There’s an abundance of state All “A” Classic basketball storylines.
The 33rd annual girls small-school tournament begins Wednesday at The Corbin Arena. Defending champion Holy Cross meets Sixth Region winner Whitefield Academy at 10 a.m., followed by Eighth Region champion Walton-Verona vs. First Region champ Mayfield at 11:30 a.m.
The 34th annual boys tournament begins Thursday. Grabbing your cheese danish and a coffee early is perhaps a good idea because defending Ninth Region postseason champion Newport meets 11th Region winner Sayre at 8:30 a.m., while Walton-Verona gets to sleep in before taking on 10th Region titlist Augusta at 1 p.m.
Walton-Verona sends its boys and girls teams for the first time since 2021. (The boys lost to St. Henry in the sectional and the girls fell to Bethlehem in the championship that year.)
“It’s pretty sweet, man,” Bearcats boys coach Mike Hester said. “It’s awesome for the kids, it’s awesome for, obviously, us coaches, staff members … It’s fun. Our guys are excited, the girls are excited. We’ve got pep buses ready to roll. We’re looking forward to it.”
If Newport’s boys take out Sayre and either Danville Christian or Breathitt County in Friday’s quarterfinals, the Wildcats could face Lyon County – and Mr. Basketball candidate Travis Perry – in Saturday’s semifinals. The Lyons eliminated the Wildcats, 61-46, in last year’s Sweet 16® first round behind Perry’s 23 points.
Newport boys vs. Sayre
The Wildcats make their third All “A” appearance with one obvious question: Is Taylen Kinney, the leading scorer at 19.4 points a game available? He injured his ankle in the Ninth Region final against Holy Cross and has not practiced since.
“So, it’s a day-by-day thing,” Newport coach Rod Snapp said. “I can tell him if he’s gonna play down at the tournament, he’s got to get some practice in. He’s got to get up and down the floor, he just can’t show up and play because we’re looking for a healthy Tay down the road.”
Snapp said if Kinney cannot play, freshman Amantae Lowe is the probable replacement. He’s averaging 4.4 points a game.
“(Lowe’s) looked awful good in practice,” Snapp said. “(It’s) his competitiveness, toughness, making decisions. He’s shot the ball well.”
Snapp said Jabari Covington (12.4 points), DeShaun Jackson (12.2) and James Turner (9.2) will need to score a little more in Kinney’s absence.
“They’ve got to look to be more aggressive scoring the ball,” Snapp said.
Thursday is the first-ever game against Sayre. The Spartans bring three double-figure scorers: 6-foot-6 senior Ian Reesor at 17.8 points a game, 6-foot Brock Coffman at 17.7 and 5-foot-7 Noah Gallagher at 11.4; Reesor and Coffman average 7.6 and 6.8 rebounds, respectively.
“They play a lot of 3-2 zone,” Snapp said.
Walton-Verona boys vs. Augusta
The Eighth Region champion Bearcats made 60.4% of their shots – including 44.4% from 3-point range – in a 74-63 win over the Panthers Dec. 28 at the Mason County Invitational. Julian Dixon led Walton-Verona with 25 points, Aaron Gutman had 24 points, and Max Montgomery added 14.
Augusta (12-4), the 10th Region champion, has won its last four. Against Walton-Verona, Conner Snapp had 23 points, Keeton Bach had 14, and Kylan Hinson had 12.
“Very similar style to us,” Hester said. “They shoot a lot of 3’s, and they showed that they can play different styles. They played a slow game versus Campbell (County), but then they played an up-and-down game with us.”
Walton-Verona (14-6) is 5-2 over its last seven (and 5-0 over Augusta since 2012). Gutman leads the Bearcats with 21 points a game, Dixon is next with 15.5, and Zach Smith averages 12.6.
It will also be a family affair for the Bach’s. Landon Bach is cousins with Keeton Bach. Landon averages 6.8 points per game for the Bearcats, Keeton at 13.9 for Augusta.
Holy Cross girls vs. Whitefield Academy
The Indians (15-5) go for their third All “A” crown. Holy Cross won in 2015 and eventually took the postseason Sweet 16® trophy.
Holy Cross would also be the seventh school to win at least two straight, joining Cumberland (1991-92), Hazard (1997-98), Jackson County (2001-02), Clinton County (2003-04), Lexington Christian (2007-09) and Bethlehem (2020-21).
“Our approach is one game at a time,” coach Ted Arlinghaus said. “You can’t make it to a championship game unless you win your first game, second game and so on.”
The Indians are 8-1 over their last nine games. Senior Julia Hunt leads the team with 13.2 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, but Arlinghaus said Aumani Nelson (9.8 points), Aaliyah Hayes (8.9), Miyah Wimzie (8.7), Aniyah Carter (7.8) and Alyssa Arlinghaus (5.8) are equally responsible.
“So, from all six of those, we’ve been getting solid contributions,” Coach Arlinghaus said. “Every night, it’s somebody else.”
Wednesday is the first meeting between the Indians and Wildcats. Whitefield Academy (13-4) has a quartet of double-figure scorers – Allison Spieker is tops at 12.2 points a game, Noel Smith is next with 11.2 (and a team-high 7.8 rebounds), Gwynnie Franz with 10.8 and Sara Ritter with 10.0.
“I know they like to get up and down the court; they shoot a lot of 3-point attempts,” Arlinghaus said. “They’re a veteran group. They made the semifinals of the All “A” state tournament last year, so the moment’s not going to be too big for them.”
State ranked Owensboro Catholic and Pikeville are on the bottom half of the bracket, away from the Indians. Bethlehem, last year’s runner-up to Holy Cross, has highly talented Leah Macy in the mix after missing some games earlier in the season due to injury. They’ll face off with Owensboro Catholic in the marquee matchup of the first round.
Walton-Verona girls vs. Mayfield
Bearcats coach Rihanna Gayheart said the 11-7 record is about what she expected.
“There were a few games earlier in the season that we battled with some injuries and some sickness,” Gayheart said. “The flu took us out for a couple weeks … Really, I think the important thing is, we’re peaking at the right time.”
Walton-Verona has some All “A” history; they defeated Newport Central Catholic for the 2012 All “A” championship and were runners-up from 2019-2021.
Campbell Christy leads Walton-Verona with 13.8 points a game. Elin Logue is next at 13.6, and Braylin Terrell contributes another 11.7 points and 10.2 rebounds.
“(Terrell’s) averaging a double-double right now, but she’s also averaging about six or seven blocks a game, so her defensive game is probably one of the best in Northern Kentucky, potentially in the state,” Gayheart said.
Mayfield (11-3), the First Region champion, is 6-1 over its last seven – the Cardinals average 45.6 points a game and allow only 37.5. Lay Mayes and Skylar Mandry are the top two scorers at 17.9 and 13.1 points a game. Ally Creason averages 5.9 rebounds, and Mandry is next at 5.6.
“We’re hoping to get up and down,” Gayheart said. “I don’t know how deep their bench is, so hopefully we can wear them down a little bit.”
Gayheart said her team will be watching the Bearcat boys – part of what she hopes is a five-day weekend culminating with a state title on Sunday.
“That’s what we’re going down there with the intention of,” Gayheart said.
The girls final is scheduled for noon Sunday, followed by the boys final at 2 p.m. For more information about tickets, visit https://www.allaclassic.org/basketball/.