By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
St. Henry made its first four field goal attempts and jumped out to a 9-2 lead against Holy Cross in a 9th Region All “A” Classic girls semifinal game on Friday. That’s why Holy Cross switched to a more aggressive trapping defense and it carried the Indians to a 48-26 victory.
After the defensive change, St. Henry committed more than 30 turnovers and scored only seven points in the second half to become the seventh team that Holy Cross (12-4) has beaten by 21 points or more this season.
“Defense travels, so no matter what you can always bring your defensive effort,” Holy Cross coach Ted Arlinghaus said in a post-game interview. “And that’s one of the things we tried to really improve on this off-season and through the early part of this season.”
Ludlow came from behind to defeat Bellevue, 56-47, in Friday’s other region semifinal game to set up a rematch in the championship final set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Newport High School.
Holy Cross won last year’s title game against Ludlow, 52-37, and then made it to the semifinals of the Kentucky All “A” Classic state tournament at Eastern Kentucky University.
“We felt like we had a chance to win it all last year and it just didn’t happen,” coach Arlinghaus said. “We feel like we have some unfinished business, but we can’t think ahead. You can’t get down there and take care of that business unless you take care of everything up here.”
Forcing turnovers will be a part of the Indians’ game plan once again in the region final. That’s how the Indians scored 11 straight points to take a 20-12 lead in the second quarter against St. Henry.
The Crusaders trimmed the margin to 20-19 at halftime, but they committed a turnover on the majority of their offensive possessions in the second half and Holy Cross scored transition baskets off several of them to pull away.
“Last year, we weren’t really good at that,” Arlinghaus said. “We were a pretty good half-court defensive team, but we really weren’t turning people over so we’re trying to figure out how to get easy baskets.”
The game’s leading scorer was St. Henry junior guard Kayla Unkraut, who got 10 of her 14 points in the first half. Holy Cross had eight players in the scoring column with junior forward Julia Hunt getting a team-high 12 points.
In the second semifinal game, Ludlow needed a 23-8 scoring run in the fourth quarter to get past Bellevue. The late charge was led by freshman guard Addy Garrett, who scored 10 of her 16 points in the final period by making one 3-point goal and seven of eight free throws.
Four of the final six field goals by the Panthers came from behind the 3-point line. Junior forward Ava Hoffmeister hit two of them and also finished with 16 points. The team’s other double-figure scorers were junior Prestyn King (12) and senior Mylee Garrett (10).
Bellevue’s top scorers were sophomores Jaylah and Jaydah Dowell with 17 and 16 points. Jaydah got 11 points in the third quarter that ended with the Tigers holding a 39-33 lead. Jaylah scored six of the team’s eight points in the fourth quarter.
All “A” Classic basketball region tournaments
9TH REGION GIRLS AT NEWPORT HIGH SCHOOL
Saturday
Championship game: Holy Cross vs. Ludlow, 7 p.m.
8TH REGION BOYS AT GALLATIN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Saturday
Championship game: Walton-Verona vs. Owen County, 5 p.m.
10TH REGION BOYS AT PARIS HIGH SCHOOL
Saturday
Robertson County vs. Bracken County, 12:30 p.m.
Brossart vs. Nicholas County, 3:30 p.m.
St. Patrick vs. Calvary Christian, 5 p.m.
Monday
Paris vs. Robertson County-Bracken County winner, 8 p.m.
Tuesday
Brossart-Nicholas County winner vs. St. Patrick-Calvary Christian winner, 8 p.m.
Thursday
Championship game, 8 p.m.
10TH REGION GIRLS AT PARIS HIGH SCHOOL
Saturday
Robertson County vs. Bracken County, 11 a.m.
Brossart vs. Nicholas County, 2 p.m.
Monday
Paris vs. Robertson County-Bracken County winner, 6 p.m.
Tuesday
St. Patrick vs. Brossart-Nicholas County winner, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Championship game, 6 p.m.
9TH REGION BOYS AT BEECHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Monday
Newport Central Catholic vs. Bellevue, 6 p.m.
Dayton vs. Villa Madonna, 8 p.m.
Tuesday
St. Henry vs. Newport Central Catholic-Bellevue winner, 6 p.m.
Newport vs. Beechwood, 8 p.m.
Wednesday
Ludlow vs. Dayton-Villa Madonna winner, 6 p.m.
Holy Cross vs. Heritage, 8 p.m.
Friday
Semifinal games, 6 and 8 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 7 p.m.