Girls Basketball
Ryle 65, Highlands 59
The Raiders won their sixth straight in the series. But this one is the closest Highlands has come to ending that streak.
Highlands (8-5) built a 41-33 lead over the Raiders (12-3) after freshman guard Kaylee Mills did a pump fake then hit a three-pointer with 3:57 left in the third quarter. But Ryle fought back and took the lead for good when freshman small forward Jaelyn Jones made a three-pointer with 3:56 left in the game.
“I think the big thing is we moved the ball much better in the second half as a unit, which made the defense shift more for us,” said Katie Haitz, Ryle head coach. “We were able to get some nice looks and offensive boards. We had some big shots there at the end and kept our cool. It’s not like we’ve not been in those situations before. It’s commendable for them when things aren’t going exactly the way we want them to.”
Ryle displayed its usual scoring balance that saw senior guard Abby Holtman score 21 and junior forward Quinn Eubank score 20. Junior center Sarah Baker scored 10 and senior guard Austin Johson added nine.
Baker had to guard Highlands sophomore 6-2 standout center Marissa Green. Green above her average of 19.1 points per game with 22. Mills and sophomore guard Adrienne Harris added 13 points each.
“(Green) has a pretty good face-up game,” Baker said. “She has a really long wingspan. It was easy for her to face up and score over top of anyone she wanted basically. We started off again slow. We had someone ready in help to contest the shot and pass they were going to try to lob to her. We’ve always had pretty strong defensive intensity. It’s pretty tough for teams to handle the majority of the time.”
Both teams play again Friday. Ryle travels to Dixie Heights (8-4) for a 6 p.m. and Highlands plays host to Scott (8-4) at 7:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona 60, Eminence 26
The Bearcats (7-7) dominated the Warriors (3-5) to open the All “A” 8th Region Tournament at Gallatin County.
Senior wing Grace Brewer put on a show with a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds and sophomore center Braylin Terrell had a near double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds. Walton-Verona won the rebounding battle, 39-25 and took advantage of 38 Eminence turnovers.
“I think it’s about getting (Terrell’s) confidence up. She does a lot for us defensively, especially,” said Rianna Gayheart, Walton-Verona head coach. “Having more of that scoring mentality isn’t necessarily what we needed her to do last year. Her stepping into that role will be important as we continue through the season.”
The Bearcats had 30 steals. Sophomore guard Cam Christy had 10 steals and eighth grade guard Elin Logue had seven on their way to seven points each. Senior wing Jenna Rodgers added seven points.
Walton-Verona takes on Owen County (8-5) in the All “A” 8th Region semifinals on Thursday back at Gallatin County at 7:30 p.m. The championship game is Saturday at 8 p.m.
“Thursday will definitely be a fight to get to the championship,” Terrell said. “We have a lot of good three-point shooters so things really open up with a nice inside-outside game.”
Owen County beat Walton-Verona, 44-37 in last year’s All “A” 8th Region title game on its way to finishing All “A” State runner-up. That ended a run of four straight region crowns for the Bearcats.
Holy Cross 64, Newport Central Catholic 36
In what might have been their toughest test in the 9th Region All “A” tournament, Holy Cross passed with flying colors in a rout over Newport Central Catholic.
The Indians cruised to a 28-point victory behind Julia Hunt’s 18 point, eight rebound performance as nine different players entered the scoring column. Aleah Arlinghaus added 15, Alyssa Arlinghaus with eight and Nejai Lewis with seven points and 11 rebounds.
Holy Cross dominated the rebounding battle, 42-19.
Caroline Eaglin led NewCath with 23 points, but didn’t get more than three points from anyone else.
The Indians will now face St. Henry, who defeated Dayton in Tuesday’s other quarterfinal matchup at Newport.
Tonight’s 9th Region All “A” quarterfinals pit Ludlow and Newport at 6 p.m., Bellevue and Villa Madonna at 7:45 p.m.
Winners will head to Friday’s semifinals with St. Henry and Holy Cross tipping off at 6 p.m., the second semifinal set for 7:45 p.m. The championship is set for Saturday at 7 p.m.
Other Girls Basketball Scores
St. Henry 52, Dayton 25
Augusta 45, Boone County 41 (overtime)
Madison Southern 56, Campbell County 49
Boys Basketball
Campbell County 81, Bracken County 63
The Camels (8-5) knocked off the visiting Polar Bears (9-6) for the second time in six days, handing Bracken County its fourth straight loss and fifth in the last six days.
Campbell County displayed balanced scoring with eight different scorers. Senior forward Ayden Hamilton scored 25 of his 28 points in the second half. Senior guard Jake Gross scored 19 and senior guard Keegan Hill scored 10. The Camels made 24-of-27 free throws.
“We’re pretty unselfish,” Hamilton said. “When we see a mismatch or something, we automatically set up a play for that.”
The confident junior guard Blake Reed came into the game averaging 32.4 points per game and his brother in sophomore Cayden Reed averaged 16.3. Blake Reed scored just 19 points and Cayden Reed had nine. Junior forward Austin Norton scored 18 points and sophomore guard Chase Archibald had 12.
“I was very happy with how we played in the second half. Our defense really picked it up. They were killing us on the offensive boards in the first half with stick-backs. We kind of took that away,” said Aric Russell, Campbell County head coach. “We got some easy buckets in transition. It was good to see the kids respond.”
Campbell County travels to Augusta (7-4) on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Newport 60, East Central (Indiana) 46
Newport coach Rod Snapp picked up his 200th career win as the Wildcats traveled to Indiana and came away with a 14-point victory.
Taylen Kinney led four Newport players in double figures with 16 points, Jabari Covington with 15, Marquez Miller 12 and James Turner with 10 and a team-high seven rebounds.
Newport (11-3) shot 26-of-41 from the field. They’ll play at Highlands on Saturday before they enter the 9th Region All “A” tournament against Beechwood at Beechwood on Jan. 10.
Other Boys Basketball Scores
Lloyd Memorial 61, Beechwood 53
Pendleton County 57, Calvary Christian 19
Ludlow 81, Villa Madonna 66
