The Cooper and Ryle girls basketball teams squared off against Boyd County and Ashland Blazer on consecutive days and the first day belonged to the hosts. Here’s how it happened.
Cooper 64, Ashland Blazer 47
The Jaguars won their 10th game of the season with a sound win behind 12 steals.
Liz Freihofer and Zene Thompson had four steals each to lead the way as Cooper outscored Ashland, 15-10 in points off turnovers and 14-5 in second chance points winning the rebounding battle, 29-18 including a 9-3 advantage on the offensive boards. Freihofer and Logan Palmer had eight rebounds each to lead the Jaguars.
Cooper put four players in double figures. Palmer and Bella Deere led the Jaguars way with 18 each with Freihofer and Haylee Noel scoring 11 each.
Cooper (10-3) hosts Boyd County at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Ryle 69, Boyd County 66 (OT)
The Raiders put four starters in double figures in the non-region win.
Quinn Eubank and Sarah Baker led the way scoring 22 and 18 points each. Jaelyn Jones and Gracie Carrigan followed with 16 and 10 points each.
“We’ve always talked about how it’s a lot harder for a team to guard people when you have multiple people capable of scoring between eight to 15 points per game and you have to be considered a threat,” Ryle head coach Katie Haitz said. “I’m very proud on that side. It’s just the time management side that we did not handle (Wednesday).”
Ryle built a double-digit lead in the second half, but could not hold on as Boyd County used full-court pressure defense to rally and send it to overtime. The Raiders outscored the Lions, 5-2 in overtime to win the game.
“We went to the corner a few times and we shouldn’t have,” Jones said, “I think for the future, we know not to go there and to stay calm because we were all kind of freaking out. We sped ourselves up. But at the end, we got the win so we’ll learn from it.”
Ryle (8-3) hosts Ashland Blazer at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Walton-Verona 68, Switzerland County (Indiana) 55
The Bearcats took care of the Indiana opponent to start the Pam Browning Classic at Carroll County.
Elin Logue led the Bearcats making five three-pointers on her way to 20 points and Braylin Terrell had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Cam Christy also scored 20 points and Avery Geiman scored 10.
Walton-Verona (5-6) takes on Rowan County at 6:30 p.m. Thursday back at Carroll County.
Notre Dame 47, Siegel (Tennessee) 9
The Pandas dominated the first game of the Zaxby’s Christmas Classic at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville.
Notre Dame saw eight different players score. Sophia Gibson led the way scoring 10 points with Sofia Durstock and Emma Holtzapfel scoring nine each.
The Pandas play again Thursday back at CPA.
Other Girls Basketball Scores
Moody (Alabama) 48, St. Henry 28
Russell 60, Highlands 42
Carroll County 57, Holmes 45
Boys Basketball
Cooper 65, Madison Southern 64
Yamil Rondon made a four-point play down the stretch to lift the Jaguars to a win to start the White, Greer and Maggard Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic.
Rondon finished with 22 points and five assists to lead the way. Shaun Pouncy followed with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds with Isaiah Johnson scoring seven points and nabbing five rebounds.
Cooper (7-4) takes on Woodford County at 4:30 p.m. Thursday back at LexCath in the quarterfinals.
St. Henry 84, Ludlow 52
The Crusaders dominated the 34th District seed game behind 30 points from Andrew Reis and seven 3-pointers.
St. Henry put three players in double figures. Brady Shea scored 15 and Jackson Gross scored 10 with Caden Kunster scoring nine.
Spencer Brandenburg and Ethan Powell led Ludlow with 20 and 19 points respectively. Elijah Perrin followed with nine.
Ludlow (4-7) travels to Carroll County on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game. St. Henry (4-7) travels to Dixie Heights on Jan. 3 for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Calvary Christian 54, Whitefield Academy 46
The Cougars snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory in the Ray Zellar Classic at Whitefield Academy.
Three hit double figures as Race Zachary led the way with 18 points. Peyton Morris added 16, Esaias Liggett chipping in 12. Zachary added 14 rebounds for the double-double.
The Cougars (3-7) play again on Thursday at Whitefield Academy against Trinity Christian at 2:30 p.m.
Other Boys Basketball Scores
Walker Valley (Tennessee) 60, Highlands 54
Leslie County 47, Villa Madonna 38
Madison Central 80, Bishop Brossart 56
Holly Pond (Alabama) 60, Heritage Academy 56
Thomas Worthington (Ohio) 61, Conner 58