By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The NKY Trib’s Northern Kentucky prep basketball season coverage is sponsored by St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
With less than four weeks left in the regular season, Holmes remains on top in the Northern Kentucky girls’ high school basketball coaches poll, and it’s easy to see why.
The Bulldogs (17-3) have not lost to a Northern Kentucky opponent this season and their average margin of victory is 24.5 points in 20 games. They still have seven games remaining, including a district seeding game against Holy Cross that was cancelled last week due to snow.
Last season, Holmes finished with a 30-3 record and all three losses were to Holy Cross. The third loss was in the 9th Region final and Holy Cross went on to win the state championship.
Ryle (13-5) did get one first-place vote in the girls’ coaches poll and remained second in the standings. The Raiders have a home game against No. 4 Highlands on Monday.
Covington Catholic (14-6) was voted the No. 1 boys’ team in Northern Kentucky by local coaches after a series of games between the top four teams in the rankings. Newport Central Catholic moved up to No. 2 after getting wins over No. 3 Cooper and No. 4 Holy Cross, but CovCath remained No. 1 by beating NewCath.
CovCath has another big game on Friday at No. 5 Holmes that will have an impact on the seeding for the 35th District playoffs that begin on Feb. 22.
Cooper won its first two 33rd District seeding games against unranked Boone County and No. 9 Conner without leading scorer Sean McNeil, who is recovering from an injury. The Jaguars can clinch the No. 1 seed in the district with a win over Ryle on Friday.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL COACHES RANKINGS
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Covington Catholic (11) 128
2. Newport Catholic 113
3. Cooper (2) 103
4. Holy Cross 88
5. Holmes 56
6. Brossart 53
7. Newport 40
8. Dixie Heights 38
9. Conner 36
10. Campbell County 22
11. Scott 14
12. Simon Kenton 12
Others receiving votes: Lloyd 7, Ryle 3, St. Henry 1, Walton-Verona 1.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL COACHES RANKINGS
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Holmes (7) 79
2. Ryle (1) 59
3. Simon Kenton 58
4. Highlands 46
5. Campbell County 44
6. Newport Catholic 33
7. Scott 30
8. Notre Dame 29
9. Conner 17
10. Walton-Verona 16
11. Holy Cross 14
12. Brossart 8
Others receiving votes: Cooper 6, Newport 1.
NewCath leads the field in All “A” Classic boys’ state tournament
Newport Central Catholic has the highest power ranking among the 16 boys’ basketball teams that will compete in the Kentucky All “A” Classic small-school state tournament this week at Frankfort Civic Center.
In the latest Litkenhous Ratings published by the Louisville Courier-Journal, the top four teams in the field are NewCath at 94.9, Owen County at 92.1, Cordia at 83.8 and Lexington Christian 83.6. If those ratings hold true, NewCath will win an unprecedented fourth consecutive All “A” Classic state championship.
In the opening round of the boys’ state tournament on Thursday, NewCath will play Lexington Christian at 1 p.m. Later that day, Brossart will take on Murray at 8 p.m. The power ratings list Murray fifth at 82.4 and Brossart sixth at 80.9.
The Kentucky All “A” Classic girls’ state tournament begins on Wednesday at Frankfort Civic Center. The opening round games include Walton-Verona vs. Louisville Presentation at 5 p.m. and Newport Central Catholic vs. Livingston Central at 8 p.m.
The top six teams in the girls’ field according to the Litkenhous Ratings are Murray at 103.4, Owensboro Catholic at 97.4, Glasgow at 93.2, Harlan at 89.3, NewCath at 85.9 and Walton-Verona at 84.3.
A local team has won the All “A” Classic girls’ state tournament three times in the last six years. NewCath carried off the championship trophy in 2010, Walton-Verona won it in 2012 and Holy Cross won it in 2015.
High-scoring basketball players make commitments with college teams
Two of the leading scorers in Northern Kentucky high school basketball — Brossart senior post player Emily Schultz and Newport senior guard Ethan Snapp — have made commitments with college teams.
Snapp accepted a scholarship offer from Urbana University in Ohio that competes on the NCAA Division II level as a member of the Mountain East Conference.
Newport coach Rod Snapp, the player’s father, said Urbana is rebuilding under a second-year head coach and have a 1-16 record this season.
“Ethan liked that challenge ahead,” coach Snapp said. “He wants to be part of the program as it develops into a winning program with new players and coaches.”
Ethan is averaging 17.7 points for Newport this season. He’s shooting 36.7 percent from behind the 3-point line and 79.5 percent at the free throw line.
Schultz will continue her career at Thomas More College, the defending NCAA Division III champion that has a perfect 16-0 record this season. She plans to study nursing while playing for the Saints.
“Thomas More is a perfect fit for me,” Schultz said. “They have an amazing nursing program and an amazing basketball team, and it’s also close to home so I can stay on campus while my family can come and watch my games.”
Schultz is averaging 18 points and 9.5 rebounds for Brossart this season. She has scored more than 1,000 points during her high school career.
Bowlers win close games in Region 6 singles championship finals
P.J. Rump of Beechwood and Kayla Hightchew of Boone County won singles titles in the Region 6 bowling tournament on Monday at Super Bowl in Erlanger.
Rump rolled a 202 to edge Adam Zimmerman of Covington Catholic by two pins in the boys’ final. Hightchew won the girls’ title by a 187-182 margin over teammate Taylor Evans.
In the Region 5 singles finals on Tuesday, Kaylee Hitt of Campbell County defeated Elizabeth Masminster of Dayton, 161-131, and Jake Farley of Highlands defeated teammate Andy Campbell, 223-200, to claim championship trophies.
All of the regional finalists advance to the state singles tournament Feb. 11-12 in Lexington. The other boys’ state qualifiers are Andrew Blood of Cooper, Corey Spivey of Dixie Heights, Jacob Lawson of Simon Kenton and Sam Fleissner of Brossart. The other girls’ state qualifiers are Sierra Brandt of Cooper, Kara Strong of Boone County, Vanessa Cheesman of Simon Kenton and Katelyn Schneider of Highlands.