No. 2 Cooper overcomes slow start, sets up Sweet 16 showdown with No. 1 Sacred Heart
If there had been a lid on the basket, Cooper couldn’t have had a much worse shooting start Friday night. But the Jaguars gritted through a rough first quarter and found their rhythm to overcome Henderson County, 47-37, in the quarterfinals of the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
Cooper (31-4) missed its first four shots and quickly trailed 5-0. Logan Palmer scored five straight to even things before the Colonels responded with another 5-0 run to lead 10-5 through eight minutes.
The Jaguars finished 2-for-9 in the first quarter and were 4-for-19 late in the second before connecting on four of their next five shots to take an 18-15 lead into the break.
“I thought we were a little bit tense early in the game and part of that is because Henderson County’s really good,” Cooper coach Justin Holthaus said. “They’re really detailed on what they do, they’re very physical defensively, and offensively they just run their stuff.”
The Colonels (26-8) were without leading scorer Brooklyn Gibson (13 ppg), a sophomore injured during the Second Region semifinals. They were meticulous with their possessions, often using more than a minute of clock to find their shots. Most of them — 16 of the team’s 33 — were put up by sophomore A’Tylia Green, who had eight of Henderson County’s 15 makes for a game-high 21 points; she also dished out four assists.
Cooper almost finished making half of its shots (19 of 41) after the rough start, building a comfortable lead throughout the third quarter that carried them throughout the remainder. Freshman point guard Haylee Noel paced the Jaguars with 11 points while junior Zene Thompson chipped in eight points, her second straight game delivering much-needed energy off the bench.
“The varsity starters, I challenge them every single day and it really challenges me ‘cause they’re super good,” Thompson said of her practice habits. “I just keep myself conditioned and try to push them, and as I’m pushing them it really pushes me to be better.”
Look ahead
Friday’s night-session quarterfinals set up a showdown of the state’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams. Cooper, ranked second in the Cantrall Ratings, will get its third crack this season at twice-defending state champ Sacred Heart.
The Jaguars lost 54-42 at Sacred Heart on Dec. 8 before a closer defeat, 61-56, in the Louisville Invitational Tournament on Jan. 27. The teams have met at least once each of the last three seasons; Cooper’s last win came on Feb. 6, 2021 (53-51).
“It’s gonna be tough, we’re tired and they’re also going to be tired,” said Liz Freihofer, who scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds. “We made it to the final day of the high school basketball season and we’re just looking to get two more wins. We’ve seen Sacred Heart twice this season, so I think we’re prepared and ready for them. It’s just gonna be who the tougher team really is.”
Notes
▪ Cooper hadn’t qualified for the Sweet 16 until 2022, when it advanced to the semifinals in its debut. The Jaguars lost that year to Sacred Heart.
▪ Henderson County represented the Second Region for the sixth straight year and for the 17th time in the last 20 seasons. The Colonels have knocked on the door a few times but have never advanced to the state finals; this season’s roster was without a single senior and featured just three juniors. “We’ll be back better than ever,” sophomore Addy Gish told Henderson County’s postgame radio show.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 11:10 PM.