200 and Advancing



G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands post Alex Combs (42) prepares to shoot a free throw in Friday's 9th Region quarterfinal contest against Covington Holmes. Highlands won 55-42 for its first region win since 2009 and 200th since head coach Jaime Walz-Richey took over in 2002.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS – The win was not a surprise.

But it still marked a huge victory for several reasons. The most important reason is the Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team advanced to the 9th Region semifinals for the first time since 2009 with the 55-42 win over the Covington Holmes Lady Bulldogs on Friday at the Bank of Kentucky Center at Northern Kentucky University.

The win also marked the 200th victory in the 11-year tenure of Jaime Walz-Richey against 124 defeats. Highlands also improved to 25-7 with its ninth consecutive win and matched the 2008-09 team for the most wins in a season since Richey became head coach.

“Thankfully, we had that lead because we had a meltdown in the second half that we hadn’t seen since the beginning of the year,” Richey said. “We were just running away from the ball on offense. On defense, we weren’t rebounding the ball.”

Like most coaches do, Richey quickly downplayed the milestone win. She pointed out she does not play like she did during her remarkable high school career when she scored a state-record 4,948 points in the 90s.

This marked just the fourth time the Bluebirds won in the region quarterfinals since 2002. They lost in the regional semifinals in 2004, 2007 and 2009.

Highlands once again won with defense and offensive balance. The Bluebirds made 19-of-42 shots for 45 percent with six three-pointers and held the Lady Bulldogs to 13-of-47 shooting for 28 percent and three triples.

Highlands saw nine different players score. Leah Schaefer led the way with 14 points and Emilie Parton scored 10. Teammate Brianna Adler made two three-pointers on her way to nine points with Jesse “Dirt” Daley and Haley Coffey following with eight and seven respectively.

“We’ve had someone step up every single game,” Richey said. “In the districts, it was Vanessa Fisse. Emilie has been playing well lately. We were able to play eight or nine people in the first half.”

Tamra Holder did play for Holmes and led the way with 12 points. But Highlands held sophomore guard Deja Turner to just nine points.

“(Richey) told us to make (Turner) go left,” said Ava Abner, Highlands guard. “In the first three quarters, we definitely did that. When we did, we had help side (defense). The biggest key is the girls were in the gaps. That’s how we stopped them defensively. We let up in the fourth quarter. But a win is a win.”

The Lady Bulldogs got back in the game with their rebounding. They won that battle 39-27, including 19-8 on the offensive glass. Jameela Salaah led Holmes with 11 rebounds and Daley led Highlands with eight.

Highlands built a 19-point halftime lead with good defensive pressure. Holmes recorded 10 of its 14 turnovers in the first half. Highlands recorded just 10 turnovers and had eight steals to six for the Lady Bulldogs. Abner led the Bluebirds with three thefts.

Highlands also distributed the ball better making 10 assists to four for Holmes. Schaefer, Abner and Alex Combs dished out two assists each.

The Bluebirds surged ahead for good with a 16-0 run to finish the first quarter and lead 18-4. Parton scored eight points during the run making consecutive three-pointers from the left corner and Adler finished it with a four-point play with 4.9 seconds remaining. She made a three-pointer from the right corner on an isolation play and made the ensuring free throw.

Highlands finished off the second half with a 4-0 run to go up 35-16 at halftime. Schaefer made a three-pointer from the right wing with two seconds left.

Holmes started the first quarter in a 3-2 zone defense. But Parton’s three-pointers made the Lady Bulldogs extend their defense. That opened things up inside for Daley. Daley scored all eight of her points in that quarter.

“I knew going into the game they were going to double down because of how the game went the last time we played them (Daley scored 16 points in the last meeting),” Daley said. “So I started kicking it out more. Once we started hitting three’s, they couldn’t double-team anymore. My teammates talk to me and let me know how many girls are guarding me.”

Holmes came out in the second half in a 1-1-3 zone defense and again packed things in tight in the paint. The Lady Bulldogs won the third quarter just 7-6 to trail 41-23 entering the fourth quarter. Adler and Coffey scored Highlands’ lone buckets on three-pointers.

“We had worked on the 1-1-3 the entire week,” said Scott Calcaterra, Holmes head coach. “After we got the draw against Highlands, I knew I would have to come up with something different than what they’d seen. Jaime is such an experienced coach that I felt if we went to it too early, they’d do something different.”

Highlands appeared to put the game away with a 7-2 run to start the quarter. The Bluebirds led 48-25 after Parton scored and 50-28 with 5:05 remaining following a Fisse score.

But Holmes did not go away quietly. The Lady Bulldogs used a 14-0 run to trim the margin to 50-42 with a minute left using pressure defense. But Highlands made 5-of-8 free throws in the final minute to pull away.

“The guards definitely had to take control of the game and slow it down a bit,” Coffey said. “We had to pass it to the post players and have them keep it under control also.”

Highlands also beat Holmes, 76-60 on Jan. 13. The Bluebirds face a rematch with Union Ryle in the semifinals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Highlands dominated the Lady Raiders, 76-56 on Jan. 11 in Fort Thomas. Highlands is 4-0 in 9th Region rematches this season.

But in that contest, Ryle played without injured guard Dawn Johnson. That started a seven-game losing streak for the Lady Raiders (12-18).

“We have to play our game and know where they’re shooters are,” Richey said. “We’re going to have to make some adjustments with Dawn playing. They have to match up against us too so we’ll see.”

Ryle hopes to run up and down the court like crazy. The Bluebirds have the size advantage over the Lady Raiders.

The winner faces either Boone County or Notre Dame on Monday at 7 p.m. for the region crown. Boone County has won five of the last nine region titles.