The next column of basketball bites is here.
We take a look at coaching milestones, first wins, impressive performances, a recap of some of the action, player milestones, what’s ahead and more.
Richey gets 450th win, plus three
Highlands girls basketball coach Jaime Richey was recognized in the Bluebirds contest against Holy Cross on Dec. 10 for earning her 450th win as head coach of the program in Highlands’ 47-43 victory over Walton-Verona on Dec 7. Hours later, Richey and the Bluebirds won a double-overtime thriller over the Indians, 62-61.
Richey was also recognized as Teacher of the Year at Highlands, where she teaches business.
Highlands is currently off to a 5-1 start to the season, doing so without standout Marissa Green for a few games as she dealt with an injury. Later in the week they defeated Scott and Valley, Green returning to action for both.
Coaching trio get first wins with program
He’s been a part of plenty of wins on the Holmes coaching staff, including a 2009 state championship, but the Dec. 12 win over Boone County was pretty special to Bulldogs head boys basketball coach Sam Elsbernd.
It was his first as head coach of the program, Holmes taking down Boone County, 57-56. Elsbernd took over the program in April and after an 0-3 start to the season, the Bulldogs broke through for win No. 1 on the season and followed it up with a 68-53 victory over East Carter over the weekend. Holmes will look to make it three in a row when they host Bishop Brossart on Tuesday.
Ludlow girls basketball coach Ryan Bowman got his first win with the program on Dec. 10 in a win over Oldham County, 69-53.
Bowman took over the program in May and the Panthers have won two in a row after an 0-3 start, also defeating Villa Madonna 57-42 on Dec. 12. Bowman was the Boone County girls coach from 2017-21, leading the Lady Rebels to their last winning season in 2020-21.
Ludlow will try and make it three in a row when they host Bellevue on Tuesday.
Villa Madonna’s Tony Fields earned his first with with the girls basketball program on Dec. 13 in a 58-46 victory over St. Patrick. They then followed it up with a 55-31 victory over Newport on Dec. 14.
Fields formerly served as the varsity assistant coach for the boys basketball team and has served as the varsity softball coach the past two seasons.
Yet another triple-double for EJ Walker
Lloyd Memorial’s EJ Walker recorded his second consecutive triple-double in the Juggernauts 81-53 victory over Newport Central Catholic on Dec. 10. Walker went for 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. He also had a triple-double in the Juggernauts victory over Ryle on Dec. 6. Walker is averaging 21.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in Lloyd’s 4-0 start. Anthony Blaackar has been a solid complimentary piece in averaging 19.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
John Turner Classic
For full coverage of Saturday’s action at Newport, click here. For Newport-Campbell County coverage, click here.
Colonels at Billy Hicks Classic
Covington Catholic had a solid showing at the Billy Hicks Classic, going 2-1 with a loss to No. 1 Great Crossing in the championship. The Colonels defeated Woodford County (76-60) and Scott County (86-46) on their way to the championship, before losing to Great Crossing (71-60).
Athens McGillis, Cash Harney and Donovan Bradshaw were named to the All-Tournament team for CovCath.
Stephanie Wilson Memorial Invitational
In a bit of a change of format from prior years, the Stephanie Wilson Memorial Tournament turned into an Invitational this year at Bellevue with games played on Dec. 13-14.
Friday turned in to be quite the doozy, with two games played down to the wire. In the first game, Highlands took down Scott by a slim margin, 49-46. In the second game, Notre Dame’s Emma Holtzapfel hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a 60-58 victory over Dixie Heights.
On Saturday the 14th, four games were played. Lloyd Memorial defeated Gallatin County in overtime, 45-44. Holy Cross took down Russell, 55-42, Walton-Verona was victorious over Bellevue, 65-46 and Campbell County defeated Ryle, 64-55.
All in all, a really competitive two days of basketball at Bellevue’s Ben Flora Gymnasium, six games decided by a total of 47 points.
Tough break for the Bearcats
For a small school with limited depth, an injury is something Walton-Verona cannot afford. Unfortunately for them, their depth took a hit on Dec. 10 when Aidan Kerns broke his wrist after falling from a dunk attempt in a 92-81 victory over Gallatin County.
Kerns is one of six seniors on the team and they’re hopeful to have him back by the end of the season. In his four games played, he averaged 5.2 points per game and hit 44% of his 3-point attempts. He was second in rebounds with 6.8.
Walton-Verona currently sits at 5-2. They’re led by senior standout Aaron Gutman, who is averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Robinson hits 1k
Northern Kentucky University senior Trey Robinson joined Sam Vinson as current 1,000-point career scorers on the Norse. Robinson surpassed the milestone on Dec. 7 at IU Indy, scoring 19 points.
He becomes the 10th member in NKU Division I history to accomplish the feat. Robinson has been torching the nets in December, averaging 24.7 points per game on 70% shooting to go with six rebounds per game in three contests.
The Norse are 5-6 with a home game against Detroit on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
NKY gets a shot at showing strength across the state next few weeks
Holiday times mean holiday basketball tournaments. Plenty of them will be played, starting on Wednesday when Newport and Lloyd Memorial will take their talents to Louisville to descend on the King of the Commonwealth basketball tournament at Fairdale High School. Often considered the premier in-season tournament in the state, this year’s field features 11 of the top 20 teams in the state in preseason polls. Newport will open with Bryan Station while Lloyd takes on St. Xavier out of Louisville. St. Xavier knocked off No. 1 Great Crossing on Sunday, in what should be a great test for the Juggernauts. First round games are played on Wednesday and Thursday, second round on Friday, semifinals Saturday and championship Sunday, all at Fairdale High School.
King of the Bluegrass bracket below:
Another premier tournament taking place in greater Louisville this week is the Queen of the Commonwealth played Friday-Monday. Cooper, Notre Dame and Simon Kenton will all be competing in it. Cooper faces DuPont Manual, Notre Dame squares off with Ballard and Simon Kenton takes on Bethlehem in the first round. I’ve been unable to obtain a full bracket for the tournament as of now.
There’s also the White, Greer and Maggard Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic. The girls play this week with the boys next week. Ryle and Dixie Heights play this week.
White Greer and Maggard Holiday Classic bracket below:
Plenty of other tournaments/classics/invitationals will take place in the coming weeks and that will be laid out in another story online on Wednesday.
On Tap
Other games to look out for this week:
Tuesday: Dixie Heights at Conner boys, Covington Catholic at Simon Kenton boys, Newport Central Catholic at Ryle boys, Walton-Verona at Campbell County girls
Thursday: Beechwood at Conner boys, Newport Central Catholic at Cooper boys
Friday: St. Vincent-St. Mary (OH) vs Covington Catholic at McNicholas (Ohio)
Saturday: Simon Kenton vs Holy Cross boys at Scott, Covington Catholic vs Ballard at McNicholas (Ohio), Mercy vs Scott girls at Elizabethtown