HOOPSNUT

Great job by the Lady Crusaders tonight. They won every quarter. They scored the last 4 points of the 2nd quarter to go in up four at the half. They led by 7 (38-31) after the 3rd and they were up by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, before Ryle turned up the heat to get within six at one point. The Lady Cru did an exceptional job on the boards, and they were for the most part, very patient on the offensive end. This is a signature win for this program. I don't believe they had beat any team ranked in the Top 10 since '06. Abby Janszen was once again phenomenal and was the best player on the floor tonight. Ryle's press did create some turnovers, but for the most part, the Lady Cru did a good job of handling the pressure. Not sure how long it has been since the program could say this, but "the St. Henry Lady Crusaders are playing in the Regional semi-finals!"

Exciting 34th District final tonight at Villa. Ludlow completely dominates the first half (28-17) behind the strong play of Ashley Daugherty and Julie Hardin. St. Henry changes their defense in the 2nd half and starts the 3rd quarter on a 12-0 run, taking a 35-32 lead into the 4th. The 4th quarter action is back and forth with Ludlow inbounding the ball with 6.4 seconds left and a chance to win the game. The inbounds pass is deflected and goes thru a Ludlow player's hands. St. Henry is able to steal the ball and Ludlow inexplicably allows the clock to expire without going for a steal or a foul. Great tournament atmosphere tonight. Best of luck to both teams in the Regional Tournament.

First time I've had the pleasure of watching Lauren Tibbs play. She is the real deal. Great hands, good foot work and a nice shooting touch as well. Hard to believe she's only a sophomore. Scott does need to find more balance. 88% of their scoring came from 2 players.

Don't know if a third ref would have helped St Henry's cause. The two refs working the game were in position to see the fouls and make the calls, they just chose to ignore the contact most of the time. There were calls missed on both ends, but when 28 of your 38 points come from your inside game and they only shoot 6 free throws, something seems a little irregular.

It is somewhat surprising, but the biggest lead Highlands had was 4 points in both the 1st and 4th quarters, and St. Henry's biggest lead was 3 points in the 3rd quarter. Both teams turned the ball over more than they would like, but all in all, it was a very good defensive battle.

An intense game with the first half being on the sloppy side. Highlands makes the game winner with 5 seconds to go. St. Henry got a decent look at the buzzer, but the ball bounced harmlessly off the back rim. Highlands outscored St. Henry 10-6 in the final period to grad the win. Highlands also shoots 16 free throws to St. Henry's 6. Abby Janszen got to the line 4 times, and it very easily could have been 14 times. The refs let the Highlands players body her all night long. I believe it was Natalie Horner who took the game winner. Nothin' but net from 16 feet.

No doubt about it. The St. Henry players looked as if they'd never seen a press before. As NCC started getting the steals and easy baskets, their confidence grew and their outside shooting % improved greatly as well. NCC showed a true killer instinct.

NCC is very physical and very well coached. Those girls get after it. Extremely disappointing performance from the Lady Crusaders. I thought this game would be a 10-12 point separation. I believe the Lady Crusaders had 37 turnovers. They kept throwing and dribbling into the NCC traps. Close game thru 1+ quarters, then NCC started to pull away mid 2nd quarter. They stretched the lead out to 34 points at one point in early 4th quarter before mass substitutions. NCC shot very poorly from the field in the 1st quarter and then caught fire the rest of the game. Hopefully they won't be paired against Highlands in a first round district game this year, because both of those teams deserve to be in the Regional Tournament this year. I believe both of them have a chance to win the Region. Based on this game, the disparity between the #6 team and #10 team in the coaches poll is huge.

Don't know about the kids ability, but I believe his dad (Doug) is director of amateur scouting for the White Sox.

Is this a short term deal for Dawn, or is he grooming his niece to takeover? Rumor has it that NCC has no teaching positions open for the coming school year so they asked Ron to take the job for this year. Also, this has to hurt the NCC boys program in some way, because it seemed like Grant Brannen really relied on Dawn's knowledge during games.

Cooper was an all-around great move for Turner for several reasons and not having to deal with "unrealistic" expectations by parents is definitely one of them. What were the "unrealistic" expectations that you speak of?

He is in no way in over his head. What he lacks in terms of experience starting out, he will more than make up for with passion and preparation. With Fall sports practices starting up 1 week after the dead period, he is at a real disadvantage. Between Golf, Soccer & Volleyball there can't be more than 1 or 2 girls who don't play a Fall sport. I don't think scrimmages would do much good because it seems to me he wouldn't have enough time to install any offense or defense. I think they are heading in the right direction. They did what was in the best interest of the Girls basketball program, not what was in the best interest of the Administration. I think it speaks volumes that the Administration was willing to hire a non teacher. I think someday he will be teaching there, but it doesn't look like it will be this year.

A very limited amount of applicants from what I've heard. Having said that, I believe the administration got this one right. It looks to me like they finally did what was in the best interest of the girls. Hiring from the middle school ranks is certainly not unprecedented this year. This is most certainly a huge upgrade from the previous coach. These girls will be much better prepared to do battle this year.

Brian Coburn, the JV coach at Holy Cross was hired today.

I think 35+ days is PLENTY long enough to search. Please, give us a coach already.

I am not aware of anyone being hired. It looks like it will probably be early next week, just in time for the dead period.

Here we are 7 days later and still...... Anyone think they'll have a new coach named anytime soon? I've heard that they have suffered the same fate as two years ago......a lack of applicants. It seemed like Holy Cross had their vacancy filled within roughly 4-5 days. St. Henry is 30+ days and still no hire. What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is going on?

I'm sure the AD's Inbox was not exactly overflowing with applications, so someone with High School coaching (I assume you mean Varsity) experience may be wishful thinking. Having said that, I've heard that a couple coaches feel he would be a very good choice if St. Henry goes in that direction. I'm sure they're wanting to hire a teacher / coach as they have in the past, and that may be slowing the process down. I've heard he wants to do both, but lacks experience in both.

He is the JV coach at Holy Cross although, rumor has it he has applied for the St. Henry job.

I have heard there have been at least two interviews, and the possibility of a third person interviewed. Not doing themselves any favors by dragging their feet. The dead period starts in 14 days. The new coach could benefit from a couple sessions with the girls before then, particularly with no summer camp activity this summer.

She was a Senior this past season.

Whoever ends up being the new hire will be at a big disadvantage right from the start. I hear there are no plans to do any team camps this summer. By the time the new coach is hired it will probably be right around the beginning of the dead period. After the dead period ends, the Fall sports will begin practicing. The new coach will get very little, if any, evaluation time with the players before October 15th. I believe almost all of their girls play a Fall sport. They will not have spent much time with a basketball this summer. This will make for even more difficult transition period come October.

Currently, Kyla Brady is the JV coach and Flora Fields is the Freshman coach.

Are you referring to someone on the current staff or just suggesting it's a great opportunity for any new staff?