Thursday Highlands Notes: Girls Basketball Game at NewCath Postponed

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands eighth grade point guard Kaylee Mills gets in position in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball game at Newport Central Catholic scheduled for Friday will not be played.

If games can not be made up because of Coronavirus 2019 concerns, they go down as forfeits. Highlands is 5-9 for now and NewCath is 13-5. Highlands Head Coach Jaime Walz-Richey has not been able to be at the last four games.

"The Highlands girls basketball team is pausing activity because of positive cases on the team," said Wes Caldwell, Highlands Director of Athletics. "The health and safety of the players and their families are our top concern. We will reevaluate on Tuesday. We hope to reschedule our game with NCC."

The Highlands girls also had a home game scheduled against Cincinnati (Ohio) Ursuline Academy on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Bowling:

Highlands Teams Defeat NewCath:

The Highlands boys are 3-3 with the 5-2 win at Bellewood Lanes. Junior Jake Veneman bowled a 213 with juniors Dana Brown and Kurrin Frank bowling 180 and 178 respectively.

The Highlands girls moved to 5-1 with a 6-1 win. Senior Jade Rehberger led the way bowling 185 with senior Macy Hedenberg bowling 170 and 166. Seniors Chloe Bramble and Madison Clore both bowled 164.

Highlands takes on Pendleton County at La Ru Lanes on Tuesday. Match time is 4:15 p.m.

Highlands Tuesday Round-Up

Bluebirds Still Winless in Region Action

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands sophomore center Kasey Gross posts up in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (5-8 overall) saw the lone returning starter from last year return in junior point guard Alyssa Harris.

But Highlands could not produce consecutive victories falling 55-28 at St. Henry. The Bluebirds are 0-5 against 9th Region competition this year.

Senior center CC Shick led Highlands with 11 points. Shick made 5-of-7 shots and grabbed five rebounds.

The Bluebirds made 12-of-40 shots for 30 percent including 1-of-13 from three-point range for eight percent and 3-of-12 free throws for 25 percent. Highlands also had seven assists, eight steals, 30 turnovers and 24 rebounds.

Highlands travels to Newport Central Catholic (11-5) on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Bowling:

Highlands Loses Both Matches against Campbell County:

The Highlands girls fell to 4-1 and the boys are 2-3 following the losses to the Camels at Bellewood Lanes.

Saturday Round-up: Highlands Girls Hoops Bounces Back to Down County Rival

Highlands Archery Places Third in Tournament

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands freshman forward Adrienne Harris runs up-court in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (5-7 overall) faced another 37th District team Saturday at Russell Bridges Gym and put out a much better result.

Acting Head Coach Kayla Umberg challenged the Bluebirds in the fourth quarter of the loss at Scott on Friday to hustle better among other things. They put together a better fourth quarter in that game and it carried over to the next day resulting in a 57-50 win over the Campbell County Camels (6-7).

"It was like a whole other team out there," Umberg said. "We had a really good film session before the game. (6-foot-1-inch center) CC Shick, our only senior, really challenged the girls. (She) kind of told them what Highlands basketball is from the last girl on the bench to the girls on the floor and I think that really motivated the girls. It was really exciting to see all the girls involved, how excited the bench was and celebrating the win with the girls on the court."

Umber has served as acting head coach the past three games. Head Coach Jaime Walz-Richey has not able to be there during that time.

Shick led the way with a double-double of 23 points making both three-point shots, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Freshman Marissa Green at 6-2 followed with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Eighth grade guard Saylor Macke followed with eight including a crucial bucket down the stretch.

"(On Friday) our effort was really not there. It was good coming out (Saturday)," Macke said. "It always helps when our bench energy is up."

Highlands made 22-of-51 shots for 43 percent including 3-of-17 from three-point range for 18 percent and 10-of-14 free throws for 71 percent. The Bluebirds also had 38 rebounds, 17 assists, 11 steals and just 14 turnovers.

Junior forward Keauna Cullum led Campbell County with 12 and sophomore Alli Collins scored 11. The Camels made 7-of-14 free throws for 50 percent, 17 two-point shots and three three-pointers.

