By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Holmes girls’ basketball team made it through the halfway point of its regular season schedule without losing a game, and the Bulldogs did it in impressive fashion.
During their 16-0 streak, the Bulldogs won two tournaments and outscored their opponents by an average margin of 34.9 points. The fact that 13 of their games have been on the road, including three at a holiday tournament in Florida, makes their record even more remarkable.
And they’ve done all that with two freshmen and two sophomores among the eight players who have seen the most action in games.
“I knew we were going to be pretty good, but I didn’t think we’d be 16-0,” said Holmes head coach Tony Perkins, who took charge of the girls’ program last season. “We’re just really quick and play good defense, and we’ve shot the ball really well.”
Holmes and Louisville Male (13-0) are the only Kentucky girls’ high school basketball teams that have perfect records with five weeks remaining in the regular season. But statewide statistics compiled by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association have Holmes well ahead of Male in three key categories. Holmes ranks first in the state in average margin of victory (34.9), second in points allowed per game (34.9) and second in points scored per game (69.8).
Full-court pressure defense is the reason behind those lofty team statistics. The Bulldogs force opponents to commit turnovers and often score easy baskets in transition.
“Our defense is what makes us go,” Perkins said. “We get out and guard people and make it hard for them to get the ball up the floor, and that makes it hard for them to score.”
Depth is the key to playing that type of up-tempo game successfully. Perkins relies on an eight-player rotation that has been putting relentless pressure on its opponents.
“We haven’t really had a lot of letdowns,” the coach said. “Last year, at halftime we’d be up and come out in the second half and wouldn’t play. Except for one game this year, we haven’t had that happen. Even if we’re up by 30 points, we keep playing hard.”
The Holmes starting five includes sophomore point guard Jaynice Stovall with juniors Jynea Harris and Hannah Tubbs at the wings. Junior forward Amori Gulley and freshman forward Tyrah Englemon fill the other two spots in the lineup. The first three players off the bench for the Bulldogs are senior guard Shania Parker, senior forward Alexus Mayes and freshman guard Laila Johnson.
“We don’t start any of our seniors, but starting it is not a big deal here because we sub so much that everybody plays,” Perkins said. “I’ve got three people coming off the bench who deserve to start, but you can’t start but five.”
The team’s leading scorer is Tubbs with a 16.1 average. She’s one of the three newcomers who transferred to Holmes this year. The others are Mayes and Johnson.
“They accepted me right away,” Tubbs said of her new teammates. “Coming in, I thought it would be a rocky transition, but it’s worked out really well.”
Harris is averaging 15 points per game and has the team’s highest field goal percentage at 47.3 (86 of 182). She’s a returning starter from last year’s team who has shown vast improvement.
“Jynea’s problem last year was she didn’t have enough confidence,” Perkins said. “She didn’t believe she was as good as player as she was last year, but she’s really picked up. She rebounds, plays defense, takes the ball to the basket and she hit five threes the other night in a game.”
The unbeaten Bulldogs have some tough opponents ahead, starting with Saturday’s game against district rival Notre Dame. They also face Brossart, Holy Cross, Newport Central Catholic and Highlands before the end of the month.
Last year, Holmes had a 2-4 record against those five teams, including a 66-44 season-ending loss to Notre Dame in the district playoffs.
“We want to stay undefeated, but if we lose we just have to take it and keep going,” Harris said. “But I believe if we keep working hard and maintain our confidence we can remain undefeated. We just have to keep working hard in practice and it will show in our games.”