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Newport Central Catholic 62, Covington Holy Cross 43: The Thoroughbreds won their 20th game of the season against just three losses with a home win over the Lady Indians (15-6). NewCath edged Holy Cross, 39-37 on Jan. 17 in the All “A” 9th Region Tournament. NewCath equaled last year’s win total in the process. The Thoroughbreds won just two games after finishing All “A” State runner-up last year. Nikki Kiernan led the way with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. She went over 1,000 rebounds for her career and ranks third in school history with 1,684 points behind just Nicole Chiodi and Jayme Thiem. The Thoroughbreds had balanced scoring in the win. Sarah Neace hit all three three-point attempts on her way to nine points. Teammates Ansley Davenport, Loren Zimmerman and Alexus Mayes scored eight each. Holy Cross saw two players reach double-digits. Dajah McClendon led the way with 11 points and Cessie Mayhaus followed with 10. NewCath shot free throws better making 19-of-24 for 79 percent. Holy Cross made just 3-of-10 for 30 percent. The Thoroughbreds take on Bellevue on Wednesday. Game time is 6 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands squads, NC girls earn 9th Region victories

Basketball, Girls: Highlands 59, St. Henry 39: The Bluebirds moved to 18-5 overall and 12-2 in 9th Region play with a sound win Saturday over the improved Lady Crusaders (15-8) under the guidance of first-year Head Coach Paul Sturgeon. St. Henry finished 14-16 last year. Highlands won its third straight by scoring 1.03 points per possession to .75 for the visitors. The Bluebirds made 19-of-43 shots for 44 percent, including 7-of-23 from three-point range for 30 percent and 14-of-16 free throws for 88 percent. St. Henry made just 17-of-38 shots for 44 percent and missed both three-point tries. The Lady Crusaders also made just 5-of-12 free throws for 42 percent. Turnovers also made a huge difference in the game. Highlands had just 11 turnovers and 15 steals to 20 turnovers and six steals for the visitors. Brianna Adler and Zoie Barth led Highlands with three thefts each. Adler made all six free-throw attempts. Highlands saw two players reach double-digits in Lydia Graves with 18 and Alex Combs with 10. Graves made 4-of-7 three-point attempts and Combs made 5-of-10 shots. McKenzie Leigh had another good game rebounding the basketball. She finished with seven to lead Highlands and added seven assists. St. Henry saw two players reach double-figures. Savannah Neace led the way with 14 points and Trisha Marks followed with 12. The duo also combined for eight rebounds each. Highlands travels to Alexandria to face Bishop Brossart. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands squads, NC girls earn 9th Region victories

Basketball, Boys: Newport Central Catholic 64, Bishop Brossart 44: The Thoroughbreds (22-3) earned another big win following four days of rest after winning the All “A” State championship on Sunday. NewCath has won 15 in a row. The Thoroughbreds have tough regular season games left against Covington Holmes and Louisville Trinity. The visiting Mustangs (19-3) came into the game having only lost to Paducah St. Mary in the first round of the All “A” state tournament and Holmes, 74-51 on Dec. 10. They are 5-2 against 9th Region teams. Zack Pangallo continued his scoring tear with 20 points to lead NewCath. Post Drew McDonald added 19. The Thoroughbreds do not play again until Wednesday. They play host to Bellevue (10-9) at 7:30 p.m. to wrap up 36th District action. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands girls, NC boys win; Holmes downs Highlands boys

Covington Holmes 63, Highlands 52: The Bluebirds (5-11) hung tough with the Bulldogs (19-3). They had the Holmes lead below 10 in the third quarter before Holmes pulled away. Brendan Buten scored 13 to lead Highlands. NCAA Division I recruit James “Beetle” Bolden scored 19 to lead the Bulldogs. Highlands plays host to Ryle (7-10) today at 7:30 p.m. in a make-up game. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands girls, NC boys win; Holmes downs Highlands boys

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team may have to win games like this to advance in the postseason. Highlands moved to 17-5 overall and 3-2 in games decided by five points or less with a 41-40 win over the host Beechwood Lady Tigers (10-10) on Friday. Highlands moved to 11-2 against 9th Region competition with the win. Haley Coffey hit a free throw with five seconds remaining to lift the Bluebirds to victory. She finished with nine. Highlands had balanced scoring. McKenzie Leigh led the Bluebirds with 12 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. The Bluebirds won the rebounding battle, 35-20 but turned the ball over 15 times to six for the Lady Tigers. Lydia Graves added eight points and five rebounds for Highlands. Jessica Schilling led Beechwood with 13 points. Teammates Ally Johnson and Macy Stumpel followed with nine and eight respectively. Stumpel scored her 1,000th career point in the win. The Bluebirds take on St. Henry at 3 p.m. today in Fort Thomas. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands girls, NC boys win; Holmes downs Highlands boys

