Holiday tournaments were on full go over the weekend and into Monday with some more action on Tuesday before Christmas will give way to a couple day break for teams on the hardwood.
Before presents get opened on Thursday morning, some teams got some early gifts with holiday hardware.
Cooper repeats in Queen of the Commonwealth
The Cooper girls basketball team won the Queen of the Commonwealth at Bullitt East for the second straight year as they won four games in four days capped off by a 59-52 victory over Henderson County in the championship on Monday.
Trailing 30-23 at the half, Cooper went on a 19-8 run in the third to seize control of the game and take the title. Haylee Noel scored 26 points to pace the Lady Jags while Alivia Scott added 13 points. Noel, Scott and Addyson Brissey were named to the All-Tournament team.
Cooper took down Hopkins County Central (51-37), North Hardin (53-37) and South Laurel (42-32) in the first three games to improve to 6-2 on the season. They return to action on Saturday at the Joe Lay and Sons Christmas Classic at Walton-Verona to face Calloway County at 7:45 p.m.
Holy Cross remains undefeated with title at Gateway Holiday Classic
The Holy Cross boys basketball team improved to 9-0 with a win over host Montgomery County in the championship of the Gateway Holiday Classic in Mt. Sterling. Holy Cross won the battle of the Indians, 90-83.
Luke Arlinghaus, Brady Gabbard and Nate Rominger were named to the All-Tournament team. Arlinghaus had a monster championship game with 39 points, Gabbard also pouring it in with 34 points. Arlinghaus had 33 in a semifinal victory over Scott County and scored 17 in the opening round victory over Bertie (NC). Gabbard had 16 in the semis and 21 in the first round.
Holy Cross will look to make it 10-0 when they return to the floor on Saturday at Xavier’s Cintas Center against Taylor (Ohio) at 7:45 p.m.
Campbell County takes down Holy Cross in girls Gateway title game
With Izzy Jayasuriya back in the lineup, the Campbell County girls basketball team took care of business to win the girls Gateway Holiday Classic in Mt. Sterling on Monday.
The Lady Camels defeated Holy Cross in overtime, 57-49. Jayasuriya had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the title game. Stella Brockman and Kendall Augsback along with Jayasuriya were named to the All-Tournament team with 11 and 10 points in the championship, respectively.
Jayasuriya scored 49 points and grabbed 34 rebounds in the three games as they took down Knox Central (71-58) in the opening round and Rockcastle County (73-37) in the semifinals.
St. Henry comes back to win Mercer Tourism Christmas Clash
Trailing 31-20 at halftime and 39-31 after three quarters, the St. Henry girls basketball team rallied to win the championship game of the Mercer Tourism Christmas Clash over West Jessamine, 47-45.
Audrey Pieczonka was named Tournament MVP while Gia Jones and Joey Powers made the All-Tournament team. The Crusaders defeated Mercer County (68-39) and Casey County (58-23) on their way to a title and improved to 7-2 on the season.
They’ll play Ursula Academy (OH) on Sunday at 8 p.m. in the Crosstown Catholic Challenge at Thomas More University.