The Double Deuce

:23 left, HC ball.

1:29 left.

Sturgeon for three!!!!

4:49 left.

55-46 Ryle.

49-42 after 3rd quarter. Going to be a great 4th. If HC can make shots, it could get interesting.

Holy Cross was 0-6 from three in the first half. That is a recipe for their demise. They are going to have to make shots to win this game, and I believe in their game with Ryle they were about 10 for 18 from three...or thereabouts.

33-23 when 6:19 left in the 3rd.

48-31 final

Off to the Semis for SKLP

The 8th grader with 11!!!! Coming up huge at a great time.

I said 50-37, NDA, when pressed for a prediction today. Even that may be wildly over-stated for these two defensive-minded clubs that struggle to score 50+. Kudos to the Birds for an amazing 2nd Quarter.

What I am curious to get to the bottom of is this: apparently when Mr. and Mrs. returned to the locker room and discovered the Upper Classmen had bolted, the younger ones caught the brunt of his frustration. Apparently one of the younger ones, who shall not be named, had a father who was VERY upset about how it was handled and has communicated that to the school and / or the Male assistant coach.

The only thing I'll add on this situation (Cooper Girls' Basketball) is there has been uneasiness / unhappiness / whatever term you want to use from jump. The girls had issues with the Head Coach and her husband from day one, but where the blame falls is not for me (as an outsider who talks to a Dad of a player often) to diagnose. I know that replacing a legendary coach who has been the most successful GBB coach since Nell Fookes (and is a TREMENDOUS human and culture builder) isn't easy. Do I think the coaches could have handled things differently at some points, probably. Maybe it is the Husband / Wife coaches' fault. Maybe it is the players' fault and not being adaptable and clinging to how things used to be. Maybe it is the parents' fault for not being supportive of the new coaches and their concepts, communication styles, differences enough at home. I am not equipped to answer. I just know things haven't been good from the beginning. I say all of that to say this: something happened after the Assumption game, likely internally, because the team that beat SHA and lost on a walk-off to the best team in KY (my opinion, GRC is right there too), is not the one that played Ryle in the Districts or the Birds at NKU. We may never know. Hopefully someone is working to bring everyone together so that they can hit reset, learn from this, and be ready to be one cohesive unit next year -- they should be TERRIFIC again in 2026-27.

Pendleton County's very solid season ends in the quarterfinals.

The Camels advance to the Semis!

Tough draw for the Lady 'Stangs, so a brutal way to finish. However, great year, a lot of wins, and much for Coach Stamm to build on.

Final -- WV had looks to win it but couldn't one to fall.

Some did, yes, bolting out immediately after the game.

Ryle vs HC will be a heckuva semi-final!!

Final at NKU. HC gets Ryle or NewCath in the semis. Dixie started off rocky but were playing the best ball when it mattered, but HC was too much.

A change this dramatic doesn't feel like an Xs and Os issue, to be honest.

I've said a million times on here that Coach Holthaus is the best Girls' basketball coach in this area since Coach Fookes, and today only underscores that. I'm sure the His & Hers coaches will settle in, and good days will lie ahead, but this year fell off a cliff at a terrible time.

Final at NKU. Cooper's run of 9th Region Championships is over. We need a "30 for 30" on what happened to Cooper. Beats Sacred Heart with 65 points, loses to Assumption with 67, then BANG, 30 points vs Ryle and 42 vs Birds. What happened? Congrats to the Birds!! They get Notre Dame in the semis.

Was 31-14 after three quarters. Yes, the Cru had 14 points through 3 quarters. Hard to win that way.