Thanks to St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine for sponsoring our girls’ high school basketball coverage this season. See all of our girls’ basketball stories here and watch for state tournament coverage March 9-13 from BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
The Notre Dame girls’ basketball team is on a roll and junior guard Jenna Martin has a lot to do with it.
The Pandas defeated Holy Cross, 48-37, on Saturday behind a 28-point performance by Martin to extend their win streak to five games.
Martin has been a double-figure scorer in each of the five consecutive victories, netting 28, 29 and 26 points in the last three to push her career total over the 1,000 mark.
“She’s caught fire at the right time of the year,” said Notre Dame coach Wyatt Foust. “The best thing is the rest of the team buys into getting her open and playing off her. Everybody’s playing their role to the best of their ability and that’s what makes a good team.”
Martin played varsity basketball at Grant County for two seasons before coming to Notre Dame last year. She averaged 8.9 points per game as a sophomore and has a team-high a 15.7 average this season.
In Saturday’s home game, Martin made six 3-point goals to account for 18 of her 28 points. She swished three long-distance shots in the third quarter to spark a 14-5 scoring run that gave the Pandas a 35-29 lead.
After Holy Cross pulled to within 38-33 early in the fourth quarter, Martin stepped up once again. She scored six of her team’s final 10 points to secure the victory.
“I was just feeling it,” Martin said of her successful shooting night. “I like the home gym, too.”
Neither team shot the ball very well. Notre Dame made 17 of 51 field goal attempts for 33.3 percent. Holy Cross was 15-of-46 for 32.6 percent. But the Pandas finished with a 36-19 rebounding advantage and were able to score 11 second-chance points following missed shots at their end of the court.
Notre Dame’s leading rebounder was junior center Allison Gribben with eight. Senior guard Lexi Miles snagged six rebounds and scored six second-chance points off missed or blocked shots.
“She’s a terrific spark off the bench,” Foust said of Miles. “She’s our best athlete and she’s got a knack for (rebounding) the ball that’s been huge for us.”
There were four ties and nine lead changes in the first half that ended with Holy Cross ahead, 24-21. The Indians stretched that lead to 28-21 early in the third quarter before the Pandas surged ahead behind Martin’s 3-point shooting.
“It just shows that we have a will to win and always play hard for each other no matter what the score is,” Martin said of her team’s second-half rally.
Notre Dame ended up outscoring Holy Cross, 27-13, in the second half to come away with the victory in the 35th District seeding game. The leading scorers for the Indians were junior guard Zyah Beal with 15 points and senior guard Dajah McClendon with 10.
“It was an ugly game on our part,” said Holy Cross coach Kes Murphy. “We didn’t follow the game plan and we didn’t play very well. But you’ve got to credit Notre Dame, they made shots and outplayed us.”
Holy Cross will play Holmes on Feb. 16 to complete the 35th District seeding games. If Holmes wins, Holy Cross and Notre Dame will face each other once again in the district playoffs. If Holy Cross beats Holmes, however, there will be a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed and a coin flip will decide the matchups.
Last season, Notre Dame lost its first game in district play and didn’t advance to the 9th Region tournament. Foust doesn’t want that to happen to this year’s team.
“We’re playing our best basketball when we need to be and that’s a tribute to these kids,” he said. “They just do everything you ask and play as hard as they can to do it.”
NOTRE DAME 7 14 14 13 – 48
HOLY CROSS 6 18 5 8 – 37
NOTRE DAME (15-6): Hagan 2 2 7, Martin 9 4 28, Gribben 2 0 4, Baugh 1 0 3, Miles 3 0 6. Totals: 17 6 48.
HOLY CROSS (14-8): McClendon 5 0 10, Gabbard 1 1 3, Tucker 2 2 6, Chames 1 1 3, Beal 6 1 15. Totals: 15 5 37.
Three-point goals: ND – Martin 6, Hagen, Baugh. HC – Beal 2.
Love this young lady and her basketball talent is a plus ❤️ So proud of you Jenna !