The Ryle basketball teams used good starts to win their boy/girl doubleheader against Dixie Heights on Friday.
One saw the Raiders pull away in the second half and the other one saw the Raiders make big shot after big shot to hold off the pesky Colonels.
Here’s how they went down:
Boys
Ryle 63, Dixie Heights 57
The Raiders jumped out to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter and that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Ryle used balanced scoring to win the game. Landon Lorms and Anthony Coppola scored 11 points and Logan Verax scored nine as eight different Raiders scored.
“We knew we had to dictate the tempo,” Ryle head coach Nick Dorning said. “(Dixie Heights) packs it in. They fly around and they make plays and we knew we were going to get that out of Dixie. We told our kids their defense was going to be really good so our plan coming was to (do that) and get out and run a bit. We know we have a point guard that can handle just about anything that’s thrown at him and Anthony did just that.”
Ryle made six 3-pointers and Dixie Heights hit four, which turned out to be the difference in the game. Coppola hit two big ones for the Raiders including one in the final minute of the third quarter to give the Raiders a 49-44 advantage after the Colonels trimmed it two.
“We just stayed under control when they started making their runs so we slowed some stuff down and got our offense going again,” Coppola said. “We brought energy. We started pressing right away trying to get our energy up and get that lead. That’s exactly what we did.”
The two leading scorers led the Dixie Heights comeback attempt. Griffin Derry scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and Hudson Blank scored 14 with Jaxson Gray scoring 12.
“We just went with the scouting report, watched some film on their players,” Lorms said. “We tried not to give them space when they had the ball. I think we handled that well.”
The one thing Ryle could have done better is build more distance hitting the free throws. The Raiders made 10-of-19 while the Colonels hit 7-of-8.
Ryle led 8-6 halfway through the first quarter before scoring eight straight to built the first quarter lead. Lorms and AJ Davis hit three-pointers during that stretch.
The Raiders built that lead to double figures in the second quarter. Verax converted a three-point play to put the Raiders up 28-12 and then Jonathan DeGroff made an open-court steal and score to make it 30-14. Dixie Heights responded with nine in a row to trim it to 30-23 with 55.1 seconds left. The two would go into half with the Raiders ahead, 34-26.
“Of our four pillars, the fourth one is the ability to continuously learn and I thought we were a little bit slow,” Dixie Heights head coach Chad Fields said. “At this point in the season, being slow to learn about the best way to play is going to dig you a hole that’s too deep. I thought that’s what happened.”
After Dixie’s run in the third quarter, Ryle built the lead back up to double figures after Holden Smith scored. Dixie Heights then cut the lead to four on three different occasions, but the Raiders responded with a bucket each time.
“My coaching staff did a great job prepping for this game,” Dorning said. “We got five coaches with everyone watching film, game planning, scouting and I thought they did a phenomenal job.”
Ryle snapped a two-game losing streak with the win. The Raiders (7-6) host Grant County on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Dixie Heights (8-6) hosts Highlands on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
RAIDERS 63, COLONELS 57
DIXIE HEIGHTS — 6-20-18-13 — 57
RYLE — 16-18-15-14 — 63
Scoring
Dixie Heights (57) — Derry 20, Blank 14, Gray 12, Rubemeyer 6, Niehues 5
Ryle (63) — Lorms 11, Coppola 11, Verax 9, Reynolds 7, Lyons 6, DeGroff 6, H. Smith 5, Davis 5, G. Smith 3
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Dixie Heights 4, Ryle 6
Free Throws: Dixie Heights 7/8, Ryle 10/19
Records: Dixie Heights 8-6, Ryle 7-6
Girls
Ryle 56, Dixie Heights 38
The Colonels made a run in the second quarter, but the dynamic senior Ryle duo of Quinn Eubank and Sarah Baker proved to be too much helping the Raiders pull away in the second half.
The 6-foot-2 Baker made her moves in the post to score 18 points and even displayed some outside shooting, hitting her fourth three-pointer of the season. Eubank once again displayed her versatility scoring 17 points and Jaelyn Jones scored just above her season average with 12 points, making two 3-pointers.
“We really went into the second half thinking we needed to finish it off because we’ve been struggling to do that,” Eubank said. “The way we’re utilizing Sarah now is working really well for us. A lot of people can’t handle her in the post and she’s been working on that for so long. It’s been fun playing with her.”
