The two met for the 36th District Tournament championships for the sixth straight season.
But unlike those previous five meetings, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (21-10 overall) prevailed 51-48 over the Highlands Bluebirds (12-16) for their first district tournament crown since 2014 at Bellevue’s Ben Flora Gymnasium. Ralph Meyer, III is in his fourth season as the head coach of NewCath.
“Highlands gave us everything they had,” Meyer said. “I was impressed with some of their younger players. Over the past two, three weeks, they’ve played a lot better. I knew it would be a good one. We were fortunate enough to come away with a win.”
NewCath’s dynamic senior guard Rylee Turner led the way scoring just below her average with 25 points. She had a critical rebound and took it the other direction coast-to-coast for a lay-up to make the final score with less than 30 seconds left. The Thoroughbreds then had a defensive stop to finish the game.
“I know what I need to do for my team,” Turner said. “They know to get the ball to me if they know they can’t get anything. They know if I have the ball in my hands and I’m not doing anything to cut and I’ll get it to them.”
Turner made two three-pointers. But NewCath also received a huge shot in the arm from senior guard Emily Heck. Heck made four three-pointers on her way to 16 points.
“We had some shots go in. That was big,” Meyer said. “We’ve relied on Rylee a lot this season. But to see a couple of our other players like Emily and (freshman guard) Caroline (Eaglin) have a some threes go through (was good). We just made some plays down the stretch.”
Both teams struggled at the free-throw line. Highlands made 4 of 9 for 44 percent and NewCath made 1 of 5 for 20 percent.
Highlands freshman 6-foot-2-inch center Marissa Green did her thing scoring 15 points to go with 14 rebounds and one steal for a double-double. But Highlands saw junior point guard Alyssa Harris and senior guard Meg Gessner score 10 points with freshman guard Ellie Mohr scoring eight. Harris, Mohr and Gessner made two three-pointers each.
The Bluebirds made 19 of 38 shots for 50 percent including 6 of 14 from three-point land for 43 percent. Highlands also had seven steals, 20 turnovers and 28 rebounds.
Highlands had won the previous seven district tournament championships. The teams did not play during the regular season. Highlands had to forfeit the Jan. 14 meeting scheduled on the Hill because of Coronavirus-2019 precautions. The teams could not make it up.
NewCath faces Ryle, Holy Cross or Ludlow in the first round of the 9th Region Tournament on Sunday. Highlands will play Cooper, Notre Dame or Dixie Heights.
32nd District Title Game:
Walton-Verona 56, Simon Kenton 54:
The Bearcats (15-13) responded to the challenge down the stretch to down the Lady Pioneers (17-12) winning their fourth straight district tournament championship on their home floor.
Simon Kenton tied it up with about 20 seconds left when seventh grade guard Brynli Pernell made a three-pointer. But Walton-Verona senior point guard Audrey Carrico made a jumper in the final seconds to give the Bearcats the win.
“Her sweet spot is around that 15-foot area,” said Rianna Gayheart, Walton-Verona Head Coach. “She had success all night kind of attacking the rim. I had faith in Audrey so I let her go and she knocked it down.”
Walton-Verona made 22 of 50 shots for 44 percent including 4 of 20 three-point shots for 20 percent and 8 of 12 free throws for 67 percent. The Bearcats also had eight assists, five blocked shots by freshman forward Braylin Terrell, 38 rebounds, three steals, 16 fouls and nine turnovers. Terrell added 10 rebounds.
Carrico finished with 23 and junior wing Grace Brewer scored 16 to again lead the Bearcats. But senior wing Kylie Lay made three three-pointers on her way to nine points in the first quarter. That opened things up for other players. Brewer had three steals.
“That left Audrey Carrico and Grace Brewer so much room to drive then kick it right out,” Lay said. “Even if they were helping off me, (Carrico) could go right by. To make it four in a row is rare. There was a lot of sickness going around for us in the winter. Our team is really close.”
Simon Kenton beat Walton-Verona during the regular season 69-67 in Independence on Dec. 17. The two have battled for the 32nd District crowns all but four times since the current placement took shape in 2005.
“We never try to be at our best the first game of the season,” Gayheart said. “You want to peek at the right time. I definitely think that we’re playing our best basketball right now. We did a lot of stuff the first time that we played them that was very vanilla, not showing too much of what our ideal game plan would be. So we had a good game plan going into this game mixing it up from what we showed them the first time. The girls just really bought in and executed.”
Simon Kenton made 17 of 54 shots for 31 percent including 10 of 28 from three-point range for 35 percent and 10 of 15 free throws for 67 percent. The Lady Pioneers also had 31 rebounds, one steal, 17 fouls and seven turnovers.
