The Highlands girls basketball team used sound defense to go to Hebron and beat Conner, 48-41 for its first 9th Region win in four tries this year.
Marissa Green continued her consistent play in the middle for the Bluebirds with 14 points and nine rebounds. Point guard Kaylee Mills made the difference on the outside with three 3-pointers on her way to 15 points.
“(Our execution) has gone so much better since Friday (in a loss at Holy Cross). On Friday, we didn’t play our best and execute,” Green said. “(On Monday), we did. We followed the game plan presented before the game.”
Conner senior point guard Anna Hamilton came into the game averaging 20.8 points per game. She scored 18 making four three-pointers, but no one else scored in double figures for the Cougars. Izelee Kerns added nine points.
“We made a big step. We played for 32 minutes,” Highlands head coach Jaime Walz-Richey said. “We didn’t have that many letdowns that were costly in other games. Our goal was to hold Hamilton under 15. To hold her to 18 was a big accomplishment. I’m not only very proud of the girls that were on her, but also the other girls out there. It was a total team effort on defense.”
Conner (2-3) plays at Cooper on Friday at 6 p.m. Highlands (3-4) has just one game over the next 16 days, Dec. 21 at Bellevue at 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Campbell County 67, Newport Central Catholic 59
The Camels ventured to the Hill and came away with their first win over the Thoroughbreds since 2019, ending a three-game losing streak in the rivalry series.
Junior center/forward Macie Peoples led Campbell County with 13 points and Izzy Jayasuriya scored 11 despite limited minutes because of foul trouble. Faith Whitford and Alli Collins followed with 10. Madeleine Barbian and Addie Davis added eight points each. Collins, Barbian, Davis and Kendall Augsback faced constant pressure from NewCath, including double teams near the sidelines, but made enough plays to help the Camels win the game.
“It’s very vital,” Barbian said. “We have to stay together as a team. If we get out of whack, then we all go down. We obviously saw some of that (Monday). Their pressure broke us down. We threw it away a couple times, had a bunch of turnovers.”
NewCath standout guard Caroline Eaglin put up 29 points and Brooklyn Cole scored 12. Campbell County held Madison Wherry McFarland scoreless after she came in averaging 11 per game.
“I feel like every game we’re battling a superstar,” Campbell County head coach Davey Johnson said. “It’s constantly guarding someone good non-stop and trying some different things, but the girls played hard and with our best player (Jayasuriya) out for most of the game. Hopefully the girls gained some confidence from that.”
Campbell County (4-1) takes on Bishop Brossart on Friday at 7:30 p.m. NewCath (2-2) returns home Friday for a 7:30 p.m. against Dixie Heights.
Bishop Brossart 56, Augusta 55
The Mustangs enter the big showdown with Campbell County on Friday undefeated with the tight win.
Rachel Shewmaker scored 22 points to lead Brossart (6-0) and Greylee Kramer scored eight as nine different Mustangs scored.
That game Friday against Campbell County takes place at 7:30 p.m.
Other Girls Basketball Score
St. Patrick 35, Covington Latin 24
Boys Basketball
Ludlow 73, Bellevue 55
The Panthers won their fourth straight with a convincing 9th Region home win.
Elijah Perrin and Ethan Powell exploded for 27 and 23 points respectively combining for nearly two-thirds of the Ludlow points as seven different players scored compared to five for Bellevue.
Noah Frommeyer scored 28 points to lead Bellevue and Zach Mertens scored 19 as the Tigers lost for the first time this year. Frommeyer came into the game averaging 30 per game.
Ludlow (4-1) plays host to Villa Madonna on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Bellevue (2-1) plays host to Anderson County on Friday at 8 p.m.
Heritage Academy 65, Villa Madonna 54
The Eagles earned the home victory over the Vikings as three players reached double figures led by Trent Stone’s 23 points.
Elisha Schulz added 15 and Cade Holtman chipped in 13 as they made the Vikings pay at the free throw line, hitting 19-of-27 attempts. Stone went 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.
Henry Thole led Villa with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Aiden Day added 13, Quinn Thomas with 10.
Heritage Academy (2-3) looks to get to .500 on Friday when they play at Calvary Christian at 7:30 p.m. Villa Madonna (1-5) plays at Ludlow on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Boys Basketball Scores
Dayton 52, Calvary Christian 46
Covington Latin 65, St. Patrick 39