By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Senior guard Deja Turner made the game-winning shot, but it also took a solid defensive performance for Holy Cross to upset top-ranked Elizabethtown, 41-40, in the quarterfinals of the Houchens Industries/KHSAA girls’ state basketball tournament on Friday at Diddle Arena.
Elizabethtown was averaging 65 points per game and scored 79 in its first-round win over Mercer County. But Holy Cross held the Panthers to their lowest scoring total of the season.
“We play good defense,” said Holy Cross coach Kes Murphy. “That’s what we’re all about, and we feel if we do it successfully we can play with anybody.”
Elizabethtown, the top-ranked team in the state all season, had not lost to a Kentucky opponent before they faced the Indians, who are making their first state tournament appearance since 1976.
It looked like the Panthers would escape with a win when senior center Reauna Cleaver made a field goal and free throw to give her team a 40-39 lead with 21 seconds left. But Turner stepped up with her team’s season on the line.
After taking a pass on the right wing, Turner drove toward the basket and floated a shot over an Elizabethtown defender. The ball bounced on the rim a couple times before falling through the nets.
“It was the same thing that was open the whole game, but I just couldn’t hit that runner,” Turner said of the game-winning shot. “The girls always tell me keep shooting, the next one’s going to fall, and that one fell.”
Turner finished with a game-high 23 points. Holy Cross senior center Ally Mayhaus had six points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Indians, who shot 35.1 percent (13 of 37) from the field.
Elizabethtown shot 33.3 percent (12 of 36) from the field. The Panthers didn’t get any fast-break points so they had to work hard for every basket they got against the Holy Cross defense.
“I really felt like the girls were ready to play today,” said Elizabethtown coach Tim Mudd. “I’m probably as shocked as anybody else, but I thought Holy Cross played well and I’ve got to give them credit.”
Earlier this season, Holy Cross won the championship game of the Kentucky All “A” Classic small-school state tournament when Mayhaus made a shot in the final seconds against Murray.
Turner’s game-winner on Friday came with the season on the line against an Elizabethtown team that was considered a heavy favorite to win the state title.
But Turner didn’t consider the victory an upset.
“They’re a basketball team just like we’re a basketball team,” she said. “We all go out there on the same floor and shoot with the same ball. It’s just a game, and it comes down to toughness.”
Holy Cross (31-3) will take a 20-game win streak into Saturday’s semifinal game against Louisville Male. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. local time, which is 6:30 p.m. in Bowling Green.
Male shot 51 percent from the field in its 86-81 win over Henderson County in Friday’s quarterfinals. But the Bulldogs have to be wary about facing Holy Cross after seeing what the Indians did on defense against Elizabethtown.
This is the first second time in three years that a 9th Region champion has made it to the final four of the girls’ state tournament. Notre Dame was state runner-up in 2013. A Northern Kentucky team has never won the girls’ state title.
“We didn’t come down here to beat E-town. We came down here to win a state championship,” coach Murphy said. “We realize we’ve got more games to play. We’ve still got two more to win.”
ELIZABETHTOWN 10-8-6-16 — 40
HOLY CROSS 11-6-12-12 — 41
ELIZABETHTOWN (32-3): Boley 4 9 17, Cleaver 6 5 17, Huff 0 1 1, Stinson 2 0 5. Totals: 12 15 40.
HOLY CROSS (31-3): Turner 7 7 23, McClendon 1 0 2, Hassert 0 1 1, Tucker 3 0 7, A. Mayhaus 2 2 6, C. Mayhaus 0 2 2. Totals: 13 12 41.
Three-pointers: E — Stinson. HC — Turner 2, Tucker.