Girls’ high school basketball: Five things learned from holiday stretch
As the defending state champion with the returning Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, Ryle knows it has a target on its back this season and it has taken some lumps in the early going.
But those early losses came as Oregon commit Maddie Scherr and some other veterans nursed injuries.
There was some bad news last week for the state’s other contenders as Ryle returned from a holiday trip to rout defending 10th Region champ Clark County 68-50 and then bested defending 11th Region champ Scott County 71-64 on Saturday.
The Raiders are healthy and look ready to make their run.
“It was definitely tough, having to sit out a few games,” Scherr said Saturday after Ryle defeated Scott County in the Centria Metals/Penn Station Shootout at Franklin County. “We’ve had a lot of young girls step up and learn what it’s like to be on the varsity level. We’re competitive as a team. It’s a different year, but it’s the same goal. We’re looking to get back to that state championship and win.”
Taking the court at Saturday’s Franklin County marathon event were 13 of the top 25 girls’ teams in the state, according to the season’s first edition of Dave Cantrall’s Rating the State, which was published online Sunday. Combined with results from a grinding holiday schedule for many teams, they provided some eye-opening performances.
Here are five observations as classes resume and the road to Rupp Arena gets serious.
Sacred Heart looks scary
The No. 2 Valkyries (9-1) dominated a No. 22 South Laurel team that is expected to contend for the 13th Region title.
With the guard play of Kentucky commit Erin Toller and Radford commit Destinee Marshall, Sacred Heart stifled the Cardinals’ half-court attack and turned steals and their opponent’s missed baskets into easy transition points.
The Valkyries took their only loss on a Florida tournament trip, but they came back focused.
“This game, we all just really had our minds in it and were determined to get the win,” said forward Kristen Clemons, a Belmont volleyball commit who scored 24 points. “Naples really taught us a lot, taught us what we need to work on, what we’re good on and I think we just really came together as a team this week.”
Coach Donna Moir believes her team can be special if they share the ball. Toller and Marshall had seven and nine assists, respectively, on Saturday.
“We’re playing really, really well,” said Toller, who’s back for her senior year after missing the last two to ACL injuries. “Like our coach just said (in the locker room), she said that was a statement win.”
Ryle not going anywhere
With wins over Clark and Scott counties last week, the Raiders proved this new team still has enough to contend.
“Every year is new. Do we think we can go there? Absolutely,” said Coach Katie Haitz. “Do we have to do the little things? Do we have to be disciplined? Do we have to play as a team? Yes. If we do those things, we have an opportunity to go back to state.”
Junior Brie Crittendon has emerged as the team’s leading scorer, averaging better than 14 per game as Scherr got healthy. Scherr showed she was back in the win over Scott County with 30 points and 15 rebounds Saturday. With all her accomplishments, she said she remains hungry for more.
“I’ve been playing for this program for a long time. I think it’s my sixth year playing and it’s been a ride,” Scherr said. “I’m definitely just trying to take this year, you know, not take it for granted. It’s my senior year. Have fun with it, and I’m so competitive, I want to win.”
Getting closer
Franklin County Coach Joey Thacker worried about his team’s Saturday opponent, Dixie Heights, because the Colonels had topped No. 5 Mercy back on Dec. 7. Mercy is among the No. 9 Lady Flyers’ two losses.
Whatever concerns he had were answered Saturday when Franklin County ran off with a 76-38 win that saw his Flyers force 21 turnovers and hold the Colonels to less than 28 percent from the field.
“We’ve had a great week,” Thacker said. His team has won five straight, including a victory over No. 12 Bethlehem. “We’ve really challenged them in practice. I’ve been as hard on them as I have any group. I’ve always said if you take care of January, the rest of the season takes care of itself. And we’re off to, obviously, a good start in January. Hopefully, we keep rolling.”
Kentucky recruiting target Brooklynn Miles, a junior, led the team with 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, and the Flyers have seen the emergence of sophomores Jazmin Chambers and Nevaeh Carter to go along with the consistent scoring of fellow sophomore Patience Laster and senior Jasmine Simpson.
“We’ve definitely gotten better as a team, especially on the defensive end. We’re just bringing more energy as the year goes on,” Miles said. “Effort. That’s our main goal. We know we’ve got the pieces to do it, we just have to give the effort.”
Also in progress
Though No. 22 Scott County lost Saturday, the Cardinals showed the heart one would expect of a two-time defending 11th Region champion.
Scott County trailed by 10 with 3:41 left in the third quarter, but it scrambled to a 47-47 tie by the end of the period in a furious rally that included back-to-back threes from Morgan DeFoor.
Ultimately, though, Ryle outlasted Scott County by making its free throws down the stretch. The Raiders went 29 of 32 from the line to the Cardinals’ 10 of 26.
The Ryle game marked the end of a long December that included five losses and a tournament trip to Rock Hill, S.C. The five losses equal the number of Scott County defeats of the previous two seasons combined.
“I’m excited to get us more into a normal routine and get us back into practice,” Coach Steve Helton said. “We’re young. We need to practice. We’ve got three very experienced players with big-time credentials, big-time aspirations and we’ve got to find four, hopefully six more kids to go around them who will be able to perform on this stage.”
Anyone’s to win
Just like on the boys’ side of the game, no girls’ high school team has gone unblemished and established themselves as a clear favorite for the state title.
“I think it’s a conglomerate of (teams),” Franklin County’s Thacker said after watching many of the top teams play Saturday. “I think Ryle, obviously has (Scherr) back and they’ve been there and done that. Simon Kenton has been really impressive. And Sacred Heart — I would say those three (are top). And I think there’s seven or eight of us after that that on any given night could get hot and do some special things.”
