[Stardust]

St. Henry's Jessica Knaley has decided that this will be a three-sport senior season for her. On Saturday against visiting Bishop Brossart, Knaley was the decisive factor for the Crusaders' basketball team while pouring in 22 points and fueling St. Henry's 57-51 upset victory.

Knaley, who's been a standout for the volleyball team, is trying track and field for the first time in the spring. Right now, she's the basketball team's hot scorer.

• Take our high school nicknames quiz
• Enquirer's Recruiting Trail blog
• Enquirer high school sports blog
• Check us out on Facebook
• More prep coverage

"We need her points," senior captain Annie Fugate said of Knaley. "And we need to keep playing defense."

St. Henry (19-5), ranked 10th in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll, received plenty of both against the 10th Region All "A" champion Mustangs (20-5), ranked seventh locally, especially in the second quarter. The Crusaders, a state leader in scoring defense with an average yield of 41 points per game, limited Brossart to three field goals in the second while building a 26-20 halftime lead. Knaley scored six points in the quarter. She had eight at halftime and 20 by the end of the third.

"Our guards were there and that's what helped me out," Knaley said. "When Annie and Jill (Bauer) dribbled to the basket, I knew they were going to dish off to me and I was ready."

St. Henry coach Brian Coburn was impressed with Knaley's presence of mind on the perimeter. "Jessica's a hustler and getting to the right spot is the big thing for her," the coach said.

The Crusaders, runners-up to Newport Central Catholic in the Ninth Region All "A" tournament, had to fend off the Mustangs, who took a seven-point opening-quarter lead while Sarah Futscher scored Brossart's first nine points on the way to a team-high 16.

The Mustangs cut back into the lead in the third but nearly every time they hit a key basket, Knaley answered en route to 12 points in the quarter. Undaunted, Brossart used an 8-2 fourth-quarter run to tie the score at 51, but Morgan Potts scored in transition to give St. Henry the lead for good. Fugate hit a layup and Bauer sank a pair of free throws to complete the scoring.

Bauer powered her way to 11 points while adding game-high totals of eight assists and seven steals. Fugate and Savannah Neace scored eight points apiece. The Crusaders won with starting junior guard Kelly Coburn on the bench the entire second half with a swollen right knee.

"Jill Bauer had an absolutely tremendous game," coach Coburn said. "Our guards were playing so well that I didn't want to risk putting Kelly back in."

Brossart coach Josh Feldmann's squad had won 11 of 12. "We shot 50 percent on field goals and 50 percent on 3s, so offense wasn't our problem," the coach said. "We didn't do a good job rotating defensively and that allowed Knaley to get the majority of their points."

Rachel Hartig added 13 for the Mustangs

http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...302040037/