Ryle comes out on top of the defending champs.

All things considered, I think Kez Murphy is okay with this result. One of the best, if not the best team in the 9th, and Holy Cross plays them almost even with its only inside player sidelined. Come late February and early March, both of these teams are going to be in the hunt.

 

As for Ryle, they are long and skilled, but IMO they need Maddie Scherr speed and athleticism on the floor. I was also impressed to see the leadership role she took as an 8th grader on the floor with predominately seniors on the floor with her.

The only advantage that Ryle had in this game which they will have on most teams all year is there size. Even with the there size they didn't have an answer for Mclendon all night long Ryle coach was yelling in team huddle about having to close the gap keep her from penetrating. As for coaching in this one everyone who says coach Murphy isn't a good coach he made a pretty good coaching adjustment that gave rule fits in the second half with there 3-2 zone they had played the whole game! Putting Beal on the foul line made ryle have to actually think on defense and not sit back and use there size. Not taking anything away from Ryle as I have not seen Holmes play yet this year but after last nights game I wouldn't put Ryle in my top spot for the 9th region rankings! They are for sure good and there size is a hard matchup for anyone but not #1 in the region or northern Kentucky. As for not shooting well Tucker and Gabbered didn't shoot well last night, Beal and Mclendon scoring kept HC in it, without shooting well. So I wouldn't say it would have been a double digit win if Ryle shot Better. What I noticed will kill this Ryle team is after Jump they have no other real inside presence who can finish around the rim, Lange sp? Has a great jump shot but around the rim her game drops off! Like stated before these two teams will be in the hunt come tourney time, good luck to these two teams from here on!

Edited December 19, 201510 yr by Panther15

I don't know that I share the negative perception of Ryle that Panther has, but I think it is inappropriate and, frankly, wrong, to say that if "Ryle shoots their normal percentage this is a double digit win". Obviously if things were different, the outcome might have been different. IF HC doesn't turn the ball over after McClendon's steal, it's an L instead of a W. IF HC's only big plays, they get much better looks from the perimeter and they knock down more 3's. Dangerous thing to use the "if" thing. It should be enough that it was a close game that was ultimately decided because Ryles point guard made clutch free throws and HC just missed a shot at the buzzer that would have sent it to OT.

Holy Cross obviously plays with a lot of heart and basketball smarts. That's awesome, and fun to watch, but it will only carry you so far. What they are missing this year is what Ryle has, which is athleticism and size. Ryle has potential. Good luck to both teams!

I disagree. Ryle did not have anymore athleticism than Holy Cross! Maybe what you consider athleticism is different than most. Being big doesn't make you athletic does it? Maybe slower but certainly not athletic. Because I know HC has a couple of the most athletic guards in the region.. Now, this being players with true athleticism and extremely fast...Also as previously mentioned in this thread, Holy Cross does has size and their inside player was on the sideline for that game, she's 6'2".. Also, having seen the talent here and down south, I think Ryle fans are thinking too far ahead of themselves. They may have size, but so has many other teams that have not made it out of region. For instance, Ryle played Holy Cross with a 3 point win. Now, I'll give you the size since their center wasn't playing....but for a team with no athleticism, you'd think there would be a bit more than a Three point play in the final score?! Good luck Ryle the rest of the year.

I don't know that I share the negative perception of Ryle that Panther has, but I think it is inappropriate and, frankly, wrong, to say that if "Ryle shoots their normal percentage this is a double digit win". Obviously if things were different, the outcome might have been different. IF HC doesn't turn the ball over after McClendon's steal, it's an L instead of a W. IF HC's only big plays, they get much better looks from the perimeter and they knock down more 3's. Dangerous thing to use the "if" thing. It should be enough that it was a close game that was ultimately decided because Ryles point guard made clutch free throws and HC just missed a shot at the buzzer that would have sent it to OT.

 

No intention to offend on my part so apologies if I did so. I've said from the start of this season HC has one of the very best PGs in the state and will be a team in the hunt. As a fan of Ryle program my comment was statistical analyses. Not sure if you saw the game but on no less than 7 occasions, Ryle got the shot they wanted as in proper pass made, defense was beat, offensive player had the advantage and missed the lay up..not talking about if the 3's would fall...not talking about if a better move had been made to beat the D..talking about lay ups...put at least 3 of those 7 buckets on the board (conservative)/Ryle was also one of the top free throw shooting teams in the state coming into that game (73%) and shot 50%..no defense involved in defending a FT.."normal" night put 5 pts back on the board..so between FTs and missed lay ups, at least 10 points left on the floor. My comment was not meant as offense to HC but commentary on things Raiders can improve on for future. Good luck to Indians rest of way!