Good game through most of the contest - Ryle pulled away late after converting on some clutch free throws.

 

Tough situation for Ryle senior Ashley Cheesman as she was carted off by paramedics late in the 1st quarter after hitting her head on the ground fighting for a loose ball. Heard when I left the gym that her neck brace was taken off at the hospital and they were running a scan to check on a concussion. Sad set of events for a nice kid who was just returning from a knee surgery that had sidelined her all year - this was her second game back.

 

Key player stat's

 

Ryle:

 

Crittendon, 11 points, 9 rebounds

Oliverio 13 points

Douthit, 13 points

Johnson 7 points

 

Highlands:

 

Daley: 19 points, 9 rebounds

Schaefer: 9 points, 7 boards

Any updates on Ashley? Hope she is feeling better!

Wow! Rough year for Ms Cheeseman. Let's hope she gets to return.

By John Lachmann

[email protected]

UNION, Ky. – Senior forward Jenna Crittendon will never forget the scare her fallen teammate gave her as she attempted to help her up.

Raiders senior guard Ashley Cheesman battled for a loose ball with Highlands senior forward Ashley Watson late in the first quarter of Ryle’s 54-45 win over the Bluebirds on Saturday.

Cheesman fell awkwardly, head first to the hardwood. Crittendon extended her hand to Cheesman, who tried to sit up initially before falling limp to the floor.

“That, actually I’m really scarred for life,” Crittendon said. “I was trying to pick her up and all in the sudden I see her eyes roll into the back of her and (she) falls down, and I’m like, oh my God.”

The game was held up for 15 minutes with 1:22 left in the opening period as paramedics responded, immobilized Cheesman, strapped her to a gurney and drove her to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the teams returned to their locker rooms.

“I went back in there and they kind of had that blank look on their faces and I told them that she was going to be OK,” Oliverio said. “Told them the positives – (Cheesman) had movement and everything.”

After she was admitted to the hospital, Cheesman had her neck brace removed and had feeling in all of her extremities. She also wanted to know the score of the game.

“It was tough coming back for them, I know, emotionally,” Oliverio said. “They’re just high school kids, and they’re more concerned about their teammate than a basketball game there,” Oliverio said.

Highlands led, 11-10 at the time of the injury. Ryle scored three straight points to take a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Raiders extended their lead to six on an acrobatic reverse layup by junior forward McKell Oliverio, but the Bluebirds went on a 7-1 run to end the half tied at 24.

Highlands junior center Jesse Daley scored nine straight Bluebirds points in that frame, connecting on 5-of-6 free throws.

Ryle junior guard Dawn Johnson and Oliverio connected on field goals in the first minute to give the Raiders a four-point lead, and the teams traded baskets for the next five minutes, with Crittendon scoring all six Raiders points.

Bluebirds eighth-grade guard Brianna Adler hit her only shot of the game on an uncontested layup, and Daley banked in a shot from about 10 feet out to tie the score at 34 with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

Raiders guard Tyianna Douthit hit a 3-pointer and Highlands junior guard Emilie Parton answered with one of her own.

In the last 30 seconds, Bluebirds junior forward Leah Schaefer knocked down a field goal, Ryle junior forward Anna Monobe drained her only basket of the game and Highlands junior guard Vanessa Fisse laid one in with time running out to give the Bluebirds a 41-39 lead.

But after Daley scored 41 seconds into the fourth quarter, the shots stopped falling for Highlands.

Ryle ran off three straight buckets, capped off by a stickback by freshman forward Haylee Smith.

Parton scored what would be the last points of the game for the Bluebirds to tie the score at 45. Johnson answered with a basket, then drew a foul with 1:35 to play and hit both free throws.

Johnson drew another foul and hit one free to make it 50-45. Then Douthit hit two foul shots after drawing a foul to make it a seven-point game with 20 seconds left, icing the game.

Ryle held Highlands to four points in the final period, and none in the final 3:48.

“We switched some defenses up and the girls adjusted – we went to a zone, to a man,” Oliverio said. “I was really pleased with the girls making the adjustments and doing what we needed to do when we needed to do it. And then down the stretch they made the free throws, which was key.”

Douthit and Oliverio led the Raiders with 13 points each, and Crittendon added 11. It was Ryle's eighth straight win.

The Bluebirds, who are 3-6 in their last nine after a 6-2 start, were paced by Daley's game-high 19 points.

Despite their recent success, the Raiders had lost their last five meetings against the Bluebirds. Ryle’s last win vs. Highlands came nearly six years ago – a 44-32 victory on Jan. 17, 2006.

“We’ve never beaten them in the five years that I’ve been here, so I’m just glad that we beat them,” Crittendon said.

HIGHLANDS 11-13-17-4—45

at RYLE 13-11-15-15—54

HIGHLANDS (9-8): Fisse 2 2 6, Parton 3 0 7, Daley 7 5 19, Watson 0 2 2, Schaefer 4 1 9, Adler 1 0 2. Totals 17 10 45.

RYLE (15-2): Johnson 2 3 7, Douthit 4 2 13, Dixon 2 0 4, Oliverio 6 1 13, Crittendon 5 1 11, Smith 2 0 4, Monobe 1 0 2. Totals 22 7 54.

3-pointers: R—Douthit 3. H—Parton. JV: Ryle, 38-26.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.kypost.com/dpp/sports/ryle-survives-injury-to-top-highlands#ixzz1jafoXnnj