By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
After Ryle girls basketball coach Katie Haitz picked up her 200th career win in late December, the Raiders lost three of their next five games and their season record dropped to 10-6.
The team is hoping to end that skid in Friday’s home game against neighboring rival Cooper that’s part of a 33rd District seeding double-header. The boys game will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the girls game at 8 p.m.
Cooper’s girls have won five straight games against Ryle, including victories in the last two 9th Region championship finals.
In this week’s girls state rankings, Cooper was No. 3 and Ryle was No. 9 in a poll of media members. Cooper (15-3) is riding a 12-game win streak while Ryle is coming off back-to-back losses to South Laurel and Louisville Sacred Heart, the No. 1 team in the state poll.
The Raiders have two seniors — center Sarah Baker and forward Quinn Eubank — who are among six Kentucky players nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game in June.
In their team’s 71-47 loss to Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Baker scored a team-high 21 points and Eubank finished with eight points, five rebounds and five assists.
The senior team leaders for Cooper are forward Logan Palmer and guard Liz Freihofer, who are averaging 18 and 11 points per game, and forward Bella Deere, who was shooting 54.7 percent from the field after 17 games.
Six seniors on the Cooper and Ryle rosters have made college commitments and five of them will be joining NCAA Division I women’s college basketball programs.
Holy Cross senior named Kentucky Player of the Year in volleyball
Holy Cross senior Julia Hunt was named Kentucky Player of the Year in high school volleyball by Gatorade following a season when she led the state in kills with 658 in 95 sets for a 6.93 average and posted a .311 hitting percentage.
The 6-foot-4 middle hitter, who also led her team in blocks (114) and had 286 defensive digs, was named Player of the Year by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association last fall. She was ranked among nation’s top college prospects and signed a letter of intent with the University of Washington.
During her five-year varsity career, Hunt had more than 2,200 kills and 500 blocks. She also played in national tournaments with Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club teams and was invited to attend the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program the last two summers.
Hunt is the first Holy Cross student to receive a Gatorade Player of the Year Award that recognizes the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence in sports, academics and community service.
She was also recruited by Division I college basketball programs. She’s currently averaging 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for her Holy Cross team that’s ranked No. 11 in the state by media members.
CovCath grad among leaders in PGA Tour Champions point standings
Covington Catholic graduate Steve Flesch finished 30th out of more than 200 golfers in the PGA Tour Champions Schwab Cup point standings for the 2023 season.
The 56-year-old Union resident won the Acension Charity Classic in early September and placed among the top 10 in three other events, according to the PGA Tour Champions website. He received $300,000 for his tournament victory and totaled $850,597 in winnings for the year.
Flesch, a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame, shot a course record 9-under-par 62 in the final round of the Acension Charity Classic and was 19-under for the tournament. His son, Griffin, was his caddy during that event.
A left-handed golfer, Flesch has been playing in PGA events since 1998 and has more than $18 million in career earnings. He will soon begin his eighth season as a member of the PGA Tour Champions for golfers 50-and-over who have won a PGA event. He has also done some broadcasting work with the Golf Channel.