[Stardust]

From Cinciannati.com


Notre Dame Academy's 60-50 victory against rival Boone County on Saturday marked one of those few occasions when everybody left the basketball game feeling good about themselves, even the losing team.


"How can you not feel good about a night like this? I feel great," Boone County coach Nell Fookes said. "I wished we played a little better, but what a great crowd. And what a great cause."

The Rebels and Pandas moved their Saturday game from Notre Dame Academy to the Connor Convocation Center at Thomas More College so they could draw a bigger crowd to benefit former Boone County player Jami Martin Reed.

Reed, who played at Boone County under Fookes in the late 1990s when Notre Dame Academy head coach Cheryl Darpel was a Rebels assistant, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.

She underwent four surgeries and 16 weeks of chemotherapy, which brought her 16 months of wellness. But doctors discovered in June that cancer spread to Reed's liver. Reed, 28, started a blog, recounting her ordeal with cancer.

Darpel became a blog member, and told Fookes about Reed's plight.

"Our gate is always so huge against Boone, so I told Nell it might be a good idea to move the game to a place like Thomas More," Darpel said. "So we came up with the idea of a benefit for Jami and her family. My husband survived cancer, so I know what a pain it can be, and we really wanted to give back to a girl who gave her all for four years at Boone."

Proceeds from Saturday's game were given to Reed, her husband, Jason, and her 5-year-old daughter, Sophia, to help pay medical bills. A crowd of approximately 1,000, which included Kentucky Rep. Addia Wuchner, helped raised more than $2,500.

A local high school assistant basketball coach won the split-the-pot raffle and donated nearly the entire amount to Reed.

"I'm overwhelmed," Reed said.

Darpel also was moved by the support.

"Especially at this time when the economy is so bad, for people to come out to this game and support somebody they don't even know, says a lot about the community we live in," Darpel said. "It was a great night."

Especially for the Pandas. They outscored Boone 22-9 in the fourth quarter to rally from an eight-point third-quarter deficit. The teams combined to hit four straight 3-pointers in a 50-second span to close the third quarter.

The score was tied 42-42 early in the fourth, and the lead changed hands three times after that. Senior guard Emily Ludwig (12 points) gave the Pandas (10-5) the lead for good at 46-44 with her second 3-pointer of the game with 4:18 to play.

Senior guard Casey Jackson led Notre Dame with 20 points.

"Coming into this game, we realized it was about more than just basketball," Jackson said. "It just feels great to be a part of something that really helps someone out."

Jacy Bradley, a senior point guard for Boone County (10-4), led all scorers with 21 points.

Boone County (10-4) - Bradley 10 1 21, Bowling 4 0 8, Sellers 2 1 7, Sandlin 2 1 6, Davis 2 2 6, Combs 0 2 2. Totals 20 7 50.

Notre Dame Academy (10-5) - Jackson 5 9 20, Ludwig 4 2 12, Albanese 4 2 11, Delph 3 2 9, Walker 2 0 4, Ammerman 1 2 4. Totals 19 17 60.

Boone County 6 16 19 9 - 50
Notre Dame Academy 13 6 19 22 - 60


3-pointers: B 3 (Sellers 2, Sandlin), N 5 (Ludwig 2, Jackson, Albanese, Delph