By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Holmes girls’ basketball coach Tony Perkins was disappointed with a disparity in the final statistics following his team’s 41-37 win over Ryle on Friday.
The Bulldogs forced 28 turnovers with their relentless full-court pressure defense, but they shot a dismal 26.1 percent (11 of 42) from the field on their home court and had to battle until the end to remain undefeated at 3-0.
“Our kids played hard, but you don’t get points for defense or rebounding,” Perkins said. “You’ve got to put the ball in the basket.”
Holmes scored a total of 19 points off turnovers during the game, but that wasn’t nearly enough for the coach. He said his players squandered several scoring opportunities after taking the ball away from Ryle (2-2), especially in the first half.
The Raiders, ranked No. 4 in the preseason coaches poll, had a 21-19 halftime lead even though they committed 18 turnovers in the first 16 minutes of the game.
“When you (force) 18 turnovers in the first half, you ought to have 40 points,” Perkins said. “We only had 19 points on 18 turnovers. When you get that many turnovers you ought to be finishing at the other end and we didn’t do that. We missed too many easy shots.”
Holmes took the lead with an 11-3 scoring run in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Laila Johnson made three baskets, including a 3-pointer, during that surge and the Bulldogs were ahead, 30-24, going into the final quarter.
Holmes extended its lead to 38-27 when senior forward Amori Gulley hit a jumper from the wing with less than four minutes left on the clock. But Ryle responded by scoring six straight points to reduce the margin to 38-33 with 1:06 remaining.
In the final minute, the Bulldogs made three free throws to stay on top. Ryle scored a meaningless basket just before the horn sounded to set the final score.
“Everybody was talking about how good Ryle was so this put us to the test,” said Holmes senior guard Jynea Harris. “We had to come out and show what we have. Even though we missed a lot of shots, we still came out strong and won it.”
Harris was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points. She also had five rebounds and three steals. Johnson finished with 10 points and nine steals for the Bulldogs.
The only double-figure scorer for Ryle was senior center Aimee Jump with 11 points. She scored nine in the second quarter when her team opened up a 21-13 lead. But the Raiders committed turnovers on their next five offensive possessions and Holmes regained the momentum it needed to come away with the victory.
Ryle ended up shooting 32.5 percent (13 of 40) from the field, but the team had twice as many turnovers as field goals.
“They do a nice job of attacking you and making you make mistakes,” Ryle coach Katie Haitz said of the Bulldogs. “That’s what they do best and it’s something we’re going to have to work on, getting the ball in and making sure we control it.”
HOLMES 10 9 11 11 — 41
RYLE 4 17 3 13 — 37
HOLMES (3-0): Harris 3 5 13, Stovall 1 5 8, Englemon 1 3 5, Johnson 4 1 10, Gulley 1 1 3, Brown 1 0 2. Totals: 11 15 41.
RYLE (2-2): Scherr 0 2 2, Jones 3 1 8, Lange 0 2 2, Schwartz 3 2 8, Jump 5 0 11, Carouthers 1 0 2, Williams 1 2 4. Totals: 13 9 37.
Three-pointers: H – Harris 2, Stovall, Johnson. R – Jones, Jump.