The Ryle girls basketball team knew it had three solid returning starters entering the season.
If Wednesday’s season opener is any indicator, they may have more depth than they thought.
The Raiders dismantled reigning 8th Region champion Simon Kenton 72-45, outscoring the Pioneers 39-20 in the second half.
“They went into halftime talking about things. They came out in the third quarter and jumped onto it making those adjustments that we had talked about so I was really proud of them for that,” said Katie Haitz, Ryle head coach. “They moved the ball really well. I was really happy with a lot of things they did. There are still some things we need to clean up. But I was very impressed with them wanting to play for each other, wanting to get everyone involved and just being excited for the start of the season.”
Senior 6-foot-2-inch center Sarah Baker gives the Raiders a lot of mismatches inside and it showed with 22 points. From there, senior Quinn Eubank scored 21 points and sophomore Jaelyn Jones added 15. The three returning starters from last season’s 9th Region runner-up team.
“I think we’ve done a better job this year of trusting each other and I think that’s what gets me the open touches,” Baker said. “Then when other teams realize I’m hitting, that opens up other opportunities for the rest of our team. I think it’s mainly our ball movement that gets everyone open shots including myself.”
All 14 Raiders in uniform saw action and eight scored. Senior Gracie Carrigan, one of last year’s key reserves, stepped into one starting role and Kassidy Peters rounded out the Ryle starting lineup. Peters and another transfer in Rosemary Miller played valuable minutes trying to figure things out.
The Raiders made it tough to score in the paint with Baker and 6-foot-5 seventh grade center Jayden McClain down low. McClain altered a lot of shots with her size.
Peters and Eubank took turns guarding Simon Kenton freshman point guard Brynli Pernell. Ryle held Pernell to 14 points after Pernell torched Owen County for 29 points in a 71-49 win on Tuesday.
“She is one who gets them going. So my goal was to slow (Pernell) down,” Peters said. “I know a couple times I got beat and my teammates were there to help me and vice versa. Practice is paying off.”
Others tried to pick up the slack for Simon Kenton. Anna Kelch and Haylie Webb chipped in 10 and eight points, respectively.
It did not help Simon Kenton’s cause being down several players including Ava Slusser and Fayth Tomlin to injuries.
“We got some good things out of the game,” said Brenden Stowers, Simon Kenton head coach. “There were some players that stepped up and showed they’re ready to contribute at this level. It gives us more depth with the injuries we’re going through right now. We like to play up and down and we like to play a lot of people. (Ryle) wanted that game more than we did and it showed. You have to give credit to them. You learn from it and go out and play the next game.”
Simon Kenton pressures teams all over the court. It worked some in the second quarter as the Pioneers closed it with a 6-0 run to trim the Ryle lead to 35-25 at halftime.
“We prepared for some of those situations meeting the physical play,” Haitz said. “There were still times where we messed that up. But they do a great job. They’re very well-coached. I felt we did a good job communicating and doing all those little things.”
The Raiders led 21-11 after the first quarter and built it to 31-16 in the second quarter. They started the third quarter with 11 straight to go up 44-25 and eventually expand the lead to 56-32 entering the fourth quarter, allowing the reserves to play.
Ryle plays host to Holy Cross (1-0) on Friday at 6 p.m. Simon Kenton takes on Frederick Douglass at 6 p.m. in the Hoops for Harvest Classic at Dixie Heights on Saturday.
RAIDERS 72, PIONEERS 45
SIMON KENTON — 11-14-7-13 — 45
RYLE — 21-12-23-16 — 72
Scoring
Simon Kenton (45) — Pernell 14, Kelch 10, Webb 8, Flynn 6, Ober 4, Gadzala 2, Blevins 1
Ryle (75) — Baker 22, Eubank 21, Jones 15, Carrigan 3, Fong 3, Miller 2, Singel 2, McClain 2, Elliott 2
Free Throws: Simon Kenton 11/18, Ryle 8/8
3-Pointers made: Simon Kenton 6, Ryle 4
Records: Simon Kenton 1-1, Ryle 1-0