Ranger

Congrats to Coach Steiner on the win as he becomes the all time leader in wins by a coach at SK. http://skpioneers.blogspot.com/2012/02/boys-win-at-henry-county-congrats-coach.html

Definitely a tighter game than the score indicates. A very quick game I might add as I was home by 10:00. SK struggled shooting and rebounding but the defense turned up the heat in the 4th for several easy baskets. HC's size presented a rebounding problem for SK in the first half. Always like taking in the atmosphere at Henry County.

Two players coming in this late in the year can do absolutely nothing good for team chemistry. I'm sure it can be managed but I can't think of challenges much bigger for a coaching staff. Maybe you don't need chemistry if you can just throw the two kids out there and let them go but there is sure a lot that a team goes through ranging from summer workouts, scrimmages, fund raisers, preseason conditioning and the battle scars of a long season. Maybe it works out for them but wow, that has to be tough on a team.

SK obviously playing best ball at the best time. I'm liking how they are sitting going into the real season. Chambers is probably the most underrated player in the NKAC. His back to back threes in the third really got the lead up to an uncomfortable level for Cov Cath.

Great night if you are an SK fan but it was just a neat night of high school basketball. Former players and their parents, educators, etc. came out for the Mike Brock recognition. Not an ounce of quit in the Cards tonight. http://skpioneers.blogspot.com/2012/02/pioneers-sharp-in-upset-victory.html

Unfortunately, I’m about as experienced with female knee injuries as a dad can be with girls who play sports. 5 knee surgeries and a daughter with bilateral ACL reconstructions. There are many different reasons why it is happening more; femoral channels of the knees are more narrow, the pressure of the female anatomy puts more pressure on the knees, they play more, jump higher, run faster, dive more and yes, play a lot more. They don’t shut down and let the body rest, which is what they need to do for a period of time; they go from spring competitive season, to summer high school season, to open gyms and then to the fall/winter high school season. Repeat. I think another factor is that they don’t play as many sports and focus on one. If you play different sports, you use different muscles which strengthen certain muscles through different movements. How many 3 and 4 sport high school letterwomen do you see these days? Not many. Prevention and strengthening help but I don’t know if we’ll see a decrease anytime soon.

Thanks paNDA, I appreciate the comment but you are the King of Northern KY Sports. It is really neat to think about the number of kids you have shared your shots with over the years and I know your awesome shots will be appreciated for years to come. I’m looking forward to shooting alongside you in our favorite time of the year coming up!

http://skpioneers.blogspot.com/2012/02/neers-battle-breds-to-nice-w.html Here are the game details and photos.

The reason I like watching high school basketball. Within about two weeks, WV beats SK by 23, WV beats New Cath at All A, New Cath beats WV by 29 and Neers beat New Cath in a physical game; both teams got after it tonight.

2nd Half This reverse lay-up was big time; check out how close to the rim she is. This reverse was a bit scary. Instructions to the sisters. Nash was tough inside. Celebrating the W.

Some first half shots. Nice. Great atmosphere for opening tip. Tough shots to make: Coach not happy with the 6-0 foul total on the board early on. Loose balls on the deck were attacked. Moss gets a congrats after the big shot to close the quarter.

