By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Notre Dame girls basketball team is off to a 7-0 start this season with three juniors and two sophomores in the starting lineup and they have not played a single home game. When coach Kes Murphy was asked if the Pandas’ early success surprised him, it took a few seconds to come up with an answer.
“I am and I’m not at the same time,” Murphy said. “Last year we were super young and it was like a jayvee team playing a varsity schedule. And now, having that experience under our belt, it’s night and day what we taught last year and what we’re able to teach them this year.”
Notre Dame is the only Northern Kentucky team taking a perfect record into the plethora of holiday basketball events scheduled during the last two weeks of December.
The Pandas will play a pair of Cincinnati teams — Ursuline and McNicholas — in the Queen City Christmas Classic on Thursday and Friday at McNicholas.
They’ll be on the road once again when they close out the month at the Zaxby’s Christmas Classic Dec. 28-30 at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tenn.
Whatever the outcomes may be, those games will be a valuable learning experience for the Notre Dame team that has just one senior on the roster.
“Everybody is improving, but we’re not anywhere near to closing in on our ceiling,” coach Murphy said. “We still have a ton of growth ahead of us.”
The Pandas’ starting lineup includes 6-foot-4 junior center Sophia Gibson, junior guards Maya Lawrie and Kate Resing, sophomore guard Addie Lawrie and sophomore forward Emma Holtzapfel.
Gibson, a returning starter, has a team-high 13.6 scoring average and she’s shooting 61.8 percent (42 of 68) from the field. She also leads the team in rebounds with a 7.9 average. Most of them have come on the defensive glass to help limit opponents to 39.2 points per game.
Murphy said Gibson is a “totally different player” than last year after working on her game during the off-season when she drew the attention of several Division I recruiters.
“Her defense, her offensive skills, her footwork, everything is a whole lot better,” the coach said. “And her endurance, she gets up and down the floor a whole lot better.”
The lone senior on the Notre Dame roster is 5-foot-11 Kendra Collins, who is averaging 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. Her team-first attitude has also been a factor in the Pandas’ fast start.
“She’s a senior coming off the bench and she’s been a major contributor as far as how we connect as a team and understanding their roles,” Murphy said.
Highlands quarterback signs with college team to play tight end
Brody Benke, a two-year starter at quarterback for Highlands, accepted a scholarship offer to play tight end for Middle Tennessee State University and signed a letter-of-intent with the NCAA Division I team on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Benke posted his commitment in a photo on X (formally Twitter) with “Tight End” next to his name. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior was a pass receiver in several games this season, but he was mainly a double-threat quarterback for the Bluebirds, who made it to the semifinals of the Class 5A playoffs and finished with a 12-2 record.
In addition to passing for 1,849 yards and 26 touchdowns, Benke rushed for 1,176 and 23 TDs. As a receiver, he caught 14 passes for 208 yards and six TDs. That gave him a net total of 3,233 all-purpose yards in 14 games for a 231 average.
One response to Benke’s college commitment came from Highlands assistant coach Hayden Sphire. He posted, “Cannot wait to see what Brody does in college! A rare talent that can be molded into just about any position.”
Middle Tennessee competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Division as a member of Conference USA. The Blue Raiders posted a 4-8 record this season that included losses to three nationally ranked teams — No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Missouri and No. 18 Liberty, the undefeated CUSA champion.
Other local players who signed Division I letters-of-intent on Wednesday were Simon Kenton offensive lineman Aba Selm and Covington Catholic tight end Willie Rodriquez with Kentucky, Dixie Heights linebacker Brach Rice with Miami of Ohio and Dixie Heights defensive back Kabanza Mwambe with Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Simon Kenton graduate expected to surpass 1,000 mark again
Simon Kenton graduate Morgan Stamper will likely score the 1,000th point of her college basketball career at the University of Pikeville on Friday after surpassing that total in rebounds on Tuesday.
The senior forward enters Friday’s home game against Oakland City (Ind.) with career totals of 999 points and 1,014 rebounds. On Tuesday, she posted her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds in an upset win at Rio Grande (Ohio), ranked No. 14 in NAIA Division I.
Stamper is currently averaging 10.6 and 13.7 rebounds per game for the 11-2 Bears, who have a 7-2 record in Appalachian Athletic Conference games. She leads the conference in rebounds per game and her team is on top in both scoring average (83.3) and defensive average (59.8).
Last season, Stamper averaged 10.3 points and 10.9 rebounds for Pikeville. An injury kept her from playing in the team’s last three games and the Bears finished with a 21-9 record.
Two years ago, Stamper set a Pikeville single-season team record with 400 rebounds. She averaged 13.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game that season with 21 double-double performances and was named an NAIA All-American by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.