For all the struggles in this game offensively, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds girls basketball team made the most of their lone bucket in the final 6:55.
The Thoroughbreds (9-5) watched a 32-23 lead against the host St. Henry Crusaders (8-6) evaporate over that time. But down 33-32 with less than a minute remaining, NewCath junior guard Delany Green launched a three-pointer from the right wing and swished it to give the Thoroughbreds a 35-33 win in what is the lowest point total of the season.
“At the end of the game, I think everyone thought (sophomore guard) Caroline (Eaglin) was going to get the ball,” Green said. “So I just knew if I got the ball, I had to shoot it with confidence and hope it goes in.”
The score and tempo played into St. Henry’s favor. The Crusaders average 43.3 points per game and allow 37.2.
“I think the big key with us was seeing how we were going to come out of the All A,” said Todd Smart, St. Henry head coach. “Playing Holy Cross on Friday night was our Super Bowl trying to win the All “A”. We watched film and had to get ready for (this) game on Saturday. Our kids are always going to play hard. Being multi-sport athletes, these kids come from competitive sides of the house. They know how to win. The ball just didn’t go our way (Monday).”
Eaglin had been averaging 24 points per game entering the game. She finished with 14 points. But Green made four three-pointers on her way to 12 points joining Eaglin and sophomore forward Jaylee Brannen with 105 or more points on the season.
“They showed some toughness down the stretch,” said Ralph Meyer, NewCath head coach. “Obviously, scoring was at a premium. Credit to St. Henry. They really made Caroline work for everything she got. I’ve been telling them we need someone to step forward and get us to where we can get with some other people scoring the basketball. I thought Laney Green was fantastic.”
The teams focused on trying to take away the leading scorers. Junior guard Kayla Unkraut scored 18 points to lead the Crusaders. She leads St. Henry averaging 14.8 per game.
“Kayla is a heck of a player. We lost her a couple times on some switches,” Meyer said. “Our communication had to improve. I felt the last three, four minutes, our communication improved in knowing where she was. You’re not going to stop a player like Kayla. But I thought we did enough to slow her down.”
Senior forward Chilota Iloegbunam and junior center Kayla Hill helped give the Crusaders a chance at the end scoring nine and six, respectively. The Crusaders had the ball near the NewCath basket with three seconds left. But St. Henry could not get off the shot attempting to tie it.
“We have a play where we’re trying to get the ball into the lane,” Smart said. “We weren’t going for a three. We were going for a two. We were trying to get around the basket with two options. We had the opportunity to catch it. We fumbled it our of our hands. It’s one of those things where you practice it all the time. But in game situations, it sometimes just doesn’t go your way. But I’m just so proud of the girls. We’ve been on the road so much this year.”
Jaylee Brannen shared responsibilities guarding Ileogbunam. She may have to guard the likes of Scott senior Kayla Overman and Highlands sophomore 6-2 center Marissa Green later this week in a district seed game.
“All we have to do is keep our hands straight up and try not to foul,” Jaylee Brannen said. “We have to just be aggressive, box out and try our hardest. We’re not a big team so we worked really hard to get that last rebound out there.”
Neither team shot double-digits in free throws. But they made a huge difference in the end. Eaglin made all four of NewCath’s attempts and St. Henry made 7 of 9 for 78 percent. The Thoroughbreds made seven three-pointers to two for the Crusaders.
NewCath used a 5-0 run to finish the third quarter up 28-23. Eaglin made two free throws and Brannen hit a three-pointer.
The Thoroughbreds then extended their lead scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter. Eaglin hit two more free throws and sophomore forward Katelyn Brannen hit a lay-up.
NewCath plays host to Scott (8-6) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. St. Henry travels to Dixie Heights (9-5) on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Girls Basketball
Conner 55, Simon Kenton 27
The Cougars (9-5) won their third in a row and sixth in their last seven games with a sound win over the Pioneers (9-7).
Junior point guard Anna Hamilton led the way with 13 points as 10 different Cougars scored. Hamilton is 13 points away from 1,000 career points.
“We mainly have to focus on working with each other and figuring out what works best for each player,” said Juliet Strange, Conner senior forward. “Moving forward. If we focus on our defense, our offense will come eventually.”
Strange added six points and four rebounds.
Conner hit the running clock in the second half and both teams mainly played reserves in the second half. Freshman guard Ella Smith led the Pioneers with seven points.
“We came out and played well defensively,” said Michelle Gambrel, Conner head coach. “We held them to four points in the first quarter. We just came out ready to play. We’re getting all our kids back and we’re just starting to figure it out.”
Simon Kenton travels to North Oldham (9-7) on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. game. Conner faces Boone County (4-10) on Friday at 6 p.m.
Other Girls Basketball Score
Christian Academy of Louisville 68, Holy Cross 60
Boys Basketball Scores
Calvary Christian 41, Robertson County 36
9th Region All “A” Classic Tournament Play-In Games
Newport Central Catholic 72, Bellevue 40
NewCath now moves on to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against St. Henry. The game will be played at Beechwood with a 6 p.m. start. The winner moves on to Friday’s semifinals against the Beechwood-Newport winner.
Dayton 64, Villa Madonna 56
Dayton avenges a loss on Friday to the Vikings to face Ludlow in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at 6 p.m. at Beechwood.
The winner moves on to Friday’s semifinals against the Holy Cross-Heritage Academy winner.