Highlands travels to St. Henry on Tuesday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Archery:

Highlands placed third out of eight teams in the Camp Ernst Middle School Shoot-Out in Burlington over the weekend with 3,154 points. Cooper won it with 3,244 points.

Highlands Girls Fall at Scott

Half-Court Pressure Hurts Bluebirds

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands sophomore guard Ava Lawhorn (13) gets in defensive position in the game at Scott on Friday.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (4-7 overall) ventured to Taylor Mill facing more than the usual challenges associated with the young team.

Head Coach Jaime Walz-Richey was not able to be there so Kayla Umberg served as acting head coach for the second game in a row. Juniors Ellie Walz and Alyssa Harris were still not able to play and experienced guards Meg Gessner and Laney Smith were not available. 

Highlands held tough with Scott (8-7) in the first quarter. But the Lady Eagles pulled away for a 52-34 victory. That win ended a 15-game winning streak for the Bluebirds in the series. 

The teams have not played on an annual basis throughout the last 16 seasons. But the last time Scott beat Highlands came by a 55-48 score on Feb. 19, 2005.

Highlands continued to try to work the ball inside to senior 6-foot-1-inch center CC Shick and 6-2 freshman center Marissa Green. Shick scored eight of her team-high 11 points in the first quarter when Highlands built a 10-7 lead.

But the Scott Lady Eagles pulled away in the second quarter when the likes of players such as senior guard Macy Campbell and junior forward Kayla Peterson penetrated the lane and made things happen. The duo scored 12 points each to lead Scott. 

Highlands hit 15-of-53 shots for 28 percent including 2-of-16 from three-point range for 13 percent. The Bluebirds also had six assists, 13 steals and 33 rebounds. Sophomore center Kasey Gross had seven rebounds to lead Highlands with eighth grade forward Katie Bucher recording four steals.

Scott used some half-court traps to pull away from Highlands forcing 23 turnovers. The Lady Eagles also made 14-of-18 free throws for 78 percent compared to 2-for-6 for 33 percent for Highlands.

Highlands Girls Bowling Team Bests Beechwood

Girls Basketball Falls to 0-4 in Region Play

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands eighth grader Saylor Macke (31) gets in position in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls bowling team moved to 4-0 on the season with a win over Beechwood at Bellewood Lanes on Thursday. 

Senior Macy Hedenberg led Highlands bowling a 197. The Highlands boys dropped to 2-2 losing to Beechwood.

Highlands defeated Scott in a Co-Ed Match on Tuesday to move to 4-0. Senior Chloe Bramble led Highlands bowling a 170 and senior Jade Rehberger bowled a 165. Junior Kurrin Frank bowled 161 and 159.

Highlands bowls against Campbell County on Jan. 11 at Southern Lanes.

Basketball, Girls:

Ryle 76, Highlands 29:

The Bluebirds (4-6 overall) continued to struggle against top teams in the 9th Region on the road Wednesday.

Highlands made just 9-of-29 shots for 31 percent including 3-of-13 from three-point range for 23 percent and made 6-of-10 free throws for 60 percent. The Bluebirds also grabbed just 15 rebounds. Senior Meg Gessner scored eight points to lead the Bluebirds and freshman 6-foot-2-inch center Marissa Green scored seven.

Ryle (11-4) hit 32-of-54 shots for 59 percent including 5-of-11 from three-point range for 46 percent and 7-of-8 free throws for 88 percent. The Lady Raiders also grabbed 25 rebounds.

Ryle put four players in double figures. Junior guard Abby Holtman led the way scoring 20. Sophomore center Sarah Baker, sophomore forward Quinn Eubank and junior guard Austin Johnson scored 15, 14 and 14 points respectively.

Highlands Tries New Combinations in Convincing Win over Robertson County

Bluebirds Record Largest Margin of Victory This Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior forward Megan Calme looks to make a pass in the game against Robertson County on Thursday.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team knew this could be a game where many players could come in and develop as long the players did not fall into a huge temptation.

