Last undefeated team goes down.

Last undefeated team goes down.

 

Any other notes to this one? 10 is a tricky number to tell what kind of game it was. Was it close and NCC pulled away at the line or was it a comfortable lead for NCC most of the game?

NCC 21-14 at half. Brossart down 13 hit a three at end of 3rd quarter to cut it to 10. NCC lead down to 6 in 4th quarter Kiernan hit 3 point play to put it away with minute plus left.

Any other notes to this one? 10 is a tricky number to tell what kind of game it was. Was it close and NCC pulled away at the line or was it a comfortable lead for NCC most of the game?

 

Comfortable lead for most of the game. Stangs made a nice run to cut it to 6 but Breds had a three point play, a couple stops pushed lead back to 10. Ware had nice game ... really solid defensive effort. Kiernan scoreless in first half and then had a very solid second half. Watching her and Futscher compete was fun to watch. Each had good post moves and several defensive stops. Mays shot well from behind the arc. Schultz was key to the late run ... she had several nice post moves and drives to the basket. She also guarded Kiernan for most of the game.

Way to go Breds, Somebody texted me last night and asked what I thought the result would be, and I replied.......NewCath by 9, I was close.

Edited January 9, 201412 yr by mcpapa

Way to go Breds, Somebody texted me last night and asked what I thought the result would be, and I replied.......NewCath by 9, I was close.

 

They covered the prediction!

Edited January 9, 201412 yr by mcpapa

NewCath seems to have our number. In this case the number was four - the amount of points we put on the board in the second quarter.

 

Alexus Mayes got us for a bunch in last year's "A" state game, and got a bunch more tonight, scoring 18 points to lead all scorers, including four 3-pointers. Big ladies Kiernan (0) and Futscher (4) did not factor offensively in the first half, but made up for it in the second half to finish out with 28 points between them (F-15, K-13). Michaela Ware is sneaky quick and made quite a few key steals. I thought that Brossart sophomore Emily Schultz played a whale of a game, netting 13 while drawing the tough defensive assignment on Kiernan.

 

NCC is good defensively and their bigs (big) caused Futscher to have to adjust her inside shots tonight.

 

NCC wins round one. Looking forward to another Saturday morning semi-finals in the "A" State.

Forgot to mention that we were happy to have Andrew Kappes back in the broadcast booth with us tonight. He and Josh Feldmann were a hoot during the JV game. He and John Rolf did a great job calling the varsity game.

Andrew is back from his first year gig with the New York Yankees AAA affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Railriders, where he does play by play and serves in the marketing department.

 

The replay can be heard anytime on demand via the http://www.bmustangs website.

Couple other thoughts on the night:

 

New floor, new stands, etc. look great. I like the stained floor inside the three point line. Seither Center looking sharp. Kudos to those responsible for making that happen.

 

But players beware of the painted portion of the floor around mid court. Pretty slick for some reason. I'd assume the paint would be under the floor finish but several players from both teams fell victim to the newly painted mid court area. I watched all three games last night and at least two kids during each game slipped on that area when trying to make a cut or change directions.

 

Great crowd on hand to watch the game. Numbers might have been even better if Breds boy's weren't battling the Cooper Jaguars. Brossart student section was full and having fun.

 

Breds Frosh and JV also won in very competitive games.

Sorry I missed this game but Rupp Arena was calling my name last night! Congrats to the Lady Breds on taking down the last undefeated team!

Congrats to the Breds.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

ALEXANDRIA – There are no more undefeated girls basketball teams left in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds took care of the last of them Wednesday with a 50-40 victory here over the Bishop Brossart Lady Mustangs (11-1). The Thoroughbreds (12-1) grabbed the lead in the second quarter with an 8-0 run and never looked back.

“We didn’t play great,” said George Stoll, NewCath Head Coach. “But we gutted out a victory. That’s what good teams need to do.”

NewCath made seven three-pointers in the win compared to one for Brossart. The Thoroughbreds made 20-of-49 shots for 41 percent compared to 18-of-53 for 34 percent for the Lady Mustangs.

