It was a round robin of sorts last week. Especially in the boys 9th Region.

Lloyd Memorial played Covington Catholic and Newport while Newport took on Cooper in matchups featuring the top four teams in the region. While these games will mean a lot more starting next week, last week gave a little bit of clarity as the 9th Region looks to be a three-team race with a few others capable of pulling off an upset.

On the girls side of things, Ryle flexed on Notre Dame while Holy Cross held off a pesky Simon Kenton team.

The top five teams remained the same from last week, while the biggest shakeups came from spots 6-10 in both the boys and girls rankings.

We’re in the last week of the regular season with the postseason set to begin in Northern Kentucky on Monday, Feb. 26.

Here goes the LINK nky rankings for Boone, Campbell and Kenton County…

Boys

  1. Newport (26-3, Previous Week: 1) — After an ugly win over Cooper, the Wildcats looked dominant in a win over Lloyd Memorial. Newport has just one game this week in their regular season home finale against Beechwood, after that they open the 36th District tournament with the Bellevue-Dayton winner on Feb. 28. Newport is the host of the 36th District tourney this year.

2. Cooper (18-8, Previous Week: 2) — The Jaguars have to be feeling pretty confident after their 48-42 loss to Newport without Andy Johnson and Yamil Rondon. It was a two-point game in the closing minutes, just not enough offensive firepower to close it out. Johnson returned on Saturday against Grant County with 14 points and four rebounds, hitting two from deep. Now they hope for good news on Rondon this week in hopes he’s able to return prior to the 33rd District tournament next week at Conner.

Covington Catholic’s Athens McGillis scored 62 points in two games for the Colonels last week. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

3. Covington Catholic (22-5, Previous Week: 3) — What a week for Athens McGillis. After a career-high 32 points in a victory over Lloyd Memorial on Monday, the sophomore followed it up with a 30-point performance in a win over Dixie Heights on Friday. CovCath faces Madison Central on Friday before the 35th District tournament next week where they’ll face Holmes in the first round.

4. Lloyd Memorial (20-8, Previous Week: 4) — While the Juggernauts are still certainly a contender in the 9th Region, last week showed there’s three favorites and then everybody else. Lloyd is clearly the fourth best team in the 9th right now, but the gap may be a little wider from the top three. After six games in eight days, a two-game week with Bishop Brossart and Conner is a welcome sight for the Juggernauts this week. After that, they’ll open up the 34th District tournament against the Ludlow-Villa Madonna winner next week.

Connor Weinel (right) put up a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds in Campbell County’s win over Beechwood on Thursday. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

5. Campbell County (20-6, Previous Week: 5) — Winners of six straight, the Camels get St. Henry to close out the regular season before they face Calvary Christian to open the 37th District tournament. The only thing missing from the Camels resume is a signature victory, they’ll most likely get a chance at that with George Rogers Clark in the 10th Region tournament, which very well could be the region final if the bracket shakes out the right way.

Walton-Verona’s Aaron Gutman leads the Bearcats in scoring with 21 points per game. Photo provided | Charles Bolton 

6. Walton-Verona (21-8, Previous Week: 7) — No better way to test themselves headed into the postseason with No. 1 Great Crossing on the road Tuesday. Then comes preparation for a team that ended their season last year, taking on Grant County in the opening round of the 32nd District tournament, which also happens to be at Grant County.

7. Boone County (17-8, Previous Week: 6) — The Rebels late season slide continued last week in losses to Simon Kenton and Holy Cross (Louisville). Thomas Williams hit the 1,000-point mark for his career in a win over Archbishop McNicholas (Ohio). Contests with Pendleton County and a much improved Dixie Heights team closes out the regular season slate before what looks like a matchup with Ryle in the do or die matchup in the 33rd District tournament. The Rebels haven’t made the 9th Region tourney since 2015.

8. Highlands (16-12, Previous Week: 8) — After winning five of six, the Bluebirds were roughed up in a loss at Conner on Saturday. Now they get two teams on the rise this week with Simon Kenton and Beechwood before facing NewCath in the 36th District tournament semifinals.

