Going into the 9th Region All “A” tournament, opponents knew they’d have a hard time containing the dynamic duo of junior 6-foot-2-inch center Julia Hunt and senior forward Nejai Lewis.
In the championship game Saturday evening, the Ludlow Panthers (8-8) tried to make things tough on them inside. But the Holy Cross Indians (13-4) employed a 1-2-2 press out of the gates, scored the game’s first 17 points and hit the running clock almost two minutes into the second half on their way to a 72-30 win at Newport. Holy Cross won their three games in the tournament by an average of nearly 31 points.
“We’re very well-rounded. Last year, we would only go six deep in really big games, maybe go to that seventh player,” said Ted Arlinghaus, Holy Cross head coach. “This year, we’re consistently going 9-10 deep. It’s a nice luxury to have. You can really take the next player up approach. Last year, we weren’t able to do that.”
Hunt won the tournament’s most valuable player honors scoring 16 points and Lewis joined her on the all-tournament team with 10 points. Senior forward/guard Sarah Bottom added 12 points and senior guard Aleah Arlinghaus also made the all-tournament team making two triples for six points.
“We’ve been working on the (1-2-2) press in practice every day and it worked,” Hunt said. “(Lewis) is a great player for our team. She can push people around and that’s really helped me get more rebounds when they’re guarding her and allowed her to get more shots and rebounds when they’re guarding me.”
Holy Cross had 10 different players score. As of the win over NewCath on Tuesday, Holy Cross had been shooting just under 24 percent from three-point range allowing teams to help on Hunt and Lewis in the middle. But the Indians knocked down six 3-pointers in this game forcing Ludlow to have to come out some to defend.
“With (senior guard) Elizabeth (McCoy) hurt, the team really needs to step up,” Bottom said. “Every practice, we work on our three’s and it’s great.”
The Panthers made seven three-pointers, but struggled at the line in hitting just 3-of-10 attempts. Senior guard Mylee Garrett made four triples on her way to 13 points and her younger freshman sister Addy Garrett made two on her way to eight points to lead Ludlow.
“I’m very proud of the effort,” said Blake Clary, Ludlow head coach. “We very easily could have given up when things started going wrong and maybe started fighting amongst themselves. But the girls kept battling. We tried to go zone a little bit. But with their size, it was just a tough matchup for us.”
Holy Cross led 23-8 after the first quarter forcing a number of turnovers and transition points. The Indians led 44-17 at halftime and 67-20 entering the fourth quarter.
The lopsided score let Holy Cross sub in reserves and get them tournament experience. Their teammates cheered them on from the bench.
Holy Cross takes on Christian Academy of Louisville (10-4) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Ludlow travels to Villa Madonna (1-14) for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday.
Holy Cross faces the 14th Region winner in the first round of the All “A” state tournament on January 25 at Eastern Kentucky University at 8:30 a.m. The 14th Region All “A” tournament begins on Monday.
Girls Basketball
Conner 63, Rockcastle County 49
The Cougars (8-5) downed the Rockets (8-6) in the Simpson’s Tree Service/H+W Sports Classic behind junior point guard Anna Hamilton’s 26 points. Hamilton needs 26 more to hit 1,000 for her career.
Hamilton had plenty of help as senior guard Kelsee Simpson scored 18 points and senior forward Juliet Strange scored eight. The Cougars hit 49 percent from the field including 36 percent from three-point range and 78 percent from the free-throw line.
Conner also outrebounded Rockcastle County, 30-26. Strange led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
Conner travels to Simon Kenton on Monday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Highlands 63, Campbell County 42
The Bluebirds (10-5) finished the week with a road win over the Camels (6-9) in a county rivalry game.
Highlands hit 50 percent of its shots including 25 percent from three-point range and 63 percent of the free throws to go with 25 rebounds. Freshman guard Saylor Macke made two three-pointers on his way to 21 points. Sophomore 6-2 center Marissa Green had 14 points and eight rebounds and senior guard Alyssa Harris scored 11.
Campbell County made 75 percent of its free throws. Sophomore 6-2 center Macie Peoples led the Camels with 10 points with senior forward Keauna Cullum and senior guard Kennedy Johnson scored nine points each.
Highlands plays at Newport (3-6) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Campbell County plays host to Cooper (11-2) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Ryle 65, Frederick Douglass 55
The Raiders (14-3) downed the Broncos in the Simpson’s Tree Service/H+W Sports Classic at Franklin County.
Senior guard Abby Holtman led the way with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals. Junior forward Quinn Eubank had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists. Junior center Sarah Baker had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with freshman small forward Jaelyn Jones scoring 10 points to go with three rebounds and senior guard Austin Johnson tallying nine points and seven rebounds.
Ryle travels to Sacred Heart on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Cooper 72, Meade County 39
The Jaguars (11-2) bested the defending 3rd region champions at the Simpson’s Tree Service/H+W Sports Classic at Franklin County.
Senior forward Whitney Lind scored 18 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior guard Kay Freihofer had four triples on her way to 16 points, three rebounds and two assists. Junior guard Liz Freihofer and junior forward Logan Palmer scored 10 points each.
Cooper travels to Campbell County (6-9) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Girls Basketball Scores
Beechwood 65, Covington Latin 2
DuPont Manual 65, Notre Dame 46
Boone County 48, Henry County 25
Lloyd Memorial 55, Frankfort 44
Montgomery County 58, Scott 54
Grant County 45, Simon Kenton 42
10th Region All “A” tournament quarterfinals at Paris
Bishop Brossart 64, Nicholas County 39
Boys Basketball
Owen County 68, Walton-Verona 50
The Bearcats (10-4) lost a tough All “A” 8th Region championship game at Gallatin County.
They fell behind 38-23 at halftime. Sophomore Aaron Gutman led Walton-Verona with 11 points and junior Julian Dixon scored 10.
Walton-Verona plays host to Williamstown on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Bishop Brossart 61, Nicholas County 55 (OT)
Mason Sepate’s 3-pointer with under two seconds remaining in regulation helped the Mustangs survive and advance in overtime against Nicholas County in the quarterfinals of the 10th Region All “A” Tournament at Paris.
Brossart missed two layups to go up one in the final minute, the Bluejackets hitting two free throws for a three-point advantage. Sepate dribbled at the top of the key and got a fadeaway 3-pointer off to connect and send the game to overtime where the Mustangs prevailed.
Brandon Bezold paced Brossart with 23 points, Sepate finishing with 14. Logan Woosley added seven points and seven rebounds.
The Mustangs will now face Calvary Christian in Tuesday’s semifinals, who picked up their first win of the season against St. Patrick in another quarterfinal on Saturday at Paris.
Boys Basketball Scores
Frederick Douglass 87, Boone County 41
Harlan County 75, St. Henry 65
Grant County 53, Cooper 40
Ryle 71, Ludlow 67
10th Region All “A” tournament quarterfinals at Paris
Calvary Christian 45, St. Patrick 41
