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01-07-2009, 01:37 PM
During the first two quarters of play Tuesday night at Notre Dame Academy, the host Pandas seemed poised to saddle rival Highlands with its first loss to a local team this season in a physical battle between Ninth Region stalwarts.
But Highlands survived the Pandas' push and wound up handing Notre Dame its first local loss with a 58-50 come-from-behind victory.
Notre Dame, rejuvenated by the return of senior guard Casey Jackson, who missed seven games with a broken left finger, bolted to an eight-point first quarter lead by making seven of its first 10 shots from the field while limiting the Bluebirds to just two field goals on their first eight attempts.
The Pandas led by three at halftime and took a 28-23 lead inside the first minute of the third quarter.
• Photos: Bluebirds 58, Pandas 50
The Bluebirds, 11-1 with the only blemish a loss to Dupont Manual on Dec. 22, began Tuesday's rally with a 22-11 third-quarter scoring advantage that built a 45-37 Highlands lead heading into the final period.
The Bluebirds outlasted Notre Dame (9-5) with fresh legs while getting an ensemble performance from its deep roster of players.
"We really felt like we'd wear them down eventually," Highlands coach Jaime Richey said. "When we play a team that doesn't use a lot of players, we'll push the ball and try to break them down. We have one of the deepest teams in the region and we have a lot of confidence in our bench."
Mallory Adler led Highlands with a game-high 16 points, nine coming during the Bluebirds' third-quarter blitz.
Adler gave Highlands the lead for good, 37-35, with 2:25 to go in the third when she stole a Pandas defensive rebound, turned and scored on a bank shot from the low block.
Katie Allen added 14 points for Highlands and Bekah Towles scored 12 while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
"This is definitely a team win," Allen said. "Everybody contributed and played a big role. We really stepped it up on defense in the third quarter with everybody talking and stepping into gaps."
Allen and Towles combined to shoot just 5-for-24 from the field, but they combined to sink 15 of 20 free throws.
"They made 26 of 32 free throws ,and we made three of six. That's your ball game right there," Pandas coach Cheryl Darpel said. "We've got to get to the line more than that."
Richey made a fundamental change on offense at halftime which resulted in the Bluebirds' free-throw deluge.
"We shot five 3s in the first half and I just thought that was too many," the coach said. "So I told the girls at halftime to start driving to the basket and get our points that way. We did, and we got fouled a lot. And we made our free throws."
Maddie Walker led Notre Dame with 13 points, but she injured her right ankle in the final 40 seconds and had to be helped off the court. Darpel did not know the extent of Walker's injury immediately after the game. Judy Albanese added 12 points for Notre Dame.
The Pandas' Kristen Delph, averaging a team-leading 14 points per game, was held to eight points Tuesday. Jackson, playing tentatively with wrapped fingers, scored seven points.
Highlands (11-1) - Adler 5 5 16, Allen 3 7 14, Towles 2 8 12, Conner 2 4 8, Cutter 1 2 4, Macke 1 0 2, Messmer 1 0 2. Totals 15 26 58.
Notre Dame Academy (9-5) - Walker 6 1 13, Albanese 4 2 12, Delph 4 0 8, Jackson 3 0 7, Ludwig 2 0 5, Clark 1 0 3, Drees 1 0 2. Totals 21 3 50.
Highlands 13 10 22 13 -58
Notre Dame 17 9 11 13 -50
3-pointers: H 2 (Allen, Adler), N 5 (Albanese 2, Ludwig, Jackson, Clark).
But Highlands survived the Pandas' push and wound up handing Notre Dame its first local loss with a 58-50 come-from-behind victory.
Notre Dame, rejuvenated by the return of senior guard Casey Jackson, who missed seven games with a broken left finger, bolted to an eight-point first quarter lead by making seven of its first 10 shots from the field while limiting the Bluebirds to just two field goals on their first eight attempts.
The Pandas led by three at halftime and took a 28-23 lead inside the first minute of the third quarter.
• Photos: Bluebirds 58, Pandas 50
The Bluebirds, 11-1 with the only blemish a loss to Dupont Manual on Dec. 22, began Tuesday's rally with a 22-11 third-quarter scoring advantage that built a 45-37 Highlands lead heading into the final period.
The Bluebirds outlasted Notre Dame (9-5) with fresh legs while getting an ensemble performance from its deep roster of players.
"We really felt like we'd wear them down eventually," Highlands coach Jaime Richey said. "When we play a team that doesn't use a lot of players, we'll push the ball and try to break them down. We have one of the deepest teams in the region and we have a lot of confidence in our bench."
Mallory Adler led Highlands with a game-high 16 points, nine coming during the Bluebirds' third-quarter blitz.
Adler gave Highlands the lead for good, 37-35, with 2:25 to go in the third when she stole a Pandas defensive rebound, turned and scored on a bank shot from the low block.
Katie Allen added 14 points for Highlands and Bekah Towles scored 12 while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
"This is definitely a team win," Allen said. "Everybody contributed and played a big role. We really stepped it up on defense in the third quarter with everybody talking and stepping into gaps."
Allen and Towles combined to shoot just 5-for-24 from the field, but they combined to sink 15 of 20 free throws.
"They made 26 of 32 free throws ,and we made three of six. That's your ball game right there," Pandas coach Cheryl Darpel said. "We've got to get to the line more than that."
Richey made a fundamental change on offense at halftime which resulted in the Bluebirds' free-throw deluge.
"We shot five 3s in the first half and I just thought that was too many," the coach said. "So I told the girls at halftime to start driving to the basket and get our points that way. We did, and we got fouled a lot. And we made our free throws."
Maddie Walker led Notre Dame with 13 points, but she injured her right ankle in the final 40 seconds and had to be helped off the court. Darpel did not know the extent of Walker's injury immediately after the game. Judy Albanese added 12 points for Notre Dame.
The Pandas' Kristen Delph, averaging a team-leading 14 points per game, was held to eight points Tuesday. Jackson, playing tentatively with wrapped fingers, scored seven points.
Highlands (11-1) - Adler 5 5 16, Allen 3 7 14, Towles 2 8 12, Conner 2 4 8, Cutter 1 2 4, Macke 1 0 2, Messmer 1 0 2. Totals 15 26 58.
Notre Dame Academy (9-5) - Walker 6 1 13, Albanese 4 2 12, Delph 4 0 8, Jackson 3 0 7, Ludwig 2 0 5, Clark 1 0 3, Drees 1 0 2. Totals 21 3 50.
Highlands 13 10 22 13 -58
Notre Dame 17 9 11 13 -50
3-pointers: H 2 (Allen, Adler), N 5 (Albanese 2, Ludwig, Jackson, Clark).
01-07-2009, 03:09 PM
This was a great win for HHS. HHS, NKY's #1 team is starting to get into the meat of their schedule with New Cath, Boone and Ryle all in a row.
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