By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the first time in 12 years, two 33rd District girls basketball teams will meet in the championship game of the 9th Region tournament at 7 p.m. Friday at BB&T Arena.
In Wednesday night’s semifinal games, Cooper knocked off defending region champion Dixie Heights, 54-42, and Ryle defeated Newport Central Catholic, 62-40, to set up a fourth game this season between the two high schools located five miles apart in Boone County.
Ryle (21-9) won both regular season games between the two teams, but Cooper (22-9) came out on top, 60-49, in the 33rd District final played last Thursday. The last time two teams from that district made it to the girls region final was 2010 when Boone County defeated Ryle, 32-30.
Ryle has a 3-1 record in 9th Region championship games under coach Katie Haitz, winning three consecutive titles in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Cooper made its first trip to the region final in 2017 and lost to Holmes. Justin Holthaus is in his second season as head coach of the Jaguars.
On Wednesday, Cooper dominated the second half of its semifinal game by shooting 61 percent (11 of 18) from the field compared to 22 percent (4 of 18) for Dixie Heights. The Jaguars opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run that put them ahead 48-33 and the Colonels couldn’t mount a comeback.
Cooper junior forward Whitney Lind finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Kay Freihofer had 15 points and her younger sister, Liz, had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Jaguars.
Dixie Heights senior forward Madelyn Lawson posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in her final high school game. Junior forward Samantha Berman had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Colonels (21-13)
Ryle outscored NewCath, 41-16, in the second and third quarters to open up a commanding 50-27 lead. The Raiders ended up with lopsided advantages in several statistics, including rebounds (43-26), points off turnovers (21-6) and 3-point scoring (21-6).
The game’s leading scorer was NewCath senior Rylee Turner with 30 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. She had 10 of her team’s 13 field goals and went 10 of 11 at the free throw line in her final game for the Thoroughbreds (20-13).
Ryle junior guard Abby Holtman netted 25 points with four of her 10 field goals coming from 3-point range. Sophomore forward Quinn Eubank had 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks for the Raiders.
In boys region tournament games on Wednesday, North Oldham whipped Walton-Verona, 79-46, in the 8th Region and Mason County defeated Brossart, 69-50, in the 10th Region.
Brossart trailed 51-44 early in the fourth quarter, but Mason County closed the game with an 18-6 run. The leading scorers for the Mustangs (12-18) were senior center David Govan and junior forward Mason Sepate with 14 points each.
Walton-Verona was outscored 22-6 in the second quarter and trailed 44-19 at halftime in the loss to North Oldham that ended an eight-game winning streak by the Bearcats (19-11).
Girls region basketball tournaments
9TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT NKU BB&T ARENA
Friday
Championship: Ryle (21-9) vs. Cooper (22-9), 7 p.m.
10TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT NICHOLAS COUNTY
Friday
Brossart (20-10) vs. George Rogers Clark (28-2), 6 p.m.
Montgomery County (20-12) vs. Mason County (18-9), 7:45 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 7 p.m.
Boys region basketball tournaments
10TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT HOLMES
Thursday
Campbell County (19-10) vs. Paris (7-20), 6 p.m.
Harrison County (20-8) vs. Bracken County (22-9), 7:45 p.m.
Monday
Semifinal: Mason County (24-5) vs. George Rogers Clark (31-1), 6 p.m.
Lower bracket semifinal game, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday
Championship game, 7 p.m.
9TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT NKU BB&T ARENA
Saturday
Highlands (22-8) vs. Lloyd (21-7), 1 p.m.
Covington Catholic (25-4) vs. Cooper (22-6), 2:30 p.m.
Dixie Heights (20-6) vs. Newport (9-18), 6:30 p.m.
Conner (20-9) vs. Holy Cross (20-9), 8 p.m.
Sunday
Semifinal games, 6:30 and 8 p.m.
Tuesday
Championship game, 7 p.m.