Bluebird Boys Drop Two |
| PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Alumni Highlands girls basketball players pose with current players on Friday. |
Before you knew it, the Bluebirds (12-3 overall) quickly built a double-digit lead on the visiting Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (8-5) in a crucial 36th District girls basketball game. Things continued to come together for the Bluebirds as the cruised to a 71-46 victory in Fort Thomas on Friday.
"We pressed some trying to get more opportunities on offense," said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. "We did some good things, but film shows us some things we have to work on. We'll watch film and see how we can get better."
The end result is a 2-0 mark in district play for Highlands while it marked the first district game for NewCath. The Bluebirds have won 26 straight against district opponents and eight in a row against the Thoroughbreds and 10 of the past 11 games in the series.
But Highlands did what it had to do to win the Friday game as opposed to focusing on those winning streaks. Most of the players dressed in the Highlands uniforms had experienced the phenomenon of facing their big district rivals in not just basketball, but also soccer, volleyball and softball.
Barth finished with a triple double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals to go with four assists. Barth made 11-of-20 shots including one three-pointer and 3-of-4 free throws.
But Highlands saw eight different players score and 12 total see action. Junior Piper Macke scored 13 and grabbed five rebounds with senior Chloe Jansen scoring 10. Jansen had four assists. Sophomore Rory O'Hara also had eight points and five rebounds.
"We have to have other girls being aggressive like Zoie getting the ball in the paint because good things usually happen," Richey said. "We were happy Piper shot the ball extremely well. Chloe does a lot of little things. But I need her to score more."
Highlands won the rebounding battle, 34-29 and had 11 assists, 16 steals, two blocked shots, 12 fouls and 18 turnovers. NewCath had five assists, 11 steals, one blocked shot, eight fouls and 20 turnovers.
"We knew we had to come out and do what we had to do from the get-go so we just carried that on from the first half to the second half," Jansen said. "We had to keep the intensity up as we went along. We kept everyone involved including the younger girls on the bench."
The Bluebirds made 30-of-54 shots including 6-of-17 three-point tries for 35 percent and 5-of-6 free throws for 83 percent. They led 32-18 at halftime and built the lead to as many as 28 points in the second half. That let the coaching staff give the main players in the rotation rest.
"All the players were very focused making sure they got to the ball and finished everything," said CC Shick, Highlands freshman. "It helped the whole team play controlled and not stress out over everything."
NewCath hit 16-of-55 shots for 29 percent including 6-of-22 three-point shots for 27 percent and 8-of-12 free throws for 67 percent. Senior Kara Zimmerman led the Thoroughbreds with 23 points.
Highlands takes on another county rival on Wednesday when Bishop Brossart comes to town. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Basketball, Boys:
Highlands Loses Twice:
The Bluebirds are 8-7 after losing at Scott (70-56) on Friday and to Simon Kenton (68-60). Highlands has lost four in a row and is currently playing without sophomore starting point guard Sam Vinson.
Against Scott (7-5), senior Ryan Leigh scored 16 and senior post Ben Sisson had 15 to go with seven rebounds and a blocked shot. Highlands had 30 rebounds, 15 assists, one blocked shot, four steals, 18 fouls and 15 turnovers.
Highlands made 24-of-51 shots for 47 percent including 4-of-15 three-point shots for 26 percent and 4-of-12 free throws for 33 percent. Scott made 22-of-47 shots for 47 percent including 5-of-13 three-point tries for 38 percent and 21-of-25 free throws for 84 percent.
The Eagles also had 29 rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots, no steals, 13 fouls and 11 turnovers. Michael Meister led Scott with 23 points and Chad Ohmer scored 22.
Against Simon Kenton, Sisson had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds with Leigh scoring 15. The Bluebirds made 22-of-47 shots for 47 percent including 3-of-11 three-point tries for 27 percent and 13-of-20 free throws for 65 percent and nabbed 36 rebounds.
The Pioneers (11-3) saw three players score in double digits. Sophomore guard Kelly Niece led the way with 24 points. Senior guard Robbie Krohman scored 16 and junior Logan Schwartz scored 14.
Highlands plays host to Conner (6-7) on Tuesday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
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