Highlands girls smash Ryle; NCC girls move to All "A" 9th Title game

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team would love to consistently score 60 to 70-plus a game.

Highlands (13-6) hit the 70s for the second straight home game and third time in four games in a 76-56 thrashing of the Ryle Lady Raiders (8-7) on Friday. Highlands moved to 3-0 on the season when scoring 71 or more points and 8-0 when it scores 61 or more points.

The Bluebirds again saw balanced scoring as nine different players scored. Brianna Adler made five three-pointers on her way to a team-high 20 points.

The Twin Towers followed Adler with double-digit efforts. Leah Schaefer scored 17 and Jesse “Dirt” Daley recorded 11.

Highlands made seven three-pointers overall. After Adler, Haley Coffey and Alex Combs made one each.

Ryle saw two players reach double-digits. Katie Connor made seven three-pointers on her way to 21 points and McKell Oliverio made one on her way to 17 points.

Highlands struggled offensively in the middle two quarters of recent defeats to Newport Central Catholic and Notre Dame. But the Bluebirds scored 27 in the second quarter to go up 36-14 at halftime and 24 in the third to increase the lead to 60-31.

Highlands travels to Boone County (9-7) on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest. The Bluebirds beat the Lady Rebels, 46-40 on its way to winning the State Farm Classic at Conner on Dec. 28.

All “A” 9th Region Girls Semifinals:

NCC 60, Lloyd Memorial 40:

The host Thoroughbreds (12-4) defeated the Lady Juggernauts (5-11) for the second time this year.

Junior standout post Nikki Kiernan once again led NCC with 15 points, including 10 in the first quarter to help the Thoroughbreds race out to a 17-4 advantage. Sophomores Alexus Mayes and Michaela Ware added eight each.

NewCath outscored Lloyd Memorial, 21-0 from three-point land. Mayes and Stephanie Lewis made two three-pointers each. Kiernan, Ansley Davenport and Loren Zimmerman all made one a piece.

NewCath faces St. Henry (8-8) at 7 p.m. tonight for the regional title. The Thoroughbreds have won six consecutive crowns. During that time, NewCath went on to win the state tournament in 2010 with runner-up finishes in 2007 and last year.