Highlands 67 South Oldham 39

[RCC9]

I'm still shaking my head at the margin of this one because I felt SO has some really nice players and were coached very well. They could handle it, defend and shoot it. I was impressed with many of the players on this team. They did struggle with Leigh because they didn't have as much size, but outside of that, these two teams have similar makeup. The difference in the game is Highlands ability to speed you up and change look constantly. The defense is so fluent that they are on the way to the next pass before you throw it. And that seemed to bother the SO crew.

 

HHS led from the beginning, jumping out to a 12pt lead at the end of one. SO played well in that qtr, just didn't finish at the rim.

 

HHS increased the lead to 16 at the half.

 

At the end of the 3rd, they have moved to a 57-27 lead. They went on to win by the final. Both teams emptied the be emptied the benches early in the fourth.

 

In my opinion, SO is a good, well coached team. HHS is just playing very well. They can handle it, shoot it and defend. Again, I can be pretty critical is them, but yet another game where I'm having trouble finding things they could do better. It's girl's basketball...so we'll ride the wave for now! But you never know what's aroung the next corner.

 

Nice job Birds and good luck to South Oldham.

[Dixiefan1]

I'm still shaking my head at the margin of this one because I felt SO has some really nice players and were coached very well. They could handle it, defend and shoot it. I was impressed with many of the players on this team. They did struggle with Leigh because they didn't have as much size, but outside of that, these two teams have similar makeup. The difference in the game is Highlands ability to speed you up and change look constantly. The defense is so fluent that they are on the way to the next pass before you throw it. And that seemed to bother the SO crew.

 

HHS led from the beginning, jumping out to a 12pt lead at the end of one. SO played well in that qtr, just didn't finish at the rim.

 

HHS increased the lead to 16 at the half.

 

At the end of the 3rd, they have moved to a 57-27 lead. They went on to win by the final. Both teams emptied the be emptied the benches early in the fourth.

 

In my opinion, SO is a good, well coached team. HHS is just playing very well. They can handle it, shoot it and defend. Again, I can be pretty critical is them, but yet another game where I'm having trouble finding things they could do better. It's girl's basketball...so we'll ride the wave for now! But you never know what's aroung the next corner.

 

Nice job Birds and good luck to South Oldham.

 

You are right about the defense RC.. got to watch in action Friday night at GC.. very stifling and in your face. What is your take on the officiating so far this season?

[coachforlife]

You are right about the defense RC.. got to watch in action Friday night at GC.. very stifling and in your face. What is your take on the officiating so far this season?

 

Did South Oldham lose to Fern Creek? If so.....not so sure how good they are????

[RCC9]

You are right about the defense RC.. got to watch in action Friday night at GC.. very stifling and in your face. What is your take on the officiating so far this season?

 

I'm a tough one to ask about the officiating beacause I don't really pay attention to it unless it's one sided either way. And HHS doesn't get in too much foul problems because even though they attack a lot, they do a good job of moving their feet and keeping their hands off the offense. They have been trained well and it helps, even in closely called games. Personally, I haven't had any issue with officials yet. Not saying they were all terrific, cause I felt some were bad for both teams. But when that's the case, it doesn't bother me too much. All I look for is consistency...even if it's consistently bad...because it usually equals out.

[RCC9]

Did South Oldham lose to Fern Creek? If so.....not so sure how good they are????

 

Wow! Really? Well I'm just saying I saw talent on the floor. Haven't seen or know who they have played or not. Nor do I know the situation of the game when they played Fern Creek. Any injuries, sickness or foul trouble? I'm just saying they had some nice players. Doesnt mean I'm predicting they are going to win state. Is it so bad to give credit to the other team??

[PsalmsG]

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team continued to wreak havoc on the opposition with another convincing win Saturday.

The South Oldham Lady Dragons came to town and Highlands handed them a 67-39 defeat to stay perfect on the season at 5-0. The Ladybirds have outscored those five opponents, 339-192 on the season for a 29.4 point average margin of victory.

“A lot of these players are so unselfish,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. “They’re not afraid to make the extra pass. They’ve been playing together for a long time and they trust each other.”

Highlands smashed another opponent with offensive balance. Three Ladybirds reached double-digits in the win. Senior Alex Combs led the way making 3-of-3 three-point tries for 16 points. Teammates Zoie Barth and McKenzie Leigh scored 12 points each.

Leigh tore up South Oldham’s 2-3 zone in the middle using her 6-foot-1-inch advantage. That forced South Oldham to collapse and that opened things up for Combs from the outside. Leigh added three blocked shots defensively.

“We really work on moving the ball around to get the defense out of place then get it inside to me,” Leigh said. “If I don’t have a shot, I usually try to kick it out. We’ve having so much fun and we love it.”

Highlands also did a lot of damage attacking the basket. Barth hit 8-of-9 free throws constantly drawing fouls doing that.

The Ladybirds did a wonderful job passing the ball, especially in transition. They had 12 assists to two for the Lady Dragons. Brianna Adler and Lydia Graves had three assists each for Highlands.

