The regular season schedules are in the books as the Kentucky high school boys and girls basketball seasons transition to district tournament play this week. It seems like a good time to check in on how local individuals and teams are doing in the latest KHSAA statewide statistical rankings.
Below are 24 boys and girls categories charted by the KHSAA. All local leaders are pulled from the KHSAA’s top 50 in each category. There is a Northern Kentucky leader in every category. All stats are through games Feb. 25. Nearly every area team has updated its statistics at the KHSAA, so this is a fairly inclusive list of Northern Kentucky’s state basketball leaders at the conclusion of the regular season. State ranks are to the far left.
Athletes included are 8th, 9th and 10th Region players participating at Boone, Campbell and Kenton county high schools.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Scoring Leaders (points per game)
- Aaron Gutman, Walton-Verona 21.6
Aaron Gutman is the only local boys player ranking among the state’s top 50 scorers. His 606 points so far this season gives him 1,193 in his three-year varsity career.
Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
3. Henry Thole, Villa Madonna 15.2
17. EJ Walker, Lloyd Memorial 11.0
23. Caden Miller, Covington Catholic 10.7
36. Elijah Perrin, Ludlow 10.0
40. Connor Weinel, Campbell County 9.7
Henry Thole was slightly behind state leader Peyton Dixon (15.3 rpg) of Letcher County Central. Thole led Kentucky in total rebounds (426) by a wide margin at the end of the regular season. He was the only player in the state with at least 400 rebounds.
Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders
5. Shaun Pouncy, Cooper 68.9
8. Caden Miller, Covington Catholic 67.9
28. Anthony Blaackar, Lloyd Memorial 64.1
33. Maddox Jones, Boone County 63.9
50. Garyn Jackson, Campbell County 62.4
Shaun Pouncy had more field goal attempts (196) than any of the other players ranked among the state’s top six at the end of the regular season. Caden Miller had 265 field goal attempts at the end of the regular season.
Free Throw Shooting Percentage Leaders
1. Luke Arlinghaus, Holy Cross 91.3
31. Zach Smith, Walton-Verona 83.0
35. Tay Kinney, Newport 82.6
If Luke Arlinghaus finishes the season with Kentucky’s top free throw shooting percentage, it will be the first time since the 2019-20 season that a Northern Kentucky boys player has led the state in the category. That season, Kentucky’s boys leader was Walton-Verona’s Brant Smithers (89.2%).
3-point Shooting Percentage Leaders
2. Griffin Derry, Dixie Heights 50.9
10. Brayden Moeves, Highlands 45.6
20. Travis Krohman, Simon Kenton 42.1
These were the regular season percentage leaders among the KHSAA’s top 50 for 3-point shots made per game. Griffin Derry was ranked 24th by the KHSAA in 3-pointers made per game with 3.1. Travis Krohman was ranked 17th by the KHSAA and first locally with 3.3 3-pointers made per game. Brayden Moeves averaged 3.2 treys per game.
Team Scoring Leaders (points per game)
36. Walton-Verona 70.333
37. Covington Catholic 70.321
41. Boone County 69.8
50. Ryle 68.4
Walton-Verona was on top of the local heap by the slimmest of margins at the end of the regular season, despite late-season gains by Covington Catholic, which averaged 72.7 points over the last 11 games. Walton-Verona averaged 67.6 points over its last 11 games. Visiting CovCath beat Walton-Verona, 81-69 when the teams met Jan. 16.
Team Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
7. Villa Madonna 35.9
8. Covington Latin 35.8
9. Ludlow 35.6
15. Boone County 33.7
21. Bellevue 33.2
43. Ryle 31.8
47. Calvary Christian 31.3
Led by Henry Thole, Villa Madonna was one of just eight teams statewide with 1,000 total rebounds at the conclusion of the regular season. Ludlow was another. Covington Latin had 215 rebounds in six games.
Team Defense Leaders (points allowed per game)
13. Newport 50.7
18. Covington Latin 52.3
20. Cooper 52.4
23. Campbell County 52.7
24. Covington Catholic 52.8
32. Lloyd Memorial 53.7
40. Villa Madonna 54.1
43. Calvary Christian 54.3
Lots of locals, paced by area leader Newport, which has been awfully stingy of late. The Wildcats gave up an average of 45.6 points over the final 13 regular season games compared to a yield of 54.5 points over the first 17 games.
