Any given night in the 9th Region.
For the top five or six girls teams in the region, each is capable of beating one another on any given night.
On Thursday, it was Dixie Heights taking down Holy Cross in overtime 64-63. Asia Carner sunk a free throw with 13 seconds left to win it, the Indians final shot at the horn unable to fall.
“It definitely felt like a March atmosphere,” Colonels coach Joel Steczynski said. “It’s nice to have these as you get closer to that, because both of our teams learn from that environment. You learn how to play with the lead, play from behind, play when the game is on the line, tied, all that stuff. So it’s a great opportunity, great experience for our kids.”
Dixie’s potion is balance and they got it on Thursday as six different players scored at least five points led by Carner and Catherine Buddenberg with 16 points apiece. Coralee Pelfrey added 11 points with a team-high eight rebounds, Peyton Gibson with nine and Harper Allen and Hope Tignor with five apiece.
“I wouldn’t want to guard us,” Steczynski said. “Any given night you have seven or eight players that can really put a lot of points on the board and get into double-digits. It’s great for the girls because they’re really starting to understand the game and see what things we’re looking for and what’s going to give us the best opportunity to score on any given night.”
PHOTOS: Holy Cross-Dixie Heights overtime battle (slideshow provided by Charles Bolton)
The Colonels were down two players due to injury in starter Jordan Puitz and sixth man Aubrey Elkins. Thursday’s victory improved them to 7-2 in region play and now have wins over Holy Cross, Notre Dame with losses to Highlands and Notre Dame. They still have to face Cooper on Feb. 13.
RELATED: Dixie Heights takes down Notre Dame
Holy Cross was led by Aumani Nelson with 18 points, Alyssa Arlinghaus adding 17 with seven steals and D’Myah Williams posting a 12 point, eight rebound stat line.
It’s just the second loss in region play for the Indians, dropping to 19-3 on the season. They’ve defeated Cooper and have losses to Highlands and now Dixie Heights with Notre Dame looming on Feb. 5 in a big 35th District showdown.
“It’s so wide open compared to years past,” Indians coach Ted Arlinghaus said. “You have to give credit where credit is due, Cooper has owned Northern Kentucky and the 9th Region in particular the last three years. They’re still one of the top teams this year, us and Dixie, Highlands, Notre Dame, Ryle…you just keep going right down the list and it’s going to be tough. It will be important to win district this year. If you don’t, your path is a lot tougher.”
Getting to the final score was a rollercoaster.
First Holy Cross jumped out to leads of 6-0 and 13-7 in the first only to be answered by a 17-2 run from Dixie for a 24-15 lead into the early stages of the second quarter.
Dixie looked in control from there, taking a 38-27 lead into halftime and leading by as much as 13 in the third before taking a 47-38 lead into the fourth.
“Just played as a team and got back on defense. We didn’t get in our heads and grouped together,” Carner said. “We kept each other up.”
This one carried a little more weight for Carner, the Holy Cross game last season on Dec. 5, 2023, the one she broke her foot in.
Then Holy Cross was able to implement their brand of basketball.
“It doesn’t necessarily always show itself in the first half or maybe in part of the third quarter, but once you start getting to start getting to that tail end of the third quarter, getting into the fourth it’s tough to have somebody like Aniyah Carter or Jai Johnson just hounding you all game long,” Arlinghaus said.
Their pressure caught up to the Colonels, forcing numerous turnovers (24 total on the night) and creating a 21-8 run as they took a 59-55 lead with 1:46 to play. The Indians flipped the game on its head.
“That’s one thing I love about our team,” Arlinghaus said. “I don’t ever have to coach effort. They’re going to get after it, they’re going to be tenacious.”
But the grit and balance from Dixie helped them tie things up, a Carner layup followed by a Payton Gibson floater to make it 59-59 with 20 seconds remaining.
Holy Cross had two great looks to win it in regulation, but D’Myah Williams and then Ella Lehmkuhl had shots hit every part of the rim and bounce out with the buzzer sounding.
Four extra minutes would be played, Holy Cross having to do so without Nelson, who fouled out in the later stages of the fourth.
“The three games we’ve lost Aumani has fouled out,” Arlinghaus said. “If there’s a common denominator, maybe that’s it.”
After Williams and Catherine Buddenberg traded 1-of-2 free throw makes, it was Carner stepping into a 3-pointer and giving Dixie a 63-60 lead with a little over a minute to play in the extra period.
Holy Cross wasn’t done yet as Jai Johnson hit 1-of-2 free throws and Williams followed with a layup off a steal with less than 15 seconds left to make it 63-all.
But Carner was then fouled in the backcourt, misfiring the first free throw attempt. It was her first missed free throw of the night out of seven attempts.
“I was nervous,” Carner said. “Hitting free throws all night and missed the first one and I was like, ‘Oh, gosh.'”
But Carner responded by making the second and giving them a 64-63 with 13 seconds to play.
The Indians last chance came from Arlinghaus, her 3-point attempt at the buzzer coming up short.
If this game is any indicator, Truist Arena in March is going to be a ton of fun for the 9th Region tournament.