Highlands made 22-of-45 shots for 49 percent including 4-of-15 from three-point land for 27 percent. The Ladybirds also made 19-of-25 free throws for 76 percent.

Defensively, Highlands held South Oldham to 14-of-46 shooting for 30 percent, including 3-of-17 from outside for 18 percent. The Lady Dragons also made just 8-of-16 free throws for 50 percent. Abby VanZant and Sydney Jones scored 10 points each for South Oldham.

The Ladybirds pressured the Lady Dragons all over the court forcing 23 turnovers on 16 steals. Coffey and Kristyn Lukjan led Highlands with three steals each. Highlands led 16-2 to start the game.

“(Ball pressure) is very important and the girls know it,” Richey said. “We have to rotate better and they are understanding that. They’re getting in the passing lanes to get steals.”

Highlands won the rebounding battle, 33-31. Senior Lydia Graves led the Ladybirds with four rebounds.

Highlands led 16-4 after one quarter and 33-17 at halftime. The Ladybirds put the game away with a 22-10 third quarter to go up 55-27. That led the reserves play in the fourth quarter. After the top seven for Highlands, Lukjan, Whitney Quillen, Lauren Epperson, Emma Little and Olivia McQueary scored.

Highlands does not play again until Friday at Campbell County (4-2). Game time is 7:30 p.m.

 

Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Highlands girls stay undefeated

[Dixiefan1]

I'm a tough one to ask about the officiating beacause I don't really pay attention to it unless it's one sided either way. And HHS doesn't get in too much foul problems because even though they attack a lot, they do a good job of moving their feet and keeping their hands off the offense. They have been trained well and it helps, even in closely called games. Personally, I haven't had any issue with officials yet. Not saying they were all terrific, cause I felt some were bad for both teams. But when that's the case, it doesn't bother me too much. All I look for is consistency...even if it's consistently bad...because it usually equals out.

 

I was at the GC/HHS game and I thought it was bad, but not nearly as bad as it was at SK the night before. The difference in the 2 games is the bad officiating didn't affect the outcome in the HHS game, but when 6 starters foul out of a game and there is close to 50 fouls called like the GC/SK game I think it does have an effect on the outcome. There were 2 fouls called on shooters, one on each team and all they did was get the ball and go up and shoot jumpers..very confusing...

[RCC9]

I was at the GC/HHS game and I thought it was bad, but not nearly as bad as it was at SK the night before. The difference in the 2 games is the bad officiating didn't affect the outcome in the HHS game, but when 6 starters foul out of a game and there is close to 50 fouls called like the GC/SK game I think it does have an effect on the outcome. There were 2 fouls called on shooters, one on each team and all they did was get the ball and go up and shoot jumpers..very confusing...

 

Well I didn't make the Grant game. I had a sick lil guy, so I got updates! So I can't comment on that one!

[Sweeperboy]

I'm still shaking my head at the margin of this one because I felt SO has some really nice players and were coached very well. They could handle it, defend and shoot it. I was impressed with many of the players on this team. They did struggle with Leigh because they didn't have as much size, but outside of that, these two teams have similar makeup. The difference in the game is Highlands ability to speed you up and change look constantly. The defense is so fluent that they are on the way to the next pass before you throw it. And that seemed to bother the SO crew.

 

HHS led from the beginning, jumping out to a 12pt lead at the end of one. SO played well in that qtr, just didn't finish at the rim.

 

HHS increased the lead to 16 at the half.

 

At the end of the 3rd, they have moved to a 57-27 lead. They went on to win by the final. Both teams emptied the be emptied the benches early in the fourth.

 

In my opinion, SO is a good, well coached team. HHS is just playing very well. They can handle it, shoot it and defend. Again, I can be pretty critical is them, but yet another game where I'm having trouble finding things they could do better. It's girl's basketball...so we'll ride the wave for now! But you never know what's aroung the next corner.

 

Nice job Birds and good luck to South Oldham.

 

 

Sorry to hear this...always hate it when things get a little chippy...who said what to get this started? Was anyone ejected?...:thumb:

[AllenR]

Sorry to hear this...always hate it when things get a little chippy...who said what to get this started? Was anyone ejected?...:thumb:

 

I took that to mean that both teams had pulled the starters and played their benches.

[Jayhawk95]

That's what happened. The benches got cleared the last 3 1/2 min. It was more like a JV reunion from the earlier game.

[crazy8s]

Highlands is a solid squad. Lots of weapons and South had no answer. Turnovers early set the tone. Team is still adjusting to the new coaches and style of play. They are getting better with every game and will continue to improve as the season progresses. To note on another post, Fern Creek is 5-1 with at 6'2 center and very good point guard. Game was close and lead changed several times. South had opportunities but the shots did not fall and had to foul which made the final score not as close. South has been upside down with the fouling though and are not seeing the types of games with tons of fouls. Fern Creek shot 20 ft's to 3 for South. They were not in the bonus in either half. They have shot very few free throws for the season and only been in the bonus maybe twice in 4 games.