? ? | Final from Latonia via Holy Cross Radio. 

? Rims shrunk at both ends today at "The Finn." HC's fate sealed by a scoreless eight minutes spanning Q1 and Q2.

NDA: 10 16 11 18 • 55

CHC: 10  3 11 18 • 42

? Thursday ~ 

PaNDAs (KY #12, 16-4, D35 2-0) visit Ryle. 

Indians (KY #10, 20-4, D35 1-1) host Campbell Co.

Feels like HC will be fortunate if they can get one tomorrow.  

I obviously felt NDA would get this one tonight, made it clear in the poll and called it out specifically, but not sure I saw a 13 point margin coming.  

Assuming Sophia and Megan McGraw both played?

26 minutes ago, The Double Deuce said:

Feels like HC will be fortunate if they can get one tomorrow.  

I obviously felt NDA would get this one tonight, made it clear in the poll and called it out specifically, but not sure I saw a 13 point margin coming.  

Assuming Sophia and Megan McGraw both played?

They did.* Gibson had a nice game. Deferring to @Baseball Nut 24 for stats. Always a treat tuning in to HCR.

* Edit: McGraw was called as a starter by the PA announcer. @rjal knows best I'm sure.

6 minutes ago, The Double Deuce said:

Feels like HC will be fortunate if they can get one tomorrow.  

I obviously felt NDA would get this one tonight, made it clear in the poll and called it out specifically, but not sure I saw a 13 point margin coming.  

Assuming Sophia and Megan McGraw both played?

Gibson played and had 25 points maybe.  Holy Cross didn’t really have an answer.  Megan did not play.  Holy Cross came out pressing and trapping and had a lot of steals in the first quarter and went out to a lead but couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives.  Notre Dame definitely beat them on the half court game.
 

Notre Dame played a deep bench and was able to play high energy defense the entire game. I would say they played 9 to 10 players. Holy Cross played  seven with the starting five getting the bulk of the playing time.  Several seemed gassed by the end of the game which didn’t help the shooting. 
 

all in all while this is a nice game to have for momentum and bragging rights. It is a meaningless game. The district tournament is were the win will mean something.

23 minutes ago, Runcible Owl said:

They did.* Gibson had a nice game. Deferring to @Baseball Nut 24 for stats. Always a treat tuning in to HCR.

* Edit: McGraw was called as a starter by the PA announcer. @rjal knows best I'm sure.

Erin started 

10 minutes ago, rjal said:

Gibson played and had 25 points maybe.  Holy Cross didn’t really have an answer.  Megan did not play.  Holy Cross came out pressing and trapping and had a lot of steals in the first quarter and went out to a lead but couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives.  Notre Dame definitely beat them on the half court game.
 

Notre Dame played a deep bench and was able to play high energy defense the entire game. I would say they played 9 to 10 players. Holy Cross played  seven with the starting five getting the bulk of the playing time.  Several seemed gassed by the end of the game which didn’t help the shooting. 
 

all in all while this is a nice game to have for momentum and bragging rights. It is a meaningless game. The district tournament is were the win will mean something.

Gibson had 25, played awesome, Lawrie played great in all facets. Megan McGraw did not play. Pandas went 10 deep, most of the subs played at least a quarter. HC out to a 9-2 lead but NDA tied it by the end of the quarter. Then had a great second quarter.
To give some context to the “rims shrinking” : HC was 3-21 from 3 and I would guess around 10-29 from 2/ NDA was 1-13 from 3 and 8-21 from the free throw line. 
All that said, Gibson was 11-12 and 3-5 from the line. Will be a fun rematch at the end of the month. 

15 minutes ago, rjal said:

Holy Cross played  seven with the starting five getting the bulk of the playing time.  

No shock there, Coach Arlinghaus famously doesn't go deep nor use his bench much.  

Have to wonder if that takes a toll on girls, especially with their style of play, late in the season.  

I'm sure he knows better than me, but I've always wondered if long term legs (and player development) isn't impacted some by such heavy reliance on 5 or 6 girls.  

1 hour ago, The Double Deuce said:

Feels like HC will be fortunate if they can get one tomorrow.  

I obviously felt NDA would get this one tonight, made it clear in the poll and called it out specifically, but not sure I saw a 13 point margin coming.  

Assuming Sophia and Megan McGraw both played?

You nailed that call DD!  Impressive!  Not sure I had the same confidence… NDA looked really good with the magnanimous return for Sophia Gibson. She looked stronger then I’ve seen her all year. 
 

If the Pandas can pair that performance with some 3 point shooters hitting at the same time…. Look out!  Nice performance off the bench by Riley Eberhard!  

