Cooper High School celebrated their seniors on both the boys and girls basketball teams Thursday night. The girls team had five seniors recognized while the boys had three.
Here’s how the girls earned a victory over Simon Kenton, the boys over Campbell County.
Girls
Cooper 53, Simon Kenton 29
Right as the game started, Cooper got a jolt as senior Payslee Jones got the start on Senior Night and received the game’s opening tip. Jones has missed the season with a foot injury and still hasn’t been cleared to play, Jones subbed out after receiving the ball and officials stopping play.
“Just a great kid, a great supportive kid and a kid that we’re looking for in our program,” Jaguars coach Justin Holthaus said. “Academically, she’s super strong. She’s going to be an engineer someday. She’s been along for the ride with us and as big a part as anybody on the team and the girls have accepted that as well. It was special to get her on the court, get her the ball and just to kind of celebrate her and everything she’s given to our program.”
Jones is a standout student, with a high score on her ACT and a high GPA.
“Tonight was special. I’ve been on the team with these girls for four years and haven’t got to play with them much, so tonight meant a lot to me and it was really cool,” Jones said.
Her fellow seniors got to work shortly after. They combined to score 46 of the 53 points as Logan Palmer led the way with 17 points, Liz Freihofer with 13, Bella Deere adding 11 and Maleah Alexander chipping in five.
The seniors are an accomplished group. They currently sport a 90-23 record over their four years with the program in high school with two region titles. They surely aren’t showing any signs of slowing down, having won 16 of their last 17 games, the lone loss to No. 1 Sacred Heart last week in the Louisville Invitational Tournament.
They provide a variety of ways to beat the opponent. Palmer got going early and often, outscoring Simon Kenton herself by halftime as they built a 27-13 advantage, Palmer ultra-aggressive with 15 first half points.
Freihofer got going in the third, scoring 10 of her 13 points in the frame as the Jaguars extended their lead to 41-24.
It was Deere’s turn in the fourth, scoring nine points in a Jaguars 11-0 run to open up the quarter to build their lead to 52-24.
“This team is really special to me. They’ve got me into playing basketball,” Deere said. “I’ve grown up playing with them and they’ve pushed me every day.”
Alexander, known for her gritty defense, supplied just that. She limited Pioneers leading scorer Brynli Pernell to just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Alexander spearheads the stout Jaguars defense they possess on a nightly basis which makes them so consistent, improving to 19-4 on the year.
“It’s knowing the scout. Holthaus makes sure that he has a scout planned for every single opponent we have. Just being able to watch film, see their tendencies. Just trying to predict things they do and remembering the scout,” Alexander said.
Simon Kenton had stretches of play they just couldn’t overcome. It was their third straight game against a top five opponent in the state that started with No. 1 Sacred Heart last week, No. 5 Anderson County on Tuesday and then No. 2 Cooper on Thursday.
“With Sacred Heart and Anderson we competed and had belief,” Pioneers coach Brenden Stowers said. “I kind of expected one step back as a learning curve and felt it was going to be tonight. This is a level we want to be at with Cooper and the girls were very responsive after the game on where they want to go and what they want to do.”
The Pioneers finished 1-2 out of that stretch, playing a tight game with Sacred Heart through two and a half quarters, throttling Anderson County in a matchup of two of the top teams in the 8th Region and then Cooper, who Stowers had high praise for.
“Credit to them for not allowing us to get in a rhythm,” Stowers said. “That’s one team that we haven’t seen and might be the most complete team we’ve played this year. It was a different challenge that we’ve seen and our girls have played this season.”Â
Simon Kenton was led by Haylie Webb’s eight points and 12 rebounds, Bella Ober adding seven points. The Pioneers return to action on Monday at North Oldham at 8 p.m.
Cooper’s schedule is light the rest of the way due to playing so many games in the first two months. Their game with Notre Dame originally scheduled for Saturday was pushed to Feb. 23 and a contest with Holy Cross for Wednesday was canceled due to the Indians having to scale back on reaching their max number of games. The Jaguars won’t hit the floor again until Feb. 8 when they host Boone County at 7 p.m.
