By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
They may not be the biggest or the fastest team in 9th Region girls’ basketball, but the Highlands Bluebirds showed they have the potential to be a contender in a 54-36 win over Conner on Tuesday in Hebron.
Playing solid man-to-man defense for most of the game, Highlands was able to hold Conner to its lowest point total of the young season and hand the home team its first loss in six games. The Cougars had long scoreless stretches in both halves and ended up shooting just 25 percent (13 of 52) from the field on their home court while committing 16 turnovers.
“They were a lot tougher than we were on defense and we just weren’t able to get in a good flow because of their toughness,” said Conner coach Aaron Stamm.
Highlands has now won eight straight games against Conner dating back to the 2011-12 season. Coming into this season, the Bluebirds were No. 3 and the Cougars were No. 4 in the Northern Kentucky coaches ratings.
Highlands coach Jaime Richey said she devotes a lot of practice time to defense and the players did exactly what they’ve been working on against Conner.
“I thought we made them take difficult shots and we rebounded well,” Richey said. “(Our players) knew what our game plan was and they knew they had to rebound. They did a great job of it.”
Conner wasn’t able to score on 10 consecutive possessions in the first quarter and eight consecutive possessions in the second quarter. That’s why Highlands was ahead, 31-17, at halftime. But the Cougars opened the second half with a 11-0 run and got as close as 35-31 when sophomore forward Maddie Burcham swished a 3-point shot with 1:18 left in the third quarter.
“That’s when I called a timeout and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to go out and execute,’” Richey said. “I told them, ‘Don’t panic, we’ve got this, just play team defense and rebound and take care of the ball.’”
The Bluebirds responded with an 11-1 run during the third and fourth quarters that pushed the margin to 46-32. After Burcham made a free throw, Conner didn’t score on 10 straight offensive possessions during that decisive run.
“It’s just great team defense,” said Highland sophomore guard Zoie Barth. “We know we’ve got to trust each other, which we’re learning more to do, but it’s coming.”
Barth was one of three double-figure scores for the Bluebirds, who shot 40 percent (19 of 47) from the field. She scored all 14 of her points in the first half while senior guard Jenna Martin got 10 of her game-high 17 point in the second half.
“We don’t have one person who stands out,” Barth said. “We play as a team and don’t get jealous or care who’s scoring. We just pass to the open girl.”
Conner’s leading scorer was Burcham with 13 points. Sophomore guard Courtney Hurst, who entered the game averaging 16.6 points, was held to five.
“They were tough and they were aggressive (on defense), and that’s kind of what we wanted to see our kids go up against,” coach Stamm said of Highlands. “Now we know we’ve got some work to do.”
HIGHLANDS 17 14 10 13 — 54
CONNER 11 6 15 4 — 36
HIGHLANDS (4-2): Epperson 3 2 10, Martin 5 6 17, Barth 5 3 14, Little 2 1 5, Jensen 1 0 2, Buecker 2 0 4, Coffey 1 0 2. Totals: 19 12 54.
CONNER (5-1): Hurst 2 0 5, Jordan 3 3 10, Mclemore 0 2 2, Burcham 5 1 13, Duncan 1 0 2, Watts 1 0 2, Kennedy 1 0 2. Totals: 13 6 36.
Three-pointers: H — Epperson 2, Martin, Barth. C — Burcham 2, Jordan, Hurst.