Ryle led 26-22 at halftime, but expanded it to double figures in the middle of the third quarter after Baker and Jones made consecutive triples. A Baker three-point play gave the Raiders a 41-27 advantage and Eubank hit two free throws to put the Raiders up 45-29 with 45.2 seconds left in the quarter.
“The thing for us is being able to work the ball around, inside and out,” Ryle head coach Katie Haitz said. “We’re able to pass it out. We have multiple people able to shoot. You have to respect (Sarah) because she’s a threat in there. Quinn getting the rebounds for us then pushing the transition is huge for us. (Jones) has had multiple double-digit games for us then others are able to contribute in different ways with defensive stops and rebounds. That makes a huge difference for us as a group.”
The Raiders led 45-31 entering the fourth quarter and saw the lead expand to 56-36 with 3:05 left in the game when Eubank laid one in.
Dixie Heights stayed in it early due to their effort on the boards. Catherine Buddenberg led the Colonels with nine points and eighth grader Peyton Gibson hit both Dixie Heights three-pointers on her way to scoring eight points.
Ryle scored the game’s first eight points before Avery Moore stuck in an offensive rebound for Dixie’s first two points. The Colonels outscored the Raiders, 11-8 the rest of the quarter to trim the lead to 16-11 after Bella Crawford hit two free throws with 16.9 seconds left.
Eubank had a steal and score with 3:37 left in the second quarter to give the Raiders a 24-16 lead before Dixie Heights scored six straight to trim the lead to 24-22 with 2:03 left in the half. Buddenberg recorded a steal and score to finish the score.
“We know that we can put a couple of good quarters together,” Dixie Heights head coach Joel Steczynski said. “Now we have to piece four together. Ryle’s obviously a very good team. If we’re fortunate enough to meet up with them again later this season, we’ll have to find a way to limit their touches. They were able to hit more shots in the second half.”
Ryle had some issues with the pressure defense during that run similar to the overtime win over Boyd County. However, the Raiders did a better job staying away from the sidelines in this game. Buddenberg’s lay-up was the lone open court steal and score the Colonels made in the game.
After a timeout, the Raiders ended the momentum. Gracie Carrigan found Rosemary Miller for a jumper on the right side to make it 26-22 Raiders at halftime. Both teams struggled with jump shots in the first half as the defenses limited the shots near the rim.
“I think the defense was the biggest key,” Miller said. “I’ve been learning whether to stay back or go for it for a while now and I feel that when you have that instinct that you got it, you got to to. You can’t second guess yourself.”
Ryle (10-4) has won three of its last four games. The Raiders take on South Laurel in the Simpson’s Tree Service/H+W Sports Classic at Franklin County at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Dixie Heights (5-8) has lost four in a row. The Colonels travel to East Central (Indiana) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
RAIDERS 56, COLONELS 38
DIXIE HEIGHTS — 11-11-9-7 — 38
RYLE — 16-10-19-11 — 56
Scoring
Dixie Heights (38) — Buddenberg 9, Gibson 8, Moore 6, Crawford 6, Brooks 5, Thelen 4
Ryle (56) — Baker 18, Eubank 17, Jones 12, Miller 4, Peters 3, Carrigan 2
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Dixie Heights 2, Ryle 5
Free Throws: Dixie Heights 4/6, Ryle 5/6
Records: Dixie Heights 5-8, Ryle 10-4
Haitz Honored before Game
Haitz gathered with current and former players in addition to some past and present assistant coaches to commemorate the 200th win in her tenure as head coach of the Raiders that started with the 2015-2016 season. The Raiders moved to 202-72 in her tenure with the win against Dixie Heights. The 200th win came in a hard-fought overtime win over Boyd County, 69-66 on Dec. 27.
Haitz is one of two current head coaches in the 9th Region to lead a team to a state championship, doing so in 2019 (Kes Murphy with Holy Cross in 2015). The Raiders have won five 33rd District championships in addition to three straight region championships from 2018 to 2020.
“I’m so appreciative of (the former players) because they’re a huge part of (the 200 wins),” Haitz said. “The relationships that you make with those kids, watching them grow up. They’re getting married, having kids and bringing them back. Being able to see them is amazing. Just to help them be a part of that success story is amazing for me. They enjoyed it and want to come back and see us. That’s how you know.”
Haitz played for the legendary Nell Fookes at Boone County. Haitz helped the Rebels to the 9th Region championship as a senior in 2004.