Highlands Grabs Three Wins in Three Days

Bluebird Winning Streak Reaches Eight

Highlands junior forward Rory O'Hara (35) scored 10 points and had three steals against Covington Holy Cross on Saturday. Highlands moved to 12-6 on the season with its eighth straight win.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (12-6 overall) won its third game in three days with a 51-37 victory on the 9th Region road Saturday.

Highlands played a make-up game against the Covington Holy Cross Indians and won 51-37. The Bluebirds have won eight in a row and moved to 6-0 in region play.

"It's just the mental aspect - being able to execute plays when you're legs are tired," said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. "That's one of the keys. We told them before the game we felt our bench was deeper. Sure enough, we had great play off the bench coming in and giving us points."

Junior forward Kelsey Listerman led the Bluebirds with 14 points. Junior forward Rory O'Hara broke out to score 10 points and junior guard Emma Mallery scored nine and had five rebounds. O'Hara also had three steals.

Highlands made 17-of-54 shots for 32 percent including 5-of-22 from three-point range for 23 percent and 12-of-17 free throws for 71 percent. The Bluebirds also had 24 rebounds, 12 fouls, seven turnovers, nine assists, one blocked shot and eight steals. Highlands senior guard Piper Macke had seven points, three assists and three steals.

Holy Cross (10-8) hit 13-of-32 shots for 41 percent including 1-of-7 from three-point range for 14 percent and 10-of-14 free throws for 71 percent. The Indians also had 26 rebounds, 14 fouls, 24 turnovers, five assists and one blocked shot.

The Indians saw just one player score in double figures. That was junior guard Grace Bezold with 19 points. Highlands held senior NCAA Division III Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio) commit Jade Simpson to just three points.

"We just wanted to speed up the game," Richey said. "We pressed the entire game. They're getting much better. We're able to do different things each game. There at Christmas, we weren't able to do much. Now, we're back to being able to play full-court. Whether it is man-to-man or zone, they're doing a great job."

The Bluebirds take on Newport Central Catholic (12-8) on Tuesday. Game time is 6 p.m. on the hill.