Bluebirds open with win; Lady Breds down LexCath

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The host Highlands Bluebirds basketball team opened Friday with a 60-59 overtime win over the St. Henry Crusaders (0-5).

“It was a hard-fought game,” said Mike Flynn, Highlands head coach. “It went back-and-forth. Neither team led by more than four the entire second half.”

Bailey Witte led Highlands with 19 points and Drew Houliston scored 13. Witte hit a shot inside with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime and Luke Turner hit two free throws in overtime to put the Bluebirds up for good.

The Crusaders also saw two players reach double-digits. They were Jordan Noble with 16 and Darius Mieman with 13.

Highlands takes on Bellevue (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. tonight back in Fort Thomas.

NCC girls 69, Lexington Catholic 41:

The host Lady Breds moved to 3-0 with an impressive win over the Lady Knights (1-3) Friday.

NewCath led 15-4 after the first quarter and 33-15 at halftime. Junior standout forward Nikki Kiernan scored 13 of her game-high 29 points in the second quarter.

Kiernan added eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Teammates Stephanie Lewis and Alexus Mayes followed with 15 and nine points respectively. Mayes had 10 rebounds and Lewis had six.

“We shot the ball really well,” said George Stoll, NCC head coach. “We’re a tough team to zone. We played hard. We’re a pretty balanced team even though we’re young.”

The Lady Knights saw two players reach double-digits in scoring. They were Bailey Browning with 16 and Octavia Wilson with 11 points and eight rebounds.

NewCath travels to defending 10th Region champion Montgomery County (2-1) for a 4:30 p.m. contest today.