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter TAYLOR MILL – They struggled to make plays down the stretch going 2-2 last week. But that was not the case Monday. The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team outscored the Scott Lady Eagles, 21-13 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 56-47 victory. Highlands (16-5) built a 13-point advantage in that quarter before making enough free throws to win the game. Scott (12-7) did not score any field goals in that quarter until 37.4 seconds remained in the game. “In these past two games, we had to finish it in the fourth quarter,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. “It’s refreshing to see. We watched some film from the Holmes game and showed them what we need to get better at. I thought we did a great job defensively.” The major emphasis came on the glass. Highlands won the rebounding battle 42-30. McKenzie Leigh led the way with 11 rebounds and Alex Combs had 10 to go with 12 points for a double-double. The Bluebirds saw all five starters score at least seven points. Lydia Graves led Highlands with 13 points and Haley Coffey had 10. Leigh followed with nine and Brianna Adler scored all seven of her points in that crucial fourth quarter. Adler had been struggling. But she started a 5-0 run in the start of the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from the right wing and a back door lay-up to put Highlands up 40-34 with 6:43 left in the game. “I can’t stop shooting,” Adler said. “Jaime and (Assistant Coach) Bert (Richey) have told me if I’m open and I don’t shoot, I’ll sit the bench. That kind of forces me to shoot them. If I miss them, (my teammates) will rebound them and put them back in so I’m not worried about that part.” Following two Scott made free throws, Highlands expanded its lead to 51-38 on an 11-2 run. Graves led the way with five points. The Lady Eagles did make things interesting with a 6-0 run to cut the margin to 51-44 with 24.5 seconds remaining. But Highlands sealed the deal making 5-of-6 free throws to finish the game. Leigh made 3-of-4 and Combs hit both attempts during that run. “We had some mental lapses late when they were pressing,” Richey said. “We have to make adjustments to that. We tell the girls these are just scrimmages. We’re trying to fine-tune so we’re hitting on all cylinders come the end of the month entering the district and regional tournaments. We have to make sure we’re getting better every night and I felt in the fourth quarter, we got better.” Ally Neace and Alexis Stapleton led the Scott efforts with 16 and 13 points respectively. Neace hit all five free-throw attempts and Stapleton made two three-pointers along with all three free-throw tries. Highlands made 16-of-47 shots for 34 percent and 20-of-25 free throws for 80 percent and Scott hit 16-of-51 shots for 31 percent and 11-of-13 free throws for 85 percent. Both teams made 4-of-15 three-point attempts for 27 percent. Both teams recorded 13 turnovers against pressure defense. Highlands had eight steals and Scott made five. Zoie Barth led the Bluebirds with three thefts. The Bluebirds are not afraid to spread the floor late in the game with a lead. “Every day at practice, we do ball-handling drills,” said Tomi Blanton, Highlands senior guard. “Everybody has to be better at it so we can bring the ball up the court, make the extra pass and score. I think everyone is confident in bringing the ball upcourt.” Scott scored the game’s first five points as both teams struggled to score to start the game. Combs hit a triple from the left wing for Highlands’ first three points of the game with 3:30 remaining in the quarter. Highlands took a 10-9 lead into the second quarter when Graves put back an offensive rebound just before the buzzer. Neither team led by more than four points until the fourth quarter. The Bluebirds led 21-17 at halftime. Graves made two free throws with a minute remaining to give Highlands that advantage. The Bluebirds led 35-34 entering the fourth quarter. Scott led twice in that quarter. Highlands does not play again until Friday. The Bluebirds travel to Beechwood (10-9) for a 7:30 p.m. contest. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands pulls away from Scott