First and foremost, what a fantastic atmosphere for high school girls b-ball. We got there at about 6:45 and parking was already full and the gym was holding an awesome crowd. I saw a picture of the Ryle/SK boys game at Ryle and the gym looked empty. I really tip my cap to the Boone student section. Great stuff and support. For a neutral fan, the game was a flat out snoozer for the first 2.5 quarters. At one point in the third quarter, Boone doubled up on Ryle by a score of 34-17. Ryle was playing tight while Boone looked focused and ready. Crittenden struggled to score and took several bad shots. A few calls went against Ryle early and it seemed to rattle them a bit. The three pointer that Moss hit was at the end of the half and it put an exclamation point on the momentum that they Boone established in the half. In the third quarter, I was about ready to head to the exit and then it seemed like Ryle decided to start playing while Boone seemed like they thought they had things in hand. It seemed like the Boone staff was content with the lead getting chipped away. They called timeout early during the run and could have used another one when the lead went from about 20 to single digits. Moss looked tired at that point, don't think she had a rest at that point, and was walking up the court while Ryle was making their run. The fourth quarter was the game that the crowd expected. Boone led but they knew Ryle was there. Ryle had their chances going down the stretch but didn’t capitalize when given their chances. Down three with 15 seconds in the game, Ryle looked to Cheesman first who was unable to get a shot off who then passed to Crittenden who got a shot off that really wasn’t a good look; they waited too long to get in their offense. I was expecting a Boone foul when the clock got to lower single digits but they were content on their defense not allowing Ryle to get a good look. While Boone led the rebounding battle, it could be argued Crittenden and Moss really neutralized each other for the game. Moss was dominant the first half while she seemed content with a 20 point lead allowing Crittenden to assert herself in the second half. To me, the big difference in the game was Nash. Ryle couldn’t guard her. The Raiders tried guarding her with Freshman Smith who was overmatched by Nash. Boone went to her often but truthfully, I would go to her more when/if they get their subsequent match-ups. While Boone won the game, Ryle has to feel like they developed somewhat of a game plan with back court defensive pressure for the next match-ups between the teams. The press was more of an extended zone but definitely rattled Boone.

I'm predicting Ryle which means Boone will win. I'm looking forward to just watching a great game.

Effort was there but sometimes the statistics catch-up with you. They couldn't throw the ball into river standing on a bridge on that day, even Kiernan missed like her first 4 shots that are ones she makes in her sleep. Didn't see last night but saw the All A game-New Cath's press that didn't get to WV in the first half of the All A, definitely did something in the 4th and Overtime. I didn't pay enough attention to notice the difference in the press but it definitely was working and WV didn't really counter with a different line-up, i.e., their best ball handler was sitting on the bench. In other words, Coach Dawn got "it" figured out late in the All A and I'm sure 8th region coaches would love to see the tape of last night and the 4th quarter plus of the All A.

Wow, these two teams really went at each other. SK shot the lights out in the first half. Nice way to bounce back from the Saturday night debacle. http://skpioneers.blogspot.com/2012/01/neers-avenge-jag-loss.html

First time I've ever seen you shoot a game sitting down and not move to 20 different places in the gym. I agree though; I could have sat there all day and watched games! I kind of liked the old Convention Center for the games. I was there for a couple of other tourneys a few years ago; to me, the place felt kind of spruced up a bit. Lighting was much, much better than the last time I was there. Concession stand was all I needed. First All A I've attended but I would probably go back.

Tears from both coaches; unbelievable emotion in that building after the shot. Ditto; I felt exhausted after getting home; can't recall seeing two better back to back games in person at any level. Think about the Holy Cross year book, All A volleyball 'ship, football champs and a b-ball All A.

Look at the fans in the background, tell it all. Reason why a team should never give up. HC down 13 in the 4th, down 2 with 2 seconds to go and needing to go full length of the court; unbelievable game. Sometime luck just goes your way. Bardstown kids and coaches just sat on the floor in disbelief. Just an awesome game. I thought the old Convention Center was a nice forum today.

New Cath D was awesome but at some point you need to score. Great game for an impartial fan to watch. Congrats to both teams.

http://skpioneers.blogspot.com/2012/01/neer-double-dip.html

Panda- You should start a scouting service as much as you watch! I seriously doubt there are any coaches who watch as much as you.

Although I thought Monroe would win, I'm not surprised WV did. However, I am surprised at the margin. 3 teams within a half-hour of each other in the semi's. Congrats to all 3 Northern KY teams. Right now, I would say WV will win the whole thing but I better not since I'm rarely right here! Good luck WV.

I was just getting ready to write that myself. You hit the nail on the head there. I'm still picking Monroe but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Breds win. Looking forward to seeing your pictures of the action although lighting at the Convention Center isn't the best.

Absolutely not, missed key word though, the word "both". I certainly don't want to discount any team that wins their region but WV should win by as many as they want against KCD.

A little surprised by this margin of victory. South is slowly pulling away as my favorite to win the 8th; I still think Anderson has best pool of talent but South has the best player.