Junior forward Emilee Eggleston led Simon Kenton with 17 points. Pernell and sophomore guard Ava Slusser scored nine with senior center Sereniti Webb scoring eight. Webb also had 10 rebounds and Eggleston collected eight.
Both teams advance to the 8th Region Tournament. It takes place at Grant County.
35th District Title Game:
Notre Dame 47, Holy Cross 40:
The Pandas (23-3) came through for their fourth straight district tournament championship with a win against the Indians (19-13). Notre Dame has won six in a row.
“We just didn’t make shots in the first half,” said Kes Murphy, Notre Dame Head Coach. “We shot the ball as bad as we could ever shoot. Yet, we still came out on top. Our defense was solid in the first half. In the second half, we started to turn them over a bit. Once we were able to get the lead, we were able to maintain it.”
The Pandas made 16 of 55 shots for 29 percent including 3 of 15 from three-point range for 20 percent and 12 of 17 free throws for 71 percent. The Indians made 14 of 35 shots for 40 percent including 5 of 17 from three point land for 29 percent and 7 of 14 free throws for 50 percent.
Senior guard and the tournament’s most valuable player in Lacey Bradshaw led Notre Dame with 15 points and four assists. Senior guard Kylie Aytes had 13 points and nine rebounds including seven on the offensive glass.
“I think defense is what we focus on the most, especially on nights when we’re not making shots,” Aytes said. “We really have to focus on keeping our girl in front of us, controlling the paint and getting rebounds. I think in the end, those are the things that pushed us over the edge for the win.”
Senior forward Abby Breeze scored six points. Defensively, she had to help guard Holy Cross sophomore 6-2 center/forward Julia Hunt. Hunt finished with 17. But no one else scored more than six for the Indians.
“Our goal was to pretty much keep her away from the paint because that’s pretty much how they get their team to run,” Breeze said. “They feed it into her and she gets the easy lay-ups over top of everyone because she’s so tall. Our goal was to keep her outside the paint or above the free-throw line that way they wouldn’t be able to run their offense as smoothly as they would like to.”
Hunt came into the game averaging 15.9 points per game. The Indians’ second-leading scorer in Hanna Robinson came in averaging 11.2 points. But Notre Dame held Robinson to six points.
“They basically sit her in the paint. She’s a rim-protector,” Murphy said of Hunt. “We missed a lot of lay-ups, a lot of paint shots. For some reason, we allowed that to get in our head. But Lacey made some big shots. Abby Breeze came off the bench and made some big shots. (Senior guard) Liz Scharstein came off the bench. Her defense and her decisions were solid. Like it’s been all season, there are always other kids stepping up and making plays. (Sophomore guard) Carlyn Tranter made a big three. Ultimately, our experience played a big part in the outcome in my opinion and we made winning plays down the stretch.”
Notre Dame will face Highlands, Ludlow or Ryle in the first round of the 9th Region Tournament and Holy Cross will take on Newport Central Catholic, Cooper or Dixie Heights. The drawing takes place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Holmes.
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 56, Simon Kenton 54
33rd District at Ryle:
Semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Ryle 63, Boone County 17
Cooper 51, Conner 18
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Cooper 60, Ryle 49
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
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Dixie Heights 51, Ludlow 49
35th District at Holy Cross:
Semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Notre Dame 61, Beechwood 19
Holy Cross 65, Holmes 39
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Notre Dame 47, Holy Cross 40
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
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Newport Central Catholic 51, Highlands 48
37th District at Campbell County Middle School:
Semifinal Game on Monday, Feb. 21:
Campbell County 39, Scott 33
Title Game on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Bishop Brossart 40, Campbell County 25
Boys:
32nd District at Walton-Verona:
Semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Grant County 69, Williamstown 49
Semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Walton-Verona 69, Simon Kenton 66
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Grant County (18-14) vs. Walton-Verona (18-10), 7 p.m.
33rd District at Ryle:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Ryle 83, Heritage Academy 47
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb 23:
Cooper 49, Ryle 33
Conner 73, Boone County 62
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Cooper (22-5) vs. Conner (19-9), 7 p.m.
34th District at Ludlow:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Ludlow 73, Villa Madonna 48
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Dixie Heights 84, Ludlow 43
Lloyd Memorial 68, St. Henry 55
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Dixie Heights (19-6) vs. Lloyd Memorial (21-6), 7 p.m.
35th District at Holy Cross:
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Covington Catholic 84, Beechwood 54
Holy Cross 85, Holmes 75
Friday, Feb. 25:
Covington Catholic (24-4) vs. Holy Cross (20-8), 7 p.m.
36th District at Bellevue:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Dayton 76, Bellevue 46
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Highlands 100, Dayton 58
Newport 64, Newport Central Catholic 62
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Highlands (21-8) vs. Newport (9-17), 7 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
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Campbell County 75, Bishop Brossart 32