That's looking at the opponent and thinking, "Oh, they're no good. We can take the day off." That did not happen as the Bluebirds (4-5 overall) took care of the struggling Robertson County Lady Devils (0-11), 76-39 Thursday afternoon at Russell Bridges Gymnasium. It is the largest margin of victory for Highlands this season.

"That was my challenge before the game. We had to give effort every single time we stepped out onto the court," said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. "We have to go, go, go. We can't jog. We can't be loafing it. We have to play hard every single second we're out there and I thought the girls did an outstanding job of doing that."

Highlands took advantage of its athleticism finding a lot of easy paths to the basket as 10 different Bluebirds scored. Highlands made 32-of-67 shots for 48 percent including 5-of-22 from three-point range for 23 percent and 7-of-12 free throws for 58 percent.

"We've had a lot of practice time working on our skills just making sure the girls understand what our strength is," Richey said. "We have to be able to get the posts touches and let them kick it out before we just start shooting a bunch of threes."

Freshman 6-foot-2-inch center Marissa Green led the way with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Meg Gessner followed with 14 points and freshman forward Adrienne Harris scored 10. Sophomore center Kasey Gross, freshman guard Ellie Mohr and eighth grade guards Saylor Macke and Kaylee Mills scored seven points each.

Highlands had 31 rebounds, 18 assists, 19 steals and 11 turnovers. Gessner had a team-high four assists. Mills, Macke and sophomore guard Laney Smith had three steals each. Junior forward Megan Calme had six rebounds. The Bluebirds responded well when things did not go their way.

"Something we tell each other is forget and focus," Smith said. "Just go on with the play. It's how you respond to the play, not what happens on the play. So if you get blocked like I did a couple times, just get back on defense. That's what (Richey) teaches us and it works out well in games."

Highlands is almost healthy. Richey said the lone returning starter from last year in junior point guard Alyssa Harris has been cleared to resume some team activities and hopes to make her season debut soon. She also said junior guard Elie Walz will be returning soon as well.

But players such as Mohr have made the most of their opportunities to adjust to the varsity level. Mohr has seven made triples on the season, which is second behind Gessner's eight.

"It's really about reading the defense and everything being faster and stronger," Mohr said. "It was a hard adjustment, but we're growing. I'm really excited for Alyssa to be back. (Seeing shots go in) makes your confidence grow a lot. You kind of go on a run and your adrenaline goes. You want to keep going and shooting the ball."

Robertson County did see two players score in double figures making 4-of-7 free throws for 57 percent. Sophomore guards Krysta Hamm and Ruby Gay scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Hamm came in averaging 17.5 points per game and Gay averaged 12.2.

Robertson County has just one senior in power forward Abby Earlywine. The closest the Lady Devils have come to a win this year is a 65-57 loss at Augusta on Dec. 6.

Highlands led 15-7 after the first quarter and 39-19 at halftime. The Bluebirds enforced the running clock in the second half leading 64-28 entering the fourth quarter.

Highlands Girls Hoops Finishes Runner-Up at Assumption Tournament

Bluebirds Play Again in One Week

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands freshman Marissa Green (middle) gets in defensive position in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (3-5 overall) hoped to earn a holiday tournament championship days before Christmas.

But it did not happen. Highlands fell 52-27 against the Pikeville Lady Panthers (8-1). Pikeville has won three straight 15th Region championships.

Pikeville saw three players score in double figures making all four free throws. Sophomore Rylee Theiss led the way scoring 16 points with freshman Leighan Jackson and sophomore Kristen Whited scoring 10 each.

Highlands did not place anyone in double digits. Sophomore 6-foot-2-inch center Marissa Green led the way with eight points.

The Bluebirds made 10-of-45 shots for 22 percent including 2-of-17 from three-point range for 12 percent and 5-of-8 free throws for 63 percent. They also had eight steals, eight assists, 21 turnovers and 29 rebounds. Senior 6-1 center CC Shick had seven rebounds and senior guard Meg Gessner had seven rebounds and three steals. Eighth grade forward Katie Bucher had four assists.