[Stardust]

http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...901290382/

Neither ice nor snow nor even June Buchanan High School could stop the Newport Central Catholic girls' basketball team from delivering on Wednesday afternoon in the Touchstone Energy All "A" Classic in Richmond.

The Thoroughbreds (14-6) began their first-round game at Eastern Kentucky University's McBrayer Arena on a 13-0 run on their way to a 62-30 thrashing of the Crusaders from Pippa Passas.

"We played real good defensively," coach Ron Dawn said. "We played good overall. ... We were just really ready to play."

Standout guard Courtney Sandfoss led the Thoroughbreds with 21 points and nine steals in a game that was moved from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. because of the wintry weather wreaking havoc in the Bluegrass State.

NewCath scored 20 points off 30 Buchanan turnovers, including 24 Thoroughbred steals.

The Crusaders (11-8), who trailed 25-7 at halftime, didn't hit double figures on the scoreboard until there was only 5:55 left in the third quarter.

NewCath led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter.

Dawn knows his Thoroughbreds still have room for improvement, though.

"We still had some turnovers, lack of concentration, missed a lot of easy shots," he said. "If we get those things taken care of, we'll be OK."

NewCath will play Paris (9-10) at 10 a.m. today in the first quarterfinal game. Paris edged Louisville Presentation Academy 41-38 on Wednesday.

"We saw that game," Dawn said. "We'll have our hands full; they're real athletic. It'll be a matter of if we can handle their full-court press."

If the Thoroughbreds win, they'll play in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. today - possibly against Lexington Christian, one of the top girls' teams in the state.

NCC (14-6) - Bartels 2 0 5, Sandfoss 10 0 21, Taylor 1 0 2, Buchanan 0 2 2, Schultz 2 0 4, Ciafardini 2 1 5, Piccola 4 0 8, Tabor 3 0 6, Geisler 3 0 9, Totals - 27 3 62.

JB (11-8) - Pratt 2 0 5, M. Hovee 5 0 11, Griffin 2 3 7, Slone 1 0 2, Short 1 0 3, Centers 1 0 2, Totals 12 3 30.

NewCath 13 12 19 18 -62
June Buchanan 3 4 9 14 -30

3-pointers: NCC - Bartels, Sandfoss, Geisler 3. JB - Pratt, M. Hovee, Short