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter FRANKFORT – They did it last year and hoped to laugh in the face of the challenge again. That was not a problem. For the second straight year, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys basketball team (21-3) won five games in six days to win the All “A” State championship. They took down the Cordia Lions (17-6) on Sunday at the Frankfort Convention Center. NewCath has won 13 in a row. It marked the third title overall and second straight for NewCath in its second win of the year over Cordia. Head Coach Ron Dawn led the Thoroughbreds to the 2000 title. “Our guys are in good condition,” Dawn said. “We need to be. We’re not as deep as I’d like us to be. Our big guys were even running to the floor. It’s my first (title) with these guys. It’s great.” It marked the first time a team repeated as champion since 2010 when Shelby Valley accomplished the feat. NewCath moves into second in tournament history with the third crown. Only University Heights out of Hopkinsville has more with eight. The Thoroughbreds began the six-day journey with a 56-28 domination of 36th District rival Highlands on Tuesday. NewCath beat all five opponents by an average of 25 points a game. All five starters reached double-digits for the Thoroughbreds. Tournament Most Valuable Player Zach Pangallo led the way with 15 points. Posts Jake Schulte and Drew McDonald scored 14 each to find a spot on the all-tournament team. McDonald grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double and Schulte added three blocks. Tanner Moves also made the all-tournament team scoring 10 points. Post Ben Weyer added 11 and Grant Moeves scored eight. Tanner Moeves played through pain after hurting his left elbow Saturday against Lexington Christian. “I’m going to get X-rays on it (Monday),” Tanner Moeves said. “I could barely move it (Saturday). I got three cortisone shots before the game. That helped me out a lot. It still hurts really bad right now. But I played through it.” NewCath faced full-court pressure the whole game and only gave up a few open-court shots. The Thoroughbreds turned the ball over 13 times to seven for the Lions. The Lions had six steals to two for the Thoroughbreds. “Cordia is a quick team so they want to speed you up and run you out of your offense,” Tanner Moeves said. “I feel like since we had a bigger floor here than the last time we played them, it gave us a lot more space to beat their press. We were calm and collective. It ultimately led to a big win for us.” Cordia had just one player reach double-digits in Lexington Henry Clay transfer Christen Cunningham with 32 points. He scored most of his points making 11-of-17 attempts. “Christen Cunningham made the all-tournament team,” Schulte said. “We had to stay in the lane and make it as tough for him as possible because he’s a scorer.” Both teams tried to attack the paint. Cordia outscored NewCath, 38-26 in the paint. But NewCath won the rebounding battle, 37-27 and recorded six blocks to three for Cordia. “We wanted to get (the ball) inside and take advantage of (our size),” Dawn said. “When Jake and Drew are feeling it, they’re tough in there. We also did a good job on the defensive boards.” Cunningham scored the game’s first two points. But NewCath went on a 5-0 run on a Pangallo triple and McDonald lay-up and never looked back the entire game. The Thoroughbreds led 14-9 after the first quarter, 34-21 at halftime and 44-32 entering the final stanza. They made their free throws down the stretch to find off the Lions hitting 32-of-42 for 76 percent. NewCath made 19-of-37 shots for 51 percent including 2-of-8 from three-point land for 25 percent. Cordia made 22-of-57 shots for 39 percent, including 2-of-12 three-pointers for 17 percent and 15-of-23 free throws for 65 percent. Cordia cut the lead below double-digits three times in the third quarter. The closest was 36-28 with 4:56 left in the stanza following a Richard Chapman score. NewCath’s largest lead was 18 points at 62-44 in the fourth quarterl Cordia, led by third-year Head Coach and former University of Kentucky player Rodrick Rhodes, made its first appearance in tournament history. But it was not without controversy. Lion players Josh Ortiz moved in from Harlem (New York) and Chapman moved in from Newark (New Jersey) over the summer and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association declared them ineligible. But a Franklin County Circuit judge reversed the decision Friday. Chapman fouled out after scoring nine points and Ortiz scored just two points. “When we missed, (NewCath) leaked out on the break,” Rhodes said. “We knew they were a good transition team. They play hard. They’re big and physical. They have good guard play, and they’re very disciplined with the basketball.” The same thing happened last year as at least six players have transferred to the school in Knott County in the last two seasons. Canadian transfers Emmanuel Owootoah and Marlon King received the injunction after initially being declared ineligible. Owootoah now plays at Fresno State. NewCath had used its bench most of the week. Many of the reserves did not get in today, but they learned some valuable lessons. “Having those players (like Michael Bueter) on our team made us a better team this year,” said Josh Verkamp, NewCath senior forward. “Giving them rest when we’re up helps them get ready for the next game. Everybody gets a little more playing time.” The Thoroughbreds also moved to 23-9 in the tournament all-time with 12 appearances. Only University Heights has more wins with an overall record of 47-11 in 19 appearances. “We just went out there and played NCC basketball,” Schulte said. “It doesn’t matter who we play. If we play NCC basketball, we can come away with a victory.” NewCath is also tied for third with Bishop Brossart and Hazard with its 12 all-time appearances. Only Somerset with 15 and University Heights have more appearances in tournament history. The Thoroughbreds do not play again until Friday. They face in-county rival Bishop Brossart (19-2) back on The Hill. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Girls All “A” Notes: Newport Central Catholic saw two players make the all-tournament team. They were seniors Nikki Kiernan and Stephanie Lewis. Glasgow beat Danville, 53-43 in the title game for its first All “A” championship in school history. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Thoroughbreds repeat as All "A" State Champions

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highland Bluebirds boys basketball team has its first two-game winning streak of the season. The Bluebirds (5-10) took down the 7-9 Conner Cougars, 51-38 on Saturday in Hebron. This marked Highlands’ first 9th Region win outside of 36th District play. Highlands saw two players reach double-digits. They were Brendan Buten with 21 and Drew Houliston with 13. Highlands returns home Tuesday against Cincinnati Schroder. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands basketball teams down Conner

Basketball, Girls: Highlands 51, Conner 40: The Bluebirds (15-5) snapped a two-game losing streak with a home 9th Region win Saturday. Highlands saw two players reach double-digits. Lydia Graves scored 15 and Brianna Adler scored 11. Highlands made 22-of-28 free throws for 79 percent and Conner made just 6-of-15 for 40 percent. Graves hit all eight attempts for the Bluebirds. Highlands returns to action Monday at Scott. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands basketball teams down Conner