Team Scoring Margin Leaders
9. Covington Catholic 17.5
16. Newport 15.2
22. Campbell County 13.1
50. Walton-Verona 9.7
Team Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders
4. Lloyd Memorial 53.1
6. Covington Catholic 52.6
9. Dixie Heights 52.2
17. Newport 50.8
Team Free Throw Shooting Percentage Leaders
29. Conner 72.7
34. Highlands 72.2
37. Boone County 72.0
40. Walton-Verona 71.8
44. Holy Cross 71.5
Team 3-point Shooting Percentage Leaders
3. Dixie Heights 42.9
4. Lloyd Memorial 42.8
6. Covington Catholic 40.4
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Scoring Leaders (points per game)
- Caroline Eaglin, Newport Central Catholic 22.0
Caroline Eaglin is the area’s lone girl ranking among the state’s top 50 scorers. She had 637 total points at the conclusion of the regular season, ranking 10th statewide. She has scored more than 1,300 points over the past two seasons and more than 1,700 in her career.
Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
25. DeAyjah White, Newport 11.3
26. Joslyn LaBordeaux Humphrey, Boone County 11.2
49. Braylin Terrell, Walton-Verona 10.0
This is the fourth season in a row DeAyjah White has averaged at least 10 rebounds per game. She has over 1,000 rebounds in her career. Joslyn LaBordeaux Humphrey led the area in total rebounds during the regular season with 281.
Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders
8. Marissa Green, Highlands 61.5
20. Braylin Terrell, Walton-Verona 58.1
33. Ava Kendall, Walton-Verona 56.1
34. Julia Hunt, Holy Cross 55.9
Julia Hunt took the most regular season field goal attempts of the four local leaders with 304. Marissa Green took 260 shots, Braylin Terrell 227 and Ava Kendall 114.
Free Throw Shooting Percentage Leaders
10. Elin Logue, Elin Walton-Verona 82.5
35. Isabella Jayasuriya, Campbell County 78.7
Elin Logue shot 80-for-97 on free throws during the regular season and was the only qualifying area player to clear the 80% mark. Logue shot 85.2% on free throws last season and 87.5% as a seventh grader.
3-point Shooting Percentage Leaders
17. Brynli Pernell, Simon Kenton 36.8
22. Gia Jones, Beechwood 36.8
23. Emma Holtzapfel, Notre Dame 36.0
45. Sierra McCoin, Lloyd Memorial 28.3
Again, these are the regular season percentage leaders among the KHSAA’s top 50 for 3-point shots made per game. Emma Holtzapfel ranked first locally and 14th statewide in 3-pointers made per game with 2.8. Gia Jones ranked 21st with 2.7 3-pointers made per game.
Team Scoring Leaders (points per game)
21. Holy Cross 61.2
41. Cooper 58.1
46. Newport Central Catholic 57.2
Holy Cross has been a consistent scoring force. The Indians scored at least 61 points in all but two of their last 12 regular season games with an average of 64.6 points in that span. They scored either 65, 66, 67, 68 or 69 points in a seven-game stretch.
Team Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
7. Boone County 37.2
8. Bellevue 36.9
20. Ludlow 35.4
47. Covington Latin 32.7
49. Newport Central Catholic 32.6
Ludow (1,061) and Bellevue (1,032) were the only area teams surpassing 1,000 rebounds during the regular season. Boone County finished with 930.
Team Defense Leaders (points allowed per game)
14. Holy Cross 39.6
17. Notre Dame 40.2
30. Cooper 42.0
37. Bishop Brossart 42.7
40. St. Henry 42.9
41. Highlands 43.0
Holy Cross boasted the area’s highest scoring team and best scoring defense during the regular season, which made the Indians the area’s clear leader in average scoring margin.
Team Scoring Margin Leaders
7. Holy Cross 21.6
26. Cooper 16.1
41. Highlands 11.9
Team Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders
45. Ryle 42.3
47. Cooper 41.6
49. Holy Cross 41.5
Team Free Throw Shooting Percentage Leaders
21. Ryle 70.9
22. Cooper 70.5
27. Conner 69.9
28. Dixie Heights 69.2
31. Campbell County 68.7
Team 3-point Shooting Percentage Leaders
19. Ryle 33.7
44. Scott 31.6
