Link to the game winning shot.

 

Ware wins for NewCath

Amazing. Appears NDA is in a 2-3 zone. Ware gets a nice screen at the top by Mayes, then basically goes uncontested (matador defense) for a Region winning layup.

 

Great attack by Ware, but doesn't anyone know how to take a charge?!

Amazing. Appears NDA is in a 2-3 zone. Ware gets a nice screen at the top by Mayes, then basically goes uncontested (matador defense) for a Region winning layup.

 

Great attack by Ware, but doesn't anyone know how to take a charge?!

 

The Bull won. :lol2:

The Bull won. :lol2:

Same shot that beat HC in all a classic.....

Not a student section per say' date=' but there were about the same, if not more, throughout the NewCath section. Overall, both teams deserve better from the peers.[/quote']

 

 

Couldn't agree more! Drives me insane that the girls teams at all schools don't get the student support.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS – If the script sounds familiar, it’s because it has happened before.

It’s just bigger this time because it led to a 9th Region girls basketball championship. Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbred junior point guard Michaela Ware dribbles to the right of the paint, a teammate sets a huge pick near the free-throw line and Ware hits the game-winning lay-up in the waning seconds before taller players can slide over and block the shot. She did it again in Sunday’s 9th Region championship in overtime with about a second left to lift NewCath to a 48-46 win over the defending champion Notre Dame Pandas (22-9). Teammate Alexus Mayes set the huge pick.

The Thoroughbreds (29-4) won their fourth region title since 2003 as a result at the Bank of Kentucky Center on the Northern Kentucky University campus. The other three came in 2003, 2005 and 2011. NewCath also avenged a 39-26 loss to the Pandas on Feb. 13 on The Hill.

Ware has a lot of experience hitting game-winning lay-ups. She did it with three seconds left in the All “A” 9th Region semifinals against Covington Holy Cross and at Highlands last year.

“I knew I had to be strong, because even if I drew a foul, (the Panda players) were bigger than me,” Ware said. “Having that feeling before, I was obviously used to it. But it’s still nerve-racking. I just focused on finishing.”

NewCath Head Coach George Stoll served as an assistant to Ron Dawn on the 2011 team. That team lost to Calloway County, 62-57 in the first round of the state tournament. The Thoroughbreds snapped a three-game losing streak to the Pandas dating back to the 2011 region tournament.

“We went into this feeling like we should win the tournament,” Stoll said. “But I’m sure Notre Dame felt the exact same way. We were able to overcome that last hump at the end. I’m so happy for them. They deserved this.”

Ware finished with 13 points. She scored nine of them in the fourth quarter and in overtime. Two buckets pulled NewCath to within one in the final 2:45 in regulation and another tied the game at 44 with 50.3 second left. Ware also had five assists.

“It’s a high ball screen,” Stoll said. “It gives you a chance to make a play. It’s not about any certain thing coming open. We had a shooter in the corner and she was able to make a play.”

The Thoroughbreds had a chance to win it in regulation. But NewCath could not get off a clean shot with 1.5 seconds left.

Tournament Most Valuable Player Nikki Kiernan again carried the Thoroughbreds with 20 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double. She also had two assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

“I’m very happy for (my teammates) to experience this since I got to experience it as a freshman,” Kiernan said. “It’s just an unbelievable feeling.”

Paige Kellam and Elly Ogle had great games to lead Notre Dame. Kellam had 22 points and Ogle, a Louisiana State volleyball commit, had 12. Kellam hit a jumper with 2:48 in overtime to give Notre Dame a 46-44 advantage.

“Most of Ogle’s scoring was lay-ups,” Stoll said. “It was us not boxing out or playing good on-ball defense. We didn’t make any real adjustments. We got down, guarded, boxed out and did a better job on her.”

NewCath tied the game again with 1:08 remaining. Stephanie Lewis drew a foul and made both free throws.

The Thoroughbreds shot free throws better than they did in the semifinals against Holy Cross making 13-of-17 for 76 percent while Notre Dame made just 7-of-14 for 50 percent. NewCath made 17-of-40 shots for 43 percent compared to 19-of-46 for 41 percent.

Notre Dame did have some offensive putbacks. The Pandas won the rebounding battle, 31-29 including 12-9 on the offensive glass.

The Pandas led a good majority of the game. They led 12-6 at one point in the first quarter. An Ogle offensive putback gave them a 14-9 lead entering the second quarter.

But the Thoroughbreds fought back and tied the game at 14. Kiernan made a triple from the right wing with 5:50 remaining.

Kellam hit a free throw and lay-up to put Notre Dame up 17-14 before Lewis hit a jumper. Ogle scored two more times. Those scores sandwiched an Ansley Davenport jumper. The Pandas led 21-18 at halftime.

The Thoroughbreds scored the first six points of the third quarter to go up 24-21. Davenport, Ware and Kiernan scored during that time.

But Notre Dame scored the next seven points to go up 28-24. Kiernan hit a jumper to trim the margin to 28-26 entering the fourth quarter.

The Pandas tried to pull away. Kellam made two free throws with 4:55 remaining to put Notre Dame up 34-29. But Kiernan hit two free throws and recorded a steal and score to cut the margin to 34-33 with 4:15 remaining.

Notre Dame did go up 39-35 after a Carlee Clemons offensive putback. But Ware recorded a three-point play with 2:45 left to trim the margin to 39-38.

“I just had to have confidence in my shot,” Ware said. “I’d been struggling with my shot previously. I had to see it go in.”