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter FRANKFORT – You can patiently run your offense for even a couple minutes against them and still not get a good look. The Lexington Christian Academy Eagles (14-8) were the latest to find out about the size and length of the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys basketball team (20-3). NewCath used that and its usual focus and determination to beat Lexington Christian, 78-49 in the All “A” State Semifinals on Saturday at the Frankfort Convention Center. NewCath had just eight turnovers and recorded six steals to 14 turnovers and four steals for Lexington Christian. The Thoroughbreds also won the rebounding battle, 34-24. NewCath enforced the running clock for the second time this tournament. That came with 6:20 left in the third quarter. Zack Pangallo hit a fast-break lay-up on the left side to give the Thoroughbreds a 56-20 advantage at that point. NewCath led 52-18 at halftime. The Thoroughbreds made 31-of-52 shots for 60 percent including 8-of-12 from three-point range for 67 percent. They hit 19-of-27 shots for 70 percent and 8-of-16 free throws for 50 percent. “When we make threes, it puts a lot of pressure on opponents,” said Ron Dawn, NewCath Head Coach. “They have to decide what they want to take away. We’re not going to shoot like that every night, but we’ve been getting better with that.” Pangallo paced the effort for NewCath torching the net for 27 points. He lit things up from outside making 11-of-15 shots for an astounding 73 percent, including 5-of-6 three-pointers to go with two steals. Pangallo made four triples in the first quarter. He finished 8-of-9 from the field in the first half for 21 points. “It was one of those nights where I was just feeling it,” Pangallo said. “When I had the ball, I knew I could step in and knock a shot down. I started feeling it when I knocked the first two threes down.” That opened things up in the paint for 6-foot-7-inch Drew McDonald, 6-8 Jake Schulte and 6-6 Ben Weyer. All three nearly hit double-digts. McDonald scored 17 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. Schulte had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds and Weyer scored nine points to go with two steals. The Moeves brothers also pitched in from outside. Grant Moves made two three-pointers and 3-of-4 free throws on his way to nine points and Tanner Moves made NewCath’s other three-pointer. “Once they started focusing on me a little bit, we got the ball moving around and we got our shots down low,” Pangallo said. “We went 7-for-8 as a team on threes in the first half so they had to come out and guard us. That opened things up down low a lot more.” Tanner Moeves said he hopes to play Sunday. He went up for a score, got undercut near the basket and came down on his left elbow with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter. Brother Grant Moves shot the free throws for him. Tanner Moeves had ice on the elbow in the second half and after the game. The starters stayed in longer than the quarterfinal win Friday against Green County. But the Thoroughbreds still played 14 players in this game. “I think that’s huge for us, especially in a tournament like this, for our big guys to get some rest,” Dawn said. “We got to rest them a lot (Friday) and rest them some (Saturday). It’s good for the big guys more than the guards to be honest about it.” The Eagles saw just one player reach double-digits. That was Matt Rose with 16 points. “I think (Rose) is a really nice player,” Dawn said. “I don’t know what he had in the first half, but I felt we did a really nice job on him. He got some things after we subbed in the second half.” The Thoroughbreds scored the game’s first five points and never looked back. They blew open a 9-6 game with a 13-3 run to end the first quarter and lead 22-9. That lead ballooned to 34 twice in the second quarter. Grant Moeves hit two free throws with 20.2 seconds remaining to put the Thoroughbreds up by their halftime margin. Lexington Christian won the second half, 31-24. But the Thoroughbreds led 66-27 at one point following a Weyer three-point play. The Thoroughbreds play in the title game at 2:30 p.m. against the Cordia Lions (17-5). The Thoroughbreds beat Cordia, 64-63 in overtime in the Republic Bank Classic at Lexington Catholic on Dec. 28. But that came before Josh Ortiz and Richard Chapman Junior became eligible Friday. Ortiz moved to the school near Hazard from Harlem (New York) and Chapman came from Newark (New Jersey). The Kentucky High School Athletic Association ruled them ineligible before the season. But a Franklin County Circuit judge reversed the decision and they have come off the bench in two straight games. The same thing happened last year when Canadian transfers Emmanuel Owootoah and Marlon King received the injunction after initially being declared ineligible. Owootoah now plays at Fresno State. Cordia starting guard Christen Cunningham also recently transferred there from Lexington Henry Clay this year. Fort Thomas Sports: All "A" Semifinals: NC rolls past Lexington Christian

