The Rocky movies may have come out before the Cooper Jaguars girls basketball players came into this world.
But the reigning Ninth Region champs (28-3) played theme songs from those movies after smashing their way back to the region championship game with a sound 53-30 win over Notre Dame (19-11) on Friday at Truist Arena. Cooper has beaten every 9th Region opponent except one team by double-digits.
“It just shows how tight they are,” said Justin Holthaus, Cooper head coach. “We’re continuing to take it day by day. People talk about us coming in and trying to win the region, but I preach to the girls it’s day by day. It was an exciting win. But we definitely know what we’re trying to do up here. It’s going to take a lot of games like that.”
The Jaguars now face a team they’re all too familiar with, the rival Ryle Raiders for the second straight year in the region title tilt on Saturday at 7 p.m. Host Cooper won both meetings at home by a 63-58 score on Jan. 13 then again in the 33rd District Championship, 61-48 on Feb. 23.
The Jaguars have won four meetings in a row in the series. But Ryle is a region-best 16-3 in the Ninth Region Tournament since 2015 with a 69-57 win over Holy Cross in Friday’s second semifinal game.
Cooper’s solid, lockdown man-to-man pressure defense did not let the Pandas get into any sort of rhythm. The Jaguars utilized a 23-1 run at the end of the first quarter into the second quarter building a 27-5 lead with 4:45 left in the first half. They extended it to as many as 32 in the fourth quarter twice.
Cooper held Notre Dame to 29% shooting and didn’t allow a single 3-pointer.
“They’ve been playing together since they were in the eighth grade,” said Kes Murphy, Notre Dame head coach. “If they can continue on the same path, they can go on a long run in the state tourney.”
Cooper had an average shooting night, hitting 47% from the field, 5-of-18 from three and hitting 8-of-11 free throws.
But defensively, the Jaguars were locked in.
Cooper had 10 steals off 14 Notre Dame turnovers. Junior guard Maleah Alexander led the Jaguars with four steals.
“We knew coming into the game it was going to be really, really tough. We knew it would have to have to start with defense so we really practiced these past couple days just working on defense getting in passing lanes,” Alexander said. “That’s what led to all of our points in the beginning.”
Cooper outrebounded Notre Dame 29-24, including 13-11 on the offensive glass and outscoring the Pandas 12-4 on second-chance points.
Cooper put up its usual balanced scoring with eight different players scoring. Junior guard Liz Friehofer led the way with 12 and older sister in senior guard Kay Freihofer had 11. Junior forward Logan Palmer and senior forward Whitney Lind helped give the Jaguars another nice inside-outside game with 10 and nine points, respectively.
Lind also led the Jaguars with five assists. Cooper had 12 to four for Notre Dame.
Sophomore guard Georgi Kirtley led Notre Dame with 10 points. But Cooper held Notre Dame’s leading scorer and only senior in forward Noelle Hubert to two points. Hubert came into the game averaging 16.4 a contest. Kay Freihofer took on that assignment.
“We knew going in that Hubert is a nice player. She’s going to Northern (Kentucky University),” Holthaus said. “We knew we had to limit her touches because she’s such a great shooter. That’s been our motto all year. You can score a lot. But if you can’t guard, you can’t play.”
Notre Dame tried to pound the ball inside to 6-foot-4-inch sophomore Sophia Gibson. It worked initially as she scored four points and the score knotted at four, her initial bucket giving Notre Dame their only lead of the night. The Jaguars made it tough for that to happen after that.
“She has very long arms,” Cooper junior forward Bella Deere said of guarding Gibson. “She’s got great fakes. It really was a team effort. You force her one way and another girl comes and helps. I always knew my team was there for me.”
The 23-1 run ignited Cooper into a 31-9 lead at halftime and 46-17 entering the fourth quarter. The lopsided score let some of the Cooper reserves see action.
“It’s kind of nerve-racking when you get out there,” said Zene Thompson, Cooper sophomore guard. “It’s about getting the feel of it the first time. I have to stay ready so when I go in, I can just play my game.”
The two teams met exactly one month ago. Cooper won by a nearly identical score at 56-35 on its Senior Day.
Hubert is Notre Dame’s lone senior. She helped the Pandas to five straight 35th District championships and one step further in the region tournament than last year.
“From where she started as a freshman even having her play as a seventh and eighth grader, she’s grown tremendously,” Murphy said of Hubert. “For her to lead the state in three-pointers made per game with her shooting is a big deal. The fact that we were along for that journey, got to witness her accomplishments and watch her growth as a player was awesome to see.”
The Pandas were able to accomplish a fifth straight 35th District Championship this season and win 19 games with a youthful roster. Notre Dame made it to the region championship two years ago, losing a tight one to Dixie Heights. The Pandas last won the region in 2013 on their way to a state runner-up finish.
NOTRE DAME — 5-4-8-13 — 30
COOPER — 18-13-15-17 — 53
Notre Dame (30) – Kirtley 10, Gibson 7, Lawrie 4, Collins 3, Hubert 2, Robertson 2, Resing 2
Cooper (53) – Liz Freihofer 12, Kay Freihofer 11, Palmer 10, Lind 9, Alexander 4, Deere 3, Thompson 2, Rondon 2