2 hours ago, Legacy26 said:

Gibson had 25, played awesome, Lawrie played great in all facets. Megan McGraw did not play. Pandas went 10 deep, most of the subs played at least a quarter. HC out to a 9-2 lead but NDA tied it by the end of the quarter. Then had a great second quarter.
To give some context to the “rims shrinking” : HC was 3-21 from 3 and I would guess around 10-29 from 2/ NDA was 1-13 from 3 and 8-21 from the free throw line. 
All that said, Gibson was 11-12 and 3-5 from the line. Will be a fun rematch at the end of the month. 

A 13 point win shows some light on the PaNDAs, but if they depend on HC to go 3-21 from 3 again then they will lose the district tourney.

45 minutes ago, topper72 said:

A 13 point win shows some light on the PaNDAs, but if they depend on HC to go 3-21 from 3 again then they will lose the district tourney.

Kinda sorta agree… pandas shot poorly from 3 as well. 1 for the rest. They are better than they showed as well. It will be a battle in round 2. Excited to see it unfold. 

7 hours ago, topper72 said:

A 13 point win shows some light on the PaNDAs, but if they depend on HC to go 3-21 from 3 again then they will lose the district tourney.

Fair point, but I don't necessarily think the Pandas would expect to go 1-13 from 3 and 8-21 from the line, shooting 8% from three and 38% from the line, and winning a game by 13 against a quality opponent...that's definitely a surprise. 

7 hours ago, topper72 said:

A 13 point win shows some light on the PaNDAs, but if they depend on HC to go 3-21 from 3 again then they will lose the district tourney.

Is it the shooting team or the defensive team that's the cause of this?

HC was 5-20 in the Dixie game from 3.

When you're playing top 5 teams, you have to be on in all facets.  In 2 games vs Top 5 comp the last 2 weeks, HCs 3 point shooting seems to be off.

35 minutes ago, No Hiding Here....BC 21 said:

Is it the shooting team or the defensive team that's the cause of this?

HC was 5-20 in the Dixie game from 3.

When you're playing top 5 teams, you have to be on in all facets.  In 2 games vs Top 5 comp the last 2 weeks, HCs 3 point shooting seems to be off.

I have talked a lot about the importance of HC being efficient from the arc, because frankly, that is a gap for them.  Arlinghaus is a terrific shooter, but teams know that.  Nelson is more than capable, but her strength is driving the ball and getting to the basket.  The other girls in the rotation are streaky at best from distance, so I think against good teams, unless Arlinghaus gets a bunch of looks, this is who they will be.  

They also don't have a ton of size, so getting their own misses back won't happen with the frequency it did when you had Hunt and great rebounders like in years past.  

The fact of the matter is if you can handle pressure and not allow HC to get out into transition, you have a great chance at beating them.  That is easier said than done because they're well coached and committed to their style, but that seems to be the recipe. 

Congrats to Notre Dame they deserved to win this game. Overall it was a very poor shooting game for both teams as the stats below will show. These two teams will play again in a few weeks when it actually matters. Huge, huge congratulations to the people predicting a Notre Dame win. Proud of you guys!

I'm not worried in the least about Coach Arlinghaus. He is just fine the way he coaches and substitutes. He has won two All "A" State Championships and almost a third in a short period of time. He knows how to coach. Lol. Most coaches if you really watch the games and not just read box scores, will play 7 maybe 8 players in big games and especially come tournament time. If you play 9, 10 or even 11 players come tournament time you are in the minority.

This game was all about the 2nd quarter, where the Pandas outscored the Indians 16-3. The other 3 quarters were played even. Holy Cross was off balance in the 2nd quarter and Notre Dame had a lot to do with that. HC had too many turnovers during the pivotal quarter and ND was able to take a 13-point halftime lead which they would never led go. I think Holy Cross got to within 7 or 8 in the 4th quarter but were never able to get any closer.

Both benches wanted every call and the officials did the best they could considering the aggressive style by both teams. I believe the Notre Dame bench got a warning in the 2nd half due to complaining to officials. Senior Sophia Gibson was the difference in the game and dominated with 25 points all on layups or stick backs at the rim. Holy Cross will need to adjust a game plan next time around to contain her more. Can't wait for the rematch!

ND 10 16 11 18 - 55

HC 10 3 11 18 - 42

Notre Dame (16-4) - Gibson 25, M. Lawrie 10, Eberhard 6, Holtzapfel 6, A. Lawrie 4, Burden 4.

Holy Cross (20-4) - Nelson 20, Johnson 8, Williams 8, Carter 3, Arlinghaus 3.

Total FGs - ND 23-54 HC 13-51

3-Pt FG - ND 1-14 HC 3-19

FTs - ND 8-21 HC 13-22

Turnovers - ND 19 HC 16

Rebounds - ND 45 HC 31

Fouls - ND 15 HC 17