JAGUARS 53, PIONEERS 29
SIMON KENTON — 5-8-11-5 — 29
COOPER — 13-14-14-12 — 53
Scoring
Simon Kenton (29) — Webb 8, Ober 7, Pernell 5, Kelch 4, Katelin Blevins 3, Kaylee Blevins 2
Cooper (53) — Palmer 17, Freihofer 13, Deere 11, Noel 6, Alexander 5, Rankin 1
Game Stats
Field Goals: SK 12/40, Cooper 20/41
3-Pointers: SK 1/10, Cooper 3/14
Free Throws: SK 4/7, Cooper 10/14
Rebounds: SK 24, Cooper 24
Assists: SK 1, Cooper 10
Steals: SK 4, Cooper 10
Turnovers: SK 16, Cooper 7
Fouls: SK 12, Cooper 14
Records: Simon Kenton 15-7, Cooper
Boys
Cooper 49, Campbell County 41
The Jaguars were dealt another injury blow earlier in the week in practice when Yamil Rondon suffered a shoulder injury and was unable to play Thursday night.
His teammates stepped up in his absence and were able to hold on for an eight-point victory. The Jaguars built a 36-25 lead by the end of the third quarter before a 12-2 Camels run cut their deficit to one. Campbell County had multiple chances to take the lead, but missed out and Cooper capitalized with four straight points and were able to close out the game from there.
“We just talked in the locker room on how to finish games. We don’t know if Yamil and Andy (Johnson) are coming back,” Jaguars coach Tim Sullivan said. “So we better work our tail off and play like you guys are the one’s that want to be out there. We’ve got to be able to finish those games and not put ourselves in situations where we turn it over like crazy. We’ve just got to get a little bit tougher.”
Shaun Pouncy was dominant inside early with 17 points. He scored 11 in the first quarter as they built a 14-12 lead. The Jaguars defense really made their mark the next two quarters, holding the Camels to 13 points in building their lead to 11.
Without their floor general in Rondon, the Camels took advantage with their half court trap, forcing multiple turnovers and making their run.
“We were in a position to win the game, so I was really proud of our kids the way they fought back,” Camels coach Brent Sowder said. “Had a slow third quarter, slow second quarter and the way we kept fighting, that’s what we want.”
It’s the Camels second loss of the week, losing to Covington Catholic earlier in the week.
“This is what we want to see. So if we want to be where we want to be, these are the teams we got to play,” Sowder said. “These are the teams we got to compete with and this is all a learning experience. We’re gonna take this experience, take it to the 10th Region and we’ll just continue to build off of it.”
They were led by Broc Sorgenfrei with 16 points and five steals, Garyn Jackson added eight with five rebounds and three steals.
Pouncy’s 17 points came with six rebounds, hitting 8-of-9 from the field.
“Yamil brings a lot, so with him not being here tonight I had to step up more and be more of a leader out there,” Pouncy said. “Just keep the team together and play hard, harder than usual.”
Jaidan Combs added nine points and Isaac Brown came up big down the stretch with six points. Brown hit a jumper to end the Camels run, dished out an assist and then hit two free throws to get the Jaguars lead back out to six with less than two minutes to play.
“One thing about Isaac is you’re going to get an honest effort and everything he’s got,” Sullivan said. “In the huddles in the last two to three minutes of the game, I heard his voice more than anybody and then you see what he does.”
The Camels hit the floor again on Saturday when they host Nicholas County at 2:30 p.m.
Cooper recognized Pouncy, Evan Blackburn and Tanner Murphy prior to the game for their Senior night. Blackburn had a +/- of plus 15 when he was on the floor while Murphy chipped in two points, two rebounds and a steal.
“I thought for the most part our seniors did a great job of leading tonight,” Sullivan said. “I thought Shaun was really, really good. Not just scoring, but the way he was talking and keeping composure for everyone else on the floor.”
Cooper returns to action on Saturday when they face Mason County at Augusta in the 9th vs 10th Hardwood Classic at 3 p.m.
JAGUARS 49, CAMELS 41
CAMPBELL CO. — 12-7-6-16 — 41
COOPER — 14-10-12-13 — 49
Scoring
Campbell Co. (41) — Sorgenfrei 16, Jackson 8, Fancher 6, Franzen 3, Weinel 3, Johnson 3, Smith 2
Cooper (49) — Pouncy 17, Combs 9, Brown 6, Rodriguez 6, Johnson 6, Jakare Pouncy 2, Murphy 2, Blackburn 1
Game Stats
Field Goals: Campbell 15/44, Cooper 19/35
3-Pointers: Campbell 4/18, Cooper 0/9
Free Throws: Campbell 7/10, Cooper 11/16
Rebounds: Campbell 18, Cooper 26
Assists: Campbell 6, Cooper 8
Steals: Campbell 12, Cooper 6
Turnovers: Campbell 10, Cooper 16
Fouls: Campbell 19, Cooper 13
Records: Campbell County 14-6, Cooper 15-7