Cordia wins 80-52.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter FRANKFORT – It did not look good at halftime. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds trailed the upstart Danville Lady Admirals, 34-24 at that point of the All “A” State Semifinals despite a size advantage because of a bad second quarter. The fears came to fruition as Danville (13-4) pulled a second straight upset, 71-55 Saturday at the Frankfort Convention Center. Danville finished the game with a 22-2 run in the game’s final six minutes. The Lady Admirals upset Bishop Brossart, 60-58 in the tournament quarterfinals. “Foul trouble didn’t help us in the first half at all,” said George Stoll, NewCath Head Coach. “Against any team when your leading scorers get in foul trouble, that’s going to hurt you. They’re real quick. We had a hard time keeping them in front of us. They outplayed us.” NewCath (19-3) hoped to get back to the title game for the fourth time in the last five years. The Thoroughbreds own the most wins in tournament history with a record of 28-11. The Thoroughbreds won the tournament in 2010 and have finished runner-up four times including the last two seasons. This marks the fourth semifinal loss for NC in its eighth straight trip to the tournament. Monroe County beat NewCath, 54-50 in the 2011 semifinals. “To be honest, I wanted to be behind at halftime,” said Judie Mason, Danville Head Coach. “We’ve not been ahead in this tournament until the fourth quarter. We won that game with heart. (NewCath) is better than us. If we played them 10 times, they probably beat us nine and a half.” Both teams tried to make things happen with their full-court pressure. That’s been a NewCath staple for years. NewCath had 13 turnovers to 11 for Danville. The Thoroughbreds recorded seven steals to four for the Lady Ads. The Thoroughbreds had plenty of looks just a few feet from the basket in their transition and half-court sets, but missed many of them. NewCath made 22-of-59 shots for 37 percent, including just 2-of-9 from three-point range for 22 percent. Danville made 19-of-48 shots for 39 percent, including 7-of-12 from three-point land for 58 percent. “I felt like we were rushing (our shots),” said Stephanie Lewis, NewCath senior. “We were not taking our time.” The Lady Ads pulled away from the free-throw line. Danville made 26-of-35 for 74 percent and NewCath made 9-of-12 for 75 percent. Danville nearly saw all five starters reach double digits. Essence Grey led the way with 23 points with Alyvia Walker making 3-of-4 three-pointers for 16 points. Cameron McPherson had 13 with Ne Ne Chenault and Laken Grey following with 10 and 9 respectively. NewCath saw two players reach double-digits. Ms. Basketball candidate Nikki Kiernan had 16 and Lewis had 14. Kiernan scored 10 points in the fourth quarter before Danville switched from a 2-3 zone defense to a box-and-one. “We’ve never run a box-and-one since I’ve been at Danville,” Mason said. “Something just came to me to run the box-and-one. It may look like I’m over there coaching like crazy. But I’m going to be honest. They do it. I’m just over there cheering them on. It just worked.” NewCath scored the game’s first six points before Danville came back to tie the game at nine. Michaela Ware stole a pass in the final second and fed it ahead to Loren Zimmerman for an easy shot with a few seconds left to give NewCath a 13-10 advantage after the first quarter. Things fell apart for NewCath in the second quarter. Danville won it 24-11 as the Thoroughbreds continued to struggle from the field. The Lady Ads finished the quarter with an 11-0 run. NewCath fought back to tie the game at 47 entering the fourth quarter winning the third, 23-13. Lewis tied the game on a nice pass from Zimmerman with 23 seconds remaining. NewCath appeared to take control early in the fourth quarter. The Thoroughbreds went on a 6-0 run to go up 53-49 with 6:05 left in the game. Zimmerman made a three-point play and Ansley Davenport made two free throws before Lewis hit 1-of-2. “Once we got the lead, we had a couple chances to get it up to eight or 10,” Stoll said. “We had some turnovers. If that would have happened, we’d have tried to hold it more.” But Chenault hit two three-pointers to start the game-ending run. The first one cut the lead to 53-52 with 4:51 left. After Danville took the lead on two Essence Grey free throws, Zimmerman made two free throws to put NewCath up 55-54 with 4:42 left in the game. Chenault then gave Danville the lead for good with another three from the left wing with 4:34 left. The Thoroughbreds are making their 12th appearance in the state tournament. That is second in tournament history behind Louisville Holy Cross (18) and Lexington Christian (14). No girls team has won more than two state titles in tournament history. Danville is making its first appearance in the title game after making the semifinals for the first time in school history. Mason won the All “A” crown in 2000 as Head Coach of Somerset. “We talk about that,” Mason said. “I told them I have one (title) on them. I’m a state champion and they’re not yet. I gave them a hard talk about it. But that’s okay. They want one.” Danville will face the Glasgow Lady Scotties (17-6) in the title game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Lady Scotties took down defending champion Owensboro Catholic, 54-39 in the earlier game. NewCath beat Glasgow, 54-50 on Dec. 27 on its way to winning the Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County. Fort Thomas Sports: All "A" Semifinals: Danville upsets NC, 71-55

Highlands 64, Bellevue 52: The Bluebirds (4-10) finished 2-2 in 36th District play with a win over the Tigers. Highlands saw three players reach double-digits. Parker Harris led the way with 15 points with teammates Brandon Hergott and Justin Weyer scoring 14 and 12 respectively. Highlands travels to Conner today for a 9th Region contest. Game time is 4 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath teams advance in All "A" State; Highlands boys down Bellevue

Basketball, Boys: All “A” Quarterfinals at Franklin Convention Center: Newport Central Catholic 69, Green County 33: The Thoroughbreds (19-3) ran away from the Dragons (11-9) to move on in the All “A” state tournament Friday. NewCath led 39-13 at halftime and 60-22 entering the fourth quarter. The Thoroughbreds shot a blistering 52 percent (29-of-56) from the field and held the Dragons to 33 percent (11-of-33). Head Coach Ron Dawn said he’d go to the bench a lot in this tournament and he did in this game. Fourteen Thoroughbreds saw action in the game and 10 scored. Jake Schulte led the way with 18 points with Grant Moeves and Drew McDonald scoring nine each. Schulte also blocked four shots. For the second straight game in the tournament, NewCath did not allow a player from the opposing team to score in double-digits. Levi Murphy and Jayden Willis led the Dragons with nine points each. The Thoroughbreds battle the Lexington Christian Academy Eagles at 6 p.m. today in the tournament semifinals. Cordia faces Betsy Layne in the other semifinal contest afterwards. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath teams advance in All "A" State; Highlands boys down Bellevue

