Ryle’s transition game has been one of their biggest strengths all season.
After trailing the first quarter 11-9, it’s what gave them the lead and carried them to
a 59-36 win over Highlands in Truist Arena on Friday night in Highland Heights.
“We are very much a transition team and always have been,” Ryle head coach Katie
Haitz said. “A long time ago, the girls said they like to run, and I said that’s fine. If
we’re going to do that, we’re going to be conditioned. The girls have bought into it.
They see the success of it.”
In the second quarter, the Lady Raiders were able use that quick pace to go on a 17-3
run, giving them a 33-21 advantage at halftime. It was the quarter that got away from Highlands, coming in on a 10-game winning streak.
“We had some lapses on defense,” Bluebirds head coach Jaime Walz-Richey said.
“We’re going to have to make sure we understand that when we get tired we still
have to remember what we’re doing offensively and defensively.”
The stars for Ryle shined bright during that run. Quinn Eubank, the leading scorer
for the Lady Raiders with 18 points, crashed the glass and used her defense to
immediately get the ball out and push.
“Transition is really important for us.” Eubank said. “We’re a fast team so getting
down the floor quick helps us in the long run and we did a great job of that tonight.
Forcing their turnovers also helped a lot because we thrived on getting down the
floor fast. Good defense led to good offense.”
Sarah Baker was a dominant inside presence for Ryle. On offense she struggled to
get going at first against the lengthy Marissa Green for Highlands, but eventually found her groove, scoring her first eight points in the second quarter.
“Being confident in myself was big,” Baker said. “In the first few minutes of the game
I was really overthinking a lot of stuff, trying to rush. What I did different in the
second quarter was being more patient, utilize my pump fakes, because I know
(Marissa Green) is a shot blocker. I was able to be physical and go into her when I
was trying to finish.”
On defense, she held the Bluebirds leading scorer, Marissa Green, who came in
averaging 17 points a game, to just four.
“I’ve been lucky enough, especially in our region to have been able to play against
some really good post players,” Baker said. “My parents always told me to utilize my
strength and get low since I’m undersized for my position. I try to get the low
leverage against them so they can’t move me that well and then staying straight up
and trying to play clean.”
Highlands wasn’t ready to wave the white flag down the stretch. Trailing 45-29 at the
end of the three, the Bluebirds started the final eight minutes with a 7-0 run.
However, the Lady Raiders followed with their own run of 14 straight to put the
game away.
“We told the girls we were extremely proud of the fight. We were down nearly 20
and cut it to nine that led to Ryle calling a timeout. We just have to learn how to
finish the game,” Walz-Richey said.
Helping with the pace was the lack of fouls, only seven whistled the entire contest.
Avery Barber had 12 to lead Highlands in scoring and Saylor Macke chipped in 11
points.
The Bluebirds fall for the first time since Dec. 27, moving them to 13-6 overall. They will look to start a new streak as they head back home for a matchup with Bishop Brossart Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Ryle, improving to 12-7, will return to Union for a two-game home stretch as they
take on Frederick Douglass on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Scott on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Jaelyn Jones added nine for the Raiders, Gracie Carrigan and Kassidy Peters with six points apiece.
LADY RAIDERS 59, BLUEBIRDS 36
HIGHLANDS — 11-10-8-7 — 36
RYLE — 9-24-12-11 — 59
Scoring
HIGHLANDS (36) — Barber 12, Macke 11, Green 4, Mills 3, Barton 2, Gross 2, Orme 2
RYLE (59) — Eubank 18, Baker 14, Jones 9, Carrigan 6, Peters 6, Miller 3, Warner 3,
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Highlands 5, Ryle 6
Free Throws: Highlands 1/1, Ryle 3/3
Fouls: Highlands 2, Ryle 5
Records: Highlands 13-6, Ryle 12-7