Walton-Verona 38

**blue1424** · 01-29-2012, 03:29 PM

Final

Walton-Verona wins the 2012 All "A" Classic state championship

**Stardust** · 01-29-2012, 08:51 PM

FRANKFORT — Maybe it's time to hyphenate Walton-Verona again.

Walton-Verona-Champions has a ring to it, and the Lady Bearcats' basketball players will soon have rings on their fingers after winning the Touchstone Energry All "A" Classic Sunday afternoon.

The title didn't come easy.

Walton-Verona had to dodge a couple of bullets at the end of regulation and overtime, but it held on to beat Newport Central Catholic 38-36 in a game dominated by defense in the Frankfort Convention Center.

"Unbelievable," Coach Mark Clinkenbeard said as he watched his players hoist the championship trophy. "We got a little lucky, but we just gutted it out. That's all I can say. We just gutted it out."

Lady Bearcats senior Jenalee Ginn said she was "the happiest person on earth right now. It's awesome."

Kara Taulbee led the winners with 11 points, including a clutch three-pointer in overtime. Michele Judy had eight points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Courtney Sandlin, the tournament MVP, had six points and six rebounds while battling foul trouble.

Walton-Verona, which won a state cross country title a few years ago, had never made it to a state finals in basketball before. The team is now in a five-way tie for ninth in Dave Cantrall's Rating the State. Its fans turned out in big numbers and were probably the most vocal all week.

Asked what the small-school hoops title meant to the school and community south of Covington, Clinkenbeard pointed toward the blue-clad throng and said, "What do you think?"

NewCath, which won the 2010 title and was in the girls' finals for the fourth time, had its chances to salvage victory.

The Thoroughbreds rallied from a 34-30 deficit in the last minute after forcing the Lady Bearcats into three consecutive turnovers.

With her team down 34-33, NewCath's Aubrey Muench drove to the basket and was fouled with one second left in regulation. She made the first free throw but missed the second, and the game went into overtime.

Points were still at a premium in the four-minute extra period. Only one field goal scored, but it was a big one.

After Muench hit two foul shots to give NewCath a 36-34 lead, Taulbee dodged an onrushing defender and knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing to put her team ahead to stay.

"It was huge, I'm not going to lie," Taulbee said. "I threw it up and hoped it'd go in."

Clinkenbeard was impressed. "The guts it takes to take that shot — incredible," he said.

Walton-Verona's Lizzie Hoffa added a free throw to make it 38-36 with 20 seconds left, but that was plenty of time for NewCath to win or force another overtime.

Olivia Huber fired a three that was short, but teammate Nicole Kiernan got the rebound and hurried a shot that missed at the buzzer.

It was that kind of afternoon for NewCath, which struggled to score from start to finish. It shot just 23 percent (11-for-47, including 2-for-17 on threes). Kiernan led the Breds with 12 points, 17 rebounds and five steals.

NewCath's defense almost rescued it, but not quite.

Coach Ron Dawn said "that's what we have to do because we're not very good at the other end of the floor other than one or two kids."

As for the missed opportunities at the end of regulation and overtime, Dawn said, "there were so many other plays earlier in the game, missed layups and free throws, that you can look back on, too.

"It's tough, but we lost to a good team right there."

Dawn was motioning toward to Walton-Verona-Champs.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/01/29/20481...rylink=cpy

**Stardust** · 01-29-2012, 08:52 PM

Three of the Four All A finals for both Boys and Girls from NKY

**Stardust** · 01-29-2012, 08:53 PM

FRANKFORT - Walton-Verona and Newport Central Catholic transformed one of the lowest scoring girls' basketball finals in Touchstone Energy All "A" Classic history into an overtime classic Sunday at Frankfort Convention Center.

In a back-and-forth struggle replete with big plays, Kara Taulbee came through with the most clutch. The senior guard drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bearcats the lead for good with 3:13 remaining in ovetime on the way to a thrilling 38-36 first-ever small-school state championship victory for Walton-Verona.

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Taulbee's trey from the right wing answered a pair of free throws by Aubrey Muench that gave NewCath a 36-34 lead in the extra session. The Thoroughbreds regained possession twice on steals but Taulbee stole it back giving Walton-Verona the ball with 22 seconds to play.

"Taulbee hit some big shots and that 3 was huge," NewCath coach Ron Dawn said. "She's got a ball-fake, step-back 3 and not many guys can do that, and she hit it in overtime."

NewCath forced the extra period by rallying from a four-point fourth-quarter deficit with the aid of three steals in the final two minutes of regulation. Muench's free throw with 1.0 seconds remaining tied it at 34, forcing the four-minute overtime period. The 68 points was the second-lowest score after regulation in tournament history.

"Unbelievable finish," said Walton-Verona coach Mark Clinkenbeard, whose Bearcats have won 10 straight games and are 14-1 since he checked himself into a hospital after complaining of chest pain. "I'm glad I survived it."

The Bearcats (19-4), ranked sixth in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll, were led by Taulbee's 11 points. Michele Judy added eight points and 14 rebounds. Courtney Sandlin had six points and six rebounds for Walton and was named tournament most valuable player.

Taulbee, who set a tournament record with 15 3-point baskets, Judy and Ginn were named all-tournament. Walton tied the team record with 32 treys.

"This is absolutely amazing," said Sandlin, who averaged 12 points and five rebounds in four tournament games. "There just aren't any words to describe this feeling. I'm just so happy we won and made school history."

NewCath (14-4), ranked fifth locally, was paced by Nicole Kiernan's game-high 12 points and 17 rebounds. Olivia Huber (5 points) and Muench (6 points) joined Kiernan as all-tournament selections.

"We made some defensive plays to get it into overtime but I think we got into too much of a hurry once we got there and made some mistakes," NewCath's Dawn said. "We can't do that. We need to make every possession count because we just don't have that much offense."

The teams combined for just 31 points at halftime. NewCath was on the verge of winning its second small-school title in three years despite shooting 21.2 percent (11-for-52) from the floor. Judy (4 blocks) and Ginn (2 steals) spearheaded Walton's defensive effort.

When Huber missed a 3-pointer and Kiernan was unable to connect on the put-back attempt as the final buzzer sounded, the Bearcats raced to midcourt and embraced each other. Moments later, they held aloft the winner's trophy and posed for photographs.

"Our hard work and never giving up won this game," Sandlin said. "This is something I'll always remember."

http://www.NKY.com

**Stardust** · 01-29-2012, 08:53 PM

Walton-Verona 8 - 6 - 7 - 13 - 4 -- 38
Newport Central Catholic 7 - 10 - 6 - 11 - 2 -- 36

Walton-Verona (19-4) - Taulbee 4 0 11, Judy 3 2 8, Sandlin 3 0 6, Ginn 2 0 5, Clinkenbeard 2 0 4, Slavey 1 0 3, Hoffa 0 1 1. Totals 15 3 38.

Newport Central Catholic (14-5) - Kiernan 3 5 12, Muench 1 3 6, Huber 2 1 5, Kohls 2 1 5, Ware 1 1 3, Mayes 1 1 3, Schalk 1 0 2. Totals 11 12 36.

Halftime: NewCath, 17-14. 3-pointers: W 5 (Taulbee 3, Slavey, Ginn. N 2 (Huber, Kiernan)