By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle High School will celebrate the career of award-winning basketball player Maddie Scherr on Wednesday before the girls varsity home game against Frederick Douglass at 7:30 p.m.
Scherr was named 2020 Miss Kentucky Basketball and ranked among the top 20 players in the nation after her senior season. The 5-foot-11 point guard held Ryle team records in total points (2,297), rebounds (1,094), assists (679), steals (535) and blocks (233) when she graduated.
Maddie Scherr set several Ryle team records during her high school career that ended with her being named Miss Kentucky Basketball.
During her four years as a starter, Ryle teams won one state championship, three 9th Region titles and compiled a 100-39 record.
Scherr was voted most valuable player in the 2019 state tournament and named Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year in both 2019 and 2020. She also received the 2020 Donna Murphy Award as the top student-athlete in Kentucky girls basketball.
Scherr started her college career at the University of Oregon and is now in her second season at the University of Kentucky. The senior guard is currently averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds with a team-high 65 assists for the Wildcats.
Kentucky does not have a game on Wednesday so Scherr will be at Ryle for the ceremony to honor her many accomplishments. The high school plans to post a banner about her being named Miss Kentucky Basketball along with her No. 23 jersey.
Scherr is one of six Northern Kentucky players named Miss Kentucky Basketball after their senior season. The others are Donna Murphy of Newport (1975), Jaime Walz of Highlands (1996), Katie Schwegmann of Brossart (2001), Erica Hallman of Holmes (2002) and Sydney Moss of Boone County (2012).
Newport boys basketball team ends long wait for state championship
Newport coach Rod Snapp
The gleaming championship trophy Newport’s basketball team brought home from the All “A” Classic boys state tournament ended a long wait between state titles for the high school.
The last time the Wildcats won a state championship was 1982 when the girls track team finished first in the Class 2A state meet. The other state titles won by Newport teams were in boys track (1941), baseball (1941) and boys swimming (1946), according to khsaa.org.
Newport entered the All “A” Classic boys state tournament ranked No. 6 in the state by media members. The Wildcats won four games, including victories against No. 2 Lyon County in the semifinals and No. 10 Evangel Christian in the title game.
Local teams have now won 10 All “A” Classic state championships in boys basketball. Newport is the only public school in that group. Newport Central Catholic has won four small school state tournaments, followed by St. Henry with three, Holy Cross with one and Brossart with one.
Basketball game between highly ranked local girls teams cancelled
Holy Cross coach Ted Arlinghaus
Cooper and Holy Cross, two girls basketball teams ranked among the state’s top 10 by media members, were scheduled to play each other on Feb. 7, but that game has been cancelled.
Holy Cross coach Ted Arlinghaus said that home game and one at Walton-Verona on Feb. 3 were cancelled to keep his team from exceeding the state’s limit on total games played during the regular season.
“We have special events already planned for our other (home games),” Arlinghaus said. “Cooper district game (against Boone County) also got rescheduled, giving them three games in a row that week.”
Cooper (18-4) will now be playing home games against Boone County on Feb. 8 and Fredrick Douglass on Feb. 9. Holy Cross (20-5) has five games remaining over the next two weeks.