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Experience helped out in this situation. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds girls basketball team led by just five points in the fourth quarter against the Trimble County Lady Raiders. But NewCath pulled away for a 65-48 All “A” State Tournament quarterfinal win Friday. The Thoroughbreds saw three players reach double-digits. They were Nikki Kiernan, Alexus Mayes and Michaela Ware with 21, 19 and 10 points respectively. They made 18-of-40 shots for 45 percent and 26-of-35 free throws for 74 percent. Paige Black led the Lady Raiders with 18 points. Trimble County made 20-of-50 shots for 40 percent and 7-of-10 free throws for 70 percent. NewCath won the rebounding battle by a 34-25 count but committed 22 turnovers to 21 for Trimble County. Mayes led NewCath with nine rebounds with Stephanie Lewis and Kiernan following with eight and seven respectively. Ware collected nine steals. The Thoroughbreds (19-2) are making their sixth consecutive trip to the tournament semifinals. They face Danville at 11:30 a.m. today. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath teams advance in All "A" State; Highlands boys down Bellevue

Jynea Harris scored just before the final buzzer to lift the Lady Bulldogs to the victory. Highlands has lost two in a row playing its third game in four days. The Bluebirds (14-5) made a valiant comeback attempt down 41-31 entering the fourth quarter. They outscored the Lady Bulldogs, 23-15 in the final frame. Brianna Adler and McKenzie Leigh led the Highlands comeback attempt scoring 17 and 14 respectively. Adler made five three-pointers and Leight hit 9-of-10 free-throw attempts. Highlands does not play again until Saturday at home against Conner. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath handles OCath; Highlands girls lose at buzzer

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The defending tournament champions started the boys basketball tournament off with the expected bang. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (18-3) handled the Owensboro Catholic Aces, 60-39 to open the All “A” State Tournament on Thursday. All games are taking place at the Frankfort Convention Center. The Thoroughbreds see different players lead the way in scoring each night and Thursday was no exception. Zack Pangallo led the way with 19 points making three three-pointers. Teammates Drew McDonald and Tanner Moeves followed with 12 and 10 respectively. NewCath had seven blocked shots to two for OCath. McDonald and Ben Weyer turned away two each for the Thoroughbreds. The Aces did not see any player reach double-digits. Ryan Clark led them with nine points. NewCath faces Green County (11-8) at 6:30 p.m. in the tournament quarterfinals. The winner battles either Lexington Christian (13-7) or Louisville Holy Cross (14-4) at 6 p.m. in the semfinals Saturday. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath handles OCath; Highlands girls lose at buzzer

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter NEWPORT – Lately, the home team had dominated the series. The visiting team sought a signature win in building toward the time when these two men’s basketball teams battled for not just district titles, but 9th Region crowns between 1997 and 2001. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (17-3 overall, 3-0 district) continued that against the Highlands Bluebirds (3-10, 1-2) with a 56-28 victory on The Hill on Tuesday. NewCath has won eight straight in the series entering the contest dating back to a 58-44 Highlands win on The Hill on Jan. 9, 2010 and 10 of the previous 11 meetings. The Thoroughbreds have also won five straight district championships. NewCath has clinched the top seed in the district tournament on The Hill in February. Both teams still need to face Bellevue to finish district play. The Thoroughbreds and Newport Wildcats counted the All “A” 9th Region title game as a district game because the regular season game was cancelled. NewCath used its size and transition game to run away with the win. The Thoroughbreds scored the game’s first 19 points and never looked back building a 42-8 halftime lead. The reserves saw a lot of action in the second half for both teams and the running clock started just 38 seconds into the half. The NewCath made 24-of-38 shots for 63 percent and 4-of-6 free throws for 67 percent. The Thoroughbreds made 18-of-23 shots in the first half for 78 percent mostly finding their tall posts for easy shots near the basket. “The lead was nice where I could get (the starters) out and not have to play them the whole night,” said Ron Dawn, NewCath Head Coach. “(The size) definitely helps defensively. They didn’t get many easy shots and we got a lot of easy shots. Our defense led to a lot of those points.” Highlands made 10-of-41 shots for 24 percent and 3-of-8 free throws for 38 percent. NewCath held the Bluebirds to 3-of-25 shooting in the first half for 12 percent. “We came out and ran our stuff pretty well,” said Kevin Listerman, Highlands Head Coach. “We got good looks. We didn’t hit anything from (three-point range). We knew we’d have to hit some from there to stretch them then we didn’t do a very good job transition-wise. In the second half, we did a much better job getting our guys back. Offensively, they’re very efficient. They’ve done this to a whole lot of ballclubs this year.” Sophomore 6-foot-6 inch center Ben Weyer led the way for NewCath with 13 points making 6-of-7 shots including a three-pointer. Senior 6-8 teammate Jake Schulte followed with 10 points and two points with 6-7 post Drew McDonald scoring six points and seven rebounds. The driving opened up some things outside. Guard Tanner Moeves tallied 11 to lead the Thoroughbreds. He made three three-pointers. NewCath won the rebounding battle, 28-22 and had 17 assists to five for Highlands. Zack Pangallo tallied six assists to lead the Thoroughbreds and Grant Moeves had three. “Our offense rotated multiple times,” Grant Moeves said. “We can run to the wing, get the defense moving and find a seam. When our posts (get deep), it’s almost a guarantee every time they’re going to score.” Justin Weyer scored all 10 of his points in the second half to lead Highlands. That included two three-pointers. “Justin Weyer finding his touch was a good thing because we’re going to need him down the stretch,” Listerman said. “We hope to have others find theirs some. I give my kids credit. They battled and tried to do what we asked them to do.” The Bluebirds made five triples, including four in the second half. Kenny Ball had two and Brendan Buten made the other one for Highlands. Thoroughbreds open the All “A” State Tournament at the Frankfort Civic Center on Thursday against the Owensboro Catholic Aces (11-6). Game time is 1 p.m. Conditioning could come into play in the tournament. NewCath will play five games in six nights if it makes the title game Sunday. “We hope to have some guys we can bring off the bench to give guys a breather,” Dawn said. “To be in good condition, you have to stay healthy.” Highlands does not play again until Friday at the Bellevue Tigers (8-7). Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath doubles up Highlands, 56-28