NewCath takes on 6th Region champion Louisville Butler (28-3) at 7:30 p.m. EST in the first round of the state tournament Wednesday at E.A. Diddle Arena at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Butler beat Notre Dame, 58-28 on Jan. 31 in the Louisville Invitational Tournament.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Ware's lay-up lifts NC girls to region crown

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Awesome shot Allen

Couldn't agree more! Drives me insane that the girls teams at all schools don't get the student support.

Since no one else will say it, I will. Let's just be honest. They don't get the support from "most" because the game is just brutal. It's slow, boring and just not well played. I wouldn't pay to watch womens hoops at the college level. Much less high school. That game winning layup is proof in the pudding. Untouched to the basket with time running out? Come on.

 

Now, i'm well aware that this is where the parents of some girls bball players are going to attempt to crush me but the truth is the truth. To be fair, there are a lot of boys HS games I wouldn't pay to see either.

 

Totally agree with whoever posted it above, back to back finals games is definitely the way to go.

Congratulations to the Breds. Good luck in Bowling Green make NKY proud!

Ken Shields was right!

 

This is a case where Title IX with all of its good intentions, creates a negative situation by overlooking the common sense factor of playing the girls games in a more cozy environment. And then there are the wasted costs.

Congrats to the lady Breds.

I was speaking to a former NKU basketball player and asked him if it would have been nice to be able to play his games as the BOK. He told me the facility is great and the amenities that come with the new stadium would have been great, but playing in front of what seems empty stands was not as fun as a nice crowd that seemed much louder in a cozy arena like Regents.

Couldn't agree more! Drives me insane that the girls teams at all schools don't get the student support.

 

The image of the NDA fans showed me there were more students there than the boys semi between Holmes and Dixie.

Since no one else will say it, I will. Let's just be honest. They don't get the support from "most" because the game is just brutal. It's slow, boring and just not well played. I wouldn't pay to watch womens hoops at the college level. Much less high school. That game winning layup is proof in the pudding. Untouched to the basket with time running out? Come on.

 

Now, i'm well aware that this is where the parents of some girls bball players are going to attempt to crush me but the truth is the truth. To be fair, there are a lot of boys HS games I wouldn't pay to see either.

 

Totally agree with whoever posted it above, back to back finals games is definitely the way to go.

 

 

10 years ago I would have agreed with this point of view. You have to learn to appreciate the girls game for what it is. Once you get to know the teams/players the game becomes much more enjoyable to watch. The casual fan will probably never become a huge fan of the girls game, but talk with several people who follow both and they'll tell you they enjoy watching the ladies play too.

10 years ago I would have agreed with this point of view. You have to learn to appreciate the girls game for what it is. Once you get to know the teams/players the game becomes much more enjoyable to watch. The casual fan will probably never become a huge fan of the girls game, but talk with several people who follow both and they'll tell you they enjoy watching the ladies play too.

 

Bench is correct and you are as well.

 

If you do not watch a lot of girls games you can't appreciate them. I get why they don't have a lot of casual fans coming out. Casual means you might see them once during the year. That's tough because it's a completely different game than what you're used to.

 

If you do not have a personal connection to the school, coach, and/or players on the team it's tough to get into if you don't have a lot of experience watching girls games.

Since no one else will say it, I will. Let's just be honest. They don't get the support from "most" because the game is just brutal. It's slow, boring and just not well played. I wouldn't pay to watch womens hoops at the college level. Much less high school. That game winning layup is proof in the pudding. Untouched to the basket with time running out? Come on.

 

Now, i'm well aware that this is where the parents of some girls bball players are going to attempt to crush me but the truth is the truth. To be fair, there are a lot of boys HS games I wouldn't pay to see either.

 

Totally agree with whoever posted it above, back to back finals games is definitely the way to go.

 

Almost untouched

After a steady diet of high school girls games I watched an 8th grade boys game on Sunday and was stunned at the frenzied pace. Even at that young age the boys were quicker, jumped higher, could turn on a dime more accurately, could get off a jump shot a lot faster and were just more athletic. I was told that one of the 8th-grade players had thrown down a dunk a couple of games earlier, and he nearly pinned a shot high on the glass in this game. The zip of the passes and the frantic fast breaks were exciting. "I can't believe these kids are just in the 8th grade," my wife kept saying.

 

In that sense, the game offered the casual fan something the typical girls game doesn't.

 

And no doubt to an experienced fan a typical girls game has its share of frustrating moments: A dozen times a (girls) game I find myself thinking "geez, if you lifted your head when you dribbled you'd have seen your teammates wide open" or "a bounce pass wouldn't have gotten picked off" or "roll after setting that pick" or "fill the lanes on the break!!!"

 

But magicfan and clyde are right, too. The girls game is fun to watch too -- especially when you know the players and their strengths, when you watch game after game how a team begins to mesh and find itself, when you see a girl step up and have a big game, and when the careful execution of a coach's strategy allows a less talented (or smaller or slower or younger) team win a game it shouldn't. And in a 3-point shot or foul shot contest? I might bet on the girls. Some of them are just deadly.

 

There were plenty of "mistakes" by players on both sides in the Holy Cross-NewCath game the other night. But there was plenty of brilliant, courageous and gutsy play as well. And for the outcome to be in doubt even AFTER the buzzer sounded (with the potential game-winning shot still in the air)? I doubt a single fan in that arena -- whether a casual fan or a parent uniquely familiar with the players -- walked out thinking they didn't get their money's worth ... even at $8.