
37th District at Campbell County Middle School:
Semifinal Game on Monday, Feb. 21:
Campbell County 39, Scott 33
Title Game on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Campbell County (11-17) vs. Bishop Brossart (18-10), 7 p.m.
Boys:
32nd District at Walton-Verona:
Semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Grant County 69, Williamstown 49
Semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Walton-Verona (17-10) vs. Simon Kenton (14-11), 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 25:
Grant County (18-14) vs. Walton-Verona/Simon Kenton winner, 7 p.m.
33rd District at Ryle:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Ryle 83, Heritage Academy 47
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb 23:
Ryle (13-19) vs. Cooper (21-5), 6 p.m.
Conner (18-9) vs. Boone County (14-15), 7:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 25:
Championship Game, 7 p.m.
34th District at Ludlow:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Ludlow 73, Villa Madonna 48
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Ludlow (14-15) vs. Dixie Heights (18-6), 5:30 p.m.
St. Henry (14-9) vs. Lloyd Memorial (20-6), 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 25:
Championship Game, 7 p.m.
35th District at Holy Cross:
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Covington Catholic (23-4) vs. Beechwood (7-18), 5:30 p.m.
Holy Cross (19-8) vs. Holmes (11-16), 8 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 25:
Championship Game, 7 p.m.
36th District at Bellevue:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Dayton 76, Bellevue 46
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Dayton (14-14) vs. Highlands (20-8), 6 p.m.
Newport (8-17) vs. Newport Central Catholic (10-17), 8 p.m.
37th District at Campbell County Middle School:
Semifinal Games on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Campbell County 85, Calvary Christian 40
Bishop Brossart 40, Scott 38
Thursday, Feb. 24:
Campbell County (18-10) vs. Bishop Brossart (12-17), 7 p.m.