By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Newport Central Catholic’s first-round opponent in the boys’ state basketball tournament next week will be Louisville Trinity, winner of the 7th Region championship for the third time in the last five years.
NewCath head coach Ron Dawn and two of his assistants went to the 7th Region final on Tuesday and watched Trinity come from behind to defeat Louisville St. Xavier, 52-48, in overtime.
The Shamrocks were eight points behind going into the fourth quarter, but they outscored St. Xavier, 14-8, to tie the score and send the game into overtime. In the extra period, Trinity made seven of eight free throws in the final two minutes to nail down the victory.
Senior guard Gabe Schmitt scored eight straight points in the fourth quarter to spark Trinity’s rally. The team also applied full-court pressure defense and forced five turnovers in that eight-minute period.
Trinity’s leading scorers were Schmitt with 18 points and junior guard Jacob King with 14 points. Junior forward David Burton had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Shamrocks, who have won eight straight games to raise their record to 29-6
The state tournament game between NewCath and Trinity will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Thoroughbreds will be making their first state tournament appearance since 2000 after upsetting the state’s top-ranked team, Covington Catholic, in the 9th Region final on Monday.
Smith stepping down as Dixie Heights girls’ basketball coach
Tara Smith will not be returning as head coach of the Dixie Heights girls’ basketball next season. She said finding time to work, coach and take care of her family was becoming too difficult.
“It’s just what’s right for my family right now with three little ones,” she said. “It was a hard decision because I had nothing but positive experiences at Dixie. I wish I didn’t have to leave the team at this point.”
Dixie Heights had a 69-86 record and won three 34th District championships in Smith’s five seasons as head coach. Each of her teams earned a berth in the 9th Region tournament, but all of them lost in the first round.
“We went (to the regional) every year with a program that hadn’t been there in a while,” Smith said. “I definitely feel good about where I left it.”
Her best season was 2012-13 when the Colonels won seven of their last 11 games to finish with a 16-16 record. This season, the team won nine of its last 14 games and posted a 15-16 record with three juniors and a freshman in the starting lineup.
Guards among top vote-getters on 9th Region girls’ all-star team
Four guards were first-team selections on the 9th Region all-star team selected by members of the Northern Kentucky Girls Basketball Coaches Association.
This is the first year that the coaches association has voted for an all-star team that includes players from just the local teams in the 9th Region. Local players on teams in the 10th Region and 8th Region were not on the ballot.
The first-team selection were guards Ansley Davenport of Newport Central Catholic, Lexi Held of Cooper, Ally Johnson of Beechwood and Jenna Martin of Notre Dame. Ryle forward Mallory Schwartz was also among the top five voter-getters.
The second team included Brianna Adler of Highlands, Dajah McClendon of Holy Cross, Carly Lange of Ryle, Tyrah Englemon of Holmes and Taylor Gambrel of Conner.
The third team included Brooke Davis of Dixie Heights, Jynea Harris of Holmes, Zoie Barth of Highlands, Kaela Saner of Boone County and Kylie Orr of Newport.
Eight Brossart student-athletes headed for Thomas More College
Eight seniors at Brossart High School have made commitments to play sports at Thomas More College.
The Saints men’s soccer team will have Sam Parnell, Brent Geiman and Dylan Geiman of Brossart joining the roster. The football recruits are T.J. Moore and Griffin Goepper and the golf team will add Jacob Zai. The women’s recruits from Brossart are Emily Schultz for basketball and Olivia Nienaber for soccer and track.
Thomas More teams compete on the NCAA Division III level and do not offer athletic scholarships to student-athletes.