Ryle junior Jonathan DeGroff (left) brings the ball up against Dixie Heights senior Jaxson Gray (right) in the 9th Region game. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

9. Ryle (17-10, Previous Week: 9) — The Raiders led state-ranked St. Xavier at halftime on Saturday before being outscored 54-35 in the second half. Just one game this week with Western Hills before the 33rd District tournament. The Raiders are looking for their first berth into the 9th Region tournament since 2021.

10. Dixie Heights (16-11, Previous Week: 10) — An overtime loss to Walton-Verona prevented a jump in the rankings while a 40-point loss to Covington Catholic is one to forget. Two tests this week with Cooper and Boone County before they face St. Henry in the first round of the 34th District tournament.

Next up: Simon Kenton

Girls

Cooper and Haylee Noel are currently the No. 2 ranked team in the state. Photo provided | Bob Jackson
  1. Cooper (22-4, Previous Ranking: 1) — After playing 21 games in December and January, it’s made for a light February for the Jaguars, playing just four games in the month so far. They get two games this week with DuPont Manual and Notre Dame before facing Boone County in the first round of the 33rd District tournament next week.

2. Holy Cross (23-5, Previous Ranking: 2) — With their 10-game winning streak in jeopardy, Holy Cross rallied in the fourth to defeat Simon Kenton to make it 11 in a row. Now they get Lexington Catholic and Conner this week before they open the 35th District tournament against Holmes next week. The Indians last district title came in 2017.

3. Ryle (18-9, Previous Ranking: 3) — Why not one more test against a state ranked opponent before the postseason begins? The Raiders have played 10 of the top 15 teams in the state, the 10th one being Owensboro Catholic on Wednesday. It’s their last game of the regular season before the showdown with Conner next week in the 33rd District tournament semifinals.

4. Notre Dame (19-6, Previous Ranking: 4) — Scoring the basketball has been their biggest culprit in their six losses, averaging under 40 points per game in those six contests. The Pandas face DuPont Manual and host Cooper this week before opening up the 35th District tournament with Beechwood next week.

Brynli Pernell finished with 16 points against Holy Cross. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

5. Simon Kenton (17-9, Previous Ranking: 5) — Another tough loss against a top-tier 9th Region team last week as they had Holy Cross on the ropes before surrendering the lead they had pretty much all game. It was a similar fate to Notre Dame in January. Good news for Simon Kenton is they won’t see those teams in the postseason as they have their sights set on back-to-back 8th Region titles. They take a tour of Campbell County teams this week with Highlands, Campbell County and Newport Central Catholic before facing Walton-Verona in the first round of the 32nd District semifinals next week.

6. Highlands (6. 18-7, Previous Ranking: 6) — Can Highlands pick up a signature win this week at Simon Kenton on Monday? If not, they’ll most likely get a chance to play spoiler in the 9th Region tournament. After Simon Kenton, they get Beechwood and then await the Dayton-Newport winner in the 36th District tournament.

Conner’s Avery Burchem (3) looks to make a pass in the game Saturday while Campbell County’s Stella Brockman (11) defends. Photo provided | Betsy Malone-Osterbur

7. Conner (13-14, Previous Ranking: 7) — Solid victories over Scott and Campbell County has the Cougars winners in three of their last four. They get Holy Cross on Wednesday before the do-or-die matchup with Ryle in the 33rd District tourney next week.

Dixie Heights head coach Joel Steczynski embraces senior Abby Thelen (51) while the assistants celebrate in the 79-37 win over Scott on Friday. All three Dixie seniors contributed in the win. Photo provided | Kelly Sanders

8. Dixie Heights (15-11, Previous Ranking: 9) — A comeback victory over Campbell County and a blowout victory over Scott has the Colonels back on the right track. Now they get Pendleton County and Franklin County to close out the regular season before facing the Ludlow-Villa Madonna winner in the 34th District tournament.

9. Campbell County (17-10, Previous Ranking: 7) — The Camels have had a good mix of highs and lows over the past few weeks. They get Beechwood and Simon Kenton this week before they await the Bishop Brossart-Scott winner in the 37th District championship.

10. Newport Central Catholic (18-10, Previous Ranking: NR) — This spot could be occupied by a number of teams, NewCath is the one this week. They face Bracken County and Simon Kenton to close out the regular season before they get Bellevue for a third time this season in the first round of the 36th District tournament.

Next up: Bishop Brossart