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team completed its undefeated run through 36th District regular-season play Monday. The Bluebirds handled the host Bellevue Lady Tigers, 67-31 to finish 4-0 in district play and clinch the top seed in the district tournament in February at Newport Central Catholic. Highlands improved to 14-3 overall and Bellevue dropped to 7-9 overall. Turnovers made the huge difference in this game. Bellevue committed 29 on 18 Highlands steals and the Bluebirds had just six with one Lady Tiger steal. Zoie Barth, Kristyn Lukjan and Alex Combs recorded three thefts each for Highlands with Haley Coffey, Kiersten Clukey and McKenzie Leigh recording two each. That led to a huge difference in the amount of shots each team took and in points per possession. Highlands scored 1.09 points a possession and limited Bellevue to just .48. The Bluebirds hit 27-of-65 shots for 42 percent, including 4-of-21 from three-point range putting four players in double figures. They also made 9-of-13 free throws for 69 percent. Coffey led Highlands with 17 points making 6-of-10 shots including 2-of-5 from downtown. Leigh followed with 12 points to go with four assists and four blocked shots. Barth and Combs followed with 12 and 11 points respectively. Bellevue made just 10-of-36 shots for 28 percent, including 1-of-7 three-point tries for 14 percent. The Lady Tigers also made 10-of-15 free-throw tries for 67 percent. Highlands pulled away with a 23-2 run in the second half. The Bluebirds led just 26-22 at halftime and 45-25 after three quarters playing in their first game in nine days. The Bluebirds return to action Wednesday in a make-up game. They travel to Maysville to face the Mason County Lady Royals (11-6). Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands pulls away from Bellevue; NC-Ryle make-up date announced

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Another year marked another All “A” 9th Region title for the Royal Blue and Gold. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds handled the in-town rival Newport Wildcats, 67-40 for the crown at Dayton on Saturday. It was not as close as last year’s region title game at Bellevue that NewCath had to hit a good amount of free throws down the stretch to pull away. The defending All “A” state champions have won eight region championships in the last 11 years and 12 overall since the tournament started in 1990. NewCath (16-3) also won the state tournament in 2000. Newport had no answers for senior Tanner Moeves attacking the basket. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player scored 24 points. Thoroughbred posts Drew McDonald and Jake Schulte also made the all-tournament team. Schulte had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. NewCath plays host to Highlands (3-9) on Tuesday in a 36th District contest. The Thoroughbreds open the All “A” Tournament on Thursday at the Frankfort Convention Center against Owensboro Catholic at 1 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath boys win another 9th All "A" Title

I have been to Bishop Gorman High School. Facilities there are unreal.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Junior post Drew McDonald scored his 1,000th career point in helping the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds to victory Wednesday. McDonald finished with 18 points as NewCath (14-3) downed the Ludlow Panthers, 79-39 to advance to the All “A” 9th Region semifinals on Friday. Teammate Tanner Moeves followed with 17 points. The Thoroughbreds face St. Henry in the semifinals at Dayton. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: McDonald hits 1000 career points in Thoroughbred rhomp

Highlands 42, Ryle 28: Highlands (13-3) rallied for a 9th Region win at Union on Saturday. Brianna Adler and Haley Coffey led Highlands with 13 and 12 points respectively. Adler made 10-of-14 free throws in the win. The Bluebirds return to action Tuesday against Boone County. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: NCC wins another All "A" Girls crown; Highlands teams win