Both teams made 3-of-6 free-throw attempts for 50 percent in the loosely-called game. NewCath finished with 11 fouls and Brossart had 10.

NewCath posts Alexus Mayes and Nikki Kiernan did their usual damage. Mayes made four three-pointers on her way to 18 points and Kiernan scored all 13 of her points in the second half. Kiernan also had 10 rebounds for a double-double and blocked four shots.

But the Thoroughbreds received other contributions that Stoll had been looking for since NewCath’s lone loss Friday to Highlands. Starters Michaela Ware and Stephanie Lewis finished with eight points each. Lewis made both three-pointers in the first quarter and Ware had six assists.

“They learned their lesson from Friday,” Stoll said. “We (coaches) had them watch the video of that game by themselves. They critiqued themselves on it.”

Sarah Neace also got in on the outside shooting act in the second quarter. She made her lone three-pointer from the left wing with 2:50 left in the quarter to put NewCath up 19-12. Ware’s jumper with a second left in the quarter then put NewCath up 21-14 at halftime.

“It gives other players confidence that we can score also,” Neace said of hitting shots. “It pulls (opponents) off Nikki and Alexus. You just need to have confidence to shoot the way you’ve always been taught.”

Sarah Futscher and Emily Schultz kept Brossart within striking distance. Futscher finished with 15 points including 10 in the third quarer and Schultz had 13. Futscher blocked two shots and grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double.

“We did a great job defensively,” Stoll said. “We didn’t get much out of our press. But that was okay. We weren’t as aggressive because we felt we could guard them in the half-court.”

The Lady Mustangs had 11 turnovers and two steals to just seven turnovers and four steals for the Thoroughbreds. Lewis and Kiernan had the other two NewCath thefts. The Thoroughbreds limited Morgan Verst and Abby Stadtmiller to three points each.

“We win by our defense,” Kiernan said. “We get most of our points from it. We put (Ware) on Verst. We put (Lewis), who is one of our best defenders, on Stadtmiller then I guarded Futscher. We tried pressuring them because they don’t like a lot of pressure.”

One area of improvement for NewCath is rebounding. Brossart won that battle 39-30. The Lady Mustangs earned some second shots with 15 offensive rebounds compared to six for the Thoroughbreds.

NewCath scored the game’s first five points. After two Brossart scores, Lewis it consecutive three-pointers to give the Thoroughbreds an 11-4 lead with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

The Thoroughbreds tried to pull away in the third quarter. They led 37-22 with 2:49 left after Ware recorded a steal and score. But Brossart trimmed the margin to 39-29 entering the fourth quarter.

The Lady Mustangs cut the lead to 45-39 with 1:57 left in the game. But Kiernan recorded a three-point play and Mayes made two free throws to seal the deal.

NewCath continues a tough week in Independence tonight against Simon Kenton (13-2). Game time is 7:30 p.m.

 

Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath girls hand Brossart first loss; Highlands girls, NC boys win

The main difference in the game was unlike the other night against Highlands the Bred's were hitting enough outside shots that Brossart pretty much dared them to shoot. Also, the speed of Ware was difficult for the Mustangs to handle. Also, Brossart had a lot of close shots that just didn't fall. Both teams have good depth and should go a long way in the all A tourny.

The main difference in the game was unlike the other night against Highlands the Bred's were hitting enough outside shots that Brossart pretty much dared them to shoot. Also, the speed of Ware was difficult for the Mustangs to handle. Also, Brossart had a lot of close shots that just didn't fall. Both teams have good depth and should go a long way in the all A tourny.

 

In the right up, it appears the Breds hit 7 3-pointers to Brossart's 1. In the HHS game, NCC hit 5 to HHS' 0. Did the 2 more outside shots force Brossart out of the zone? Or were there other factors also?

The ball movement was much better against Brossart and didn't have nearly the amount of turnovers. Also, Brossart could not get anything going in transition.