Nieces of NBA All-Star Allan Houston make their mark in Girls’ Sweet 16
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- Ava Moore scored her 1,000th career point at Rupp Arena in Sweet 16 play.
- Kylie, Ava’s sister, provided length and impact off the bench.
- Assumption routed Calloway County 72-35, fueled by depth and multiple scorers.
Assumption’s bench erupted into applause after Ava Moore hit the second of two free throws leading into a media timeout Wednesday afternoon at the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16.
They weren’t celebrating a go-ahead score — the makes pushed the Rockets’ lead to 23 late in the third quarter of a rout, 72-35 over Calloway County — but an individual feat. With those free throws, Moore, a senior, passed 1,000 points for her career on the vaunted court at Rupp Arena.
Is there a better place to do it?
“No,” Moore said with a wide smile. “That’s what I’m saying. I loved it.”
Moore isn’t the only member of her family who’s left a mark at Rupp Arena; she wasn’t even the only one on Wednesday.
Her younger sister Kylie, a sophomore, comes off the bench for Assumption (25-5) but has been as much a factor in their dominance of Kentucky girls basketball this season as any of the Rockets’ starters. Her stat line against the Lakers (33-3) in just under 16 minutes: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
Kylie’s a multi-time state high-jump champion who’s on Team USA’s radar. Few teams have the luxury of bringing a 6-foot, lengthy defender off their bench; even fewer have girls like that whose athleticism rivals most girls in the country.
“She’s special, she’s our secret weapon,” Assumption head coach Caryn Kovatch said. “When she comes off the bench, you almost watch the reaction of the other team and coaches are like, ‘Wait a minute.’”
For Ava, getting to share moments like Wednesday’s with her sister — and getting to watch her flourish — is just as special as anything they do as individuals.
“Growing up, we’ve always played 1-on-1 or raced each other in the backyard or seeing how each other could jump,” Ava said. “I love her and I love having her as a sister. I have two other siblings and that’s how we all are with each other. It’s the main reason why we’re all such good athletes — as a family we just push each other and make each other better.”
Ava and Kylie come by their talents honestly: their mother, Lynn Houston Moore, won four ACC high-jump titles at Georgia Tech and is in the Yellow Jackets’ Hall of Fame.
And Lynn’s brother is Allan Houston, a two-time NBA All-Star and former Mr. Basketball winner who remains Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer more than 30 years after graduating. He led Ballard to the Boys’ Sweet 16 title in 1988.
Uncle Allan won his only state championship at Freedom Hall, but he did hit several big shots for Ballard as a sophomore en route to the 1987 finals at Rupp Arena (the Bruins lost 76-73 to Clay County). He later became a four-year thorn in the side of University of Kentucky basketball fans.
“He comes into town pretty often, and he’ll text me before or after a game,” Ava said. “It helps a lot to hear from him, because he has so much basketball experience, even if it’s just something like how to fix my shot, ‘keep your elbow in,’ or a ‘Hey great game’ or ‘I saw your game.’ I love hearing from him.”
Houston and others among the Assumption faithful will get to watch the Rockets at least once more on Friday when they face Frederick Douglass, a winner against Henderson County earlier Wednesday. The teams met in the regular season; Assumption ran away with a 67-35 win at home on Dec. 9.
The Rockets lost just one game to a Kentucky opponent, four-time defending state champion Sacred Heart, this season. They avenged a narrow regular-season loss (68-66) through a convincing 69-51 decision in the 7th Region championship last Saturday.
Their collective confidence was on full display against Calloway County as well as after the game ended.
“They’re relentless,” Kovatch said. “We’re gonna be hard to beat.”
Game notes
- Ashlinn James finished with 22 points on an 8-for-15 clip from the field to pace Assumption. It was also the Indiana commit’s 18th birthday.
- Se’Rae Bundrent-Palmer also finished in double figures (18 points) for the Rockets, who played in their first Sweet 16 game since 2007. It reached the semifinals that year, falling 46-41 to Iroquois.
- Division I signees Sayler Lowe (North Alabama) and Jaidan Koch (Southern Indiana) finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the Lakers. They were in the state tournament for the first time since 2011.