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter They had to overcome a slow start. But the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 49-39 win over the Beechwood Lady Tigers to claim their eighth straight All “A” 9th Region championship. NewCath (17-2) will take on 15th Region champion Paintsville (10-6) at 5 p.m. at the Frankfort Convention Center on Jan. 29 to open the tournament. NewCath had balanced scoring Saturday. Alexus Mayes led the way with 11 points with Sarah Neace and Nikki Kiernan scored nine each. Neace made three three-pointers. Kiernan had 14 rebounds and Stephanie Lewis grabbed 10 rebounds to go with eight points. Beechwood saw just one player reach double-digits. That was Macy Stuempel with 13 points on three three-pointers. The Thoroughbreds and Lady Tigers (8-7) meet again Thursday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Fort Mitchell. Fort Thomas Sports: NCC wins another All "A" Girls crown; Highlands teams win

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter ERLANGER – Some may call it the Newport Central Catholic Invitational. It is understandable because the Thoroughbreds have won the previous seven All “A” 9th Region girls basketball crowns. But one region opponent has not been intimidated by that in recent years in the Covington Holy Cross Lady Indians (11-4). Holy Cross gave NewCath its closest game in last year’s tournament losing just 51-43 in the first round. It took the Thoroughbreds (16-2) the final seconds of this year’s semifinal contest Friday to beat the Lady Indians, 39-37 at St. Henry. It’s the closest anyone has come to ending NewCath’s run since the two teams went to overtime on Jan. 14, 2008. The Thoroughbreds won that game 62-59 in the first round of the tournament at Bellevue. “It was tough that someone had to lose that game because (Holy Cross) played great,” said George Stoll, NewCath Head Coach. “My hat’s off to (the Lady Indians). We knew it was going to be a battle. But that’s the sign of a good team. You have to face adversity. We faced it throughout the game.” Similar to a win at Highlands last year, NewCath junior guard Michaela Ware dribbled to the rim after a nice pick from Alexus Mayes and hit the game-winning lay-up from the right side with 3.8 seconds left in the game. That marked one of the few times NewCath penetrated for a score like that. “(Stoll) told us to wait seven seconds and I obviously had a lot of weight on my shoulders,” Ware said. “I had to be confident and see it go in. I took it hard to the basket and was able to beat (the Holy Cross defenders). It’s a great feeling.” Holy Cross junior 6-foot-1-inch twins Cessie and Ally Mayhaus make it tough on opponents to score in the paint. The duo finished with 10 points each. Ally Mayhaus grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double. The Thoroughbreds were only able to get Cessie Mayhaus in foul trouble with four. “They do a heck of a job with their matchup zone,” Stoll said. “Alexus Mayes had to pick a side at the last second. Michaela Ware made a play off it. At the same time, Nikki (Kiernan) is on the baseline trying to get open. Michaela has to read it. We knew they’d zone in on Nikki. That’s why I wanted to run that play at the end because I knew we might have a lane.” NewCath posts Mayes and Kiernan finished in double-digits despite not being 100 percent. Mayes made three three-pointers on her way to 13 points and Kiernan finished with 12. Mayes also finished with seven rebounds. Kiernan did not play in the first two games and Mayes saw limited action. Holy Cross won the rebounding battle, 29-21. But NewCath sped up the game with its patented full-court pressure defense. The Thoroughbreds recorded 14 steals and just nine turnovers to 23 turnovers and three steals for the Lady Indians. Holy Cross guard Dajah McLendon often penetrated and tried to dump the ball to the Mayhaus twins. NewCath often jumped those passes for steals. Ware had five steals to lead the Thoroughbreds and MiKayla Seibert recorded three. “We knew (McLendon) was their main ball handler and when she drove, we had to help out,” Seibert said. “We knew that pass was coming. It takes a lot of heart to play defense well. We like that feeling.” NewCath shot 33 percent (16-of-48) from the field and hit 4-of-6 free throws for 67 percent. Holy Cross took fewer shots making 17-of-33 for 52 percent and 2-of-4 free throws for 50 percent. NewCath struggled in the first quarter falling behind 10-4. The Thoroughbreds trailed 16-6 in the second quarter before finishing the half with an 8-0 run to trail 16-14 at halftime. The Thoroughbreds took the lead for the first time with 4:15 left in the third quarter when Kiernan scored. Their biggest lead was seven points after Meg Martin scored with 35 seconds left in the period. NewCath led 31-26 entering the fourth quarter. Holy Cross opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to go up 37-33 before Loren Zimmerman hit a free throw. After two missed Holy Cross free throws, Mayes made a triple from the left wing with 2:40 remaning to tie the game at 37. “Coach (Stoll) says you have to shoot with confidence and believe it will go in,” Mayes said. “When it does, you have that good feeling and have to keep shooting. Once you’re hot, you’re hot.” Following two Holy Cross misses a couple minutes later, Stephanie Lewis grabbed the rebound for NewCath and passed to Ware. Ware dribbled until 12 seconds remained and NewCath called a timeout to set up her game-winning shot. After Ware’s lay-up and Holy Cross timeout, the officials put 3.1 seconds on the clock. The Lady Indians threw the ball out of bounds. Holy Cross had just four team fouls at that point so NewCath ran out the clock. NewCath faces Beechwood (8-6) for the region crown today back at St. Henry. Game time is 4 p.m. because of bad weather supposedly coming into the region Saturday night. Fort Thomas Sports: Ware's lay-up lifts NewCath