By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle boys and girls basketball teams were looking to break losing streaks against neighboring rival Cooper in a double-header on Friday. Both of the 33rd District seeding games went down to the wire, but the Ryle boys were the only ones who posted a home court victory.
In the girls game, Cooper made seven of eight free throws in the final 53 seconds to come out on top, 38-32, and extended its win streak to six in a row against Ryle.
Cooper guard Dymasia Knox battles for control of the ball after being trapped by two Ryle players. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
The Jaguars shot just 28 percent (12 of 43) from the field, but they made 13 of 14 free throws. The team’s leading scorers were seniors Liz Freihofer and Logan Palmer with 11 points each.
“I told (our players) tonight we hung our hat on that defensive end and got stops when we needed to,” said Cooper coach Justin Holthaus. “There’s going to be nights when we don’t shoot it well, but we’ve got to be consistent on the defensive end. I thought our girls did a good job of that tonight.”
Ryle shot 34 percent (13 of 38) from the field and senior guard Quinn Eubank took game-high honors with 20 points.
But the Raiders played most of the game without senior center Sarah Baker, who had a 13.7 scoring average. She left the court in the second quarter due to shortness of breath without scoring a point.
“I was proud of them when Sarah went out and being able to adjust and still being able to be in the game,” said Ryle coach Katie Haitz. “I’m proud of their effort on the defensive side and on the offensive side we have to make sure we’re prepared if anything like that happens again.”
Ryle forward Landon Lorms tries to get off a shot amid a swarm of Cooper defenders. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
Late in the second quarter, Cooper took a 15-10 lead on a basket by Palmer. But Ryle sophomore guard Jaelyn Jones made a field goal and three free throws that tied the score, 15-15, at halftime.
After a stick-back basket by Eubank put Ryle ahead, 21-17, in the third quarter, Cooper rallied to tie the score, 25-25, by the end of the period. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders made just one field goal and one free throw in the final five minutes and the Jaguars were able to pull away at the end.
In this week’s girls state rankings, Cooper was No. 3 and Ryle was No. 9 in a poll of media members. Cooper (16-3) has now won 13 straight games while Ryle (10-7) is on a three-game losing streak.
There were four ties and six lead changes in the boys game before Ryle outscored Cooper, 8-3, in the final three minutes to come away with a 57-52 win that snapped a five-game losing streak against the Jaguars.
Ryle sophomore guard Anthony Copolla made a pair of three throws with 24 seconds remaining to clinch the victory and joined his team’s list of double-figure scorers. The leader was junior Landon Lorms with 13 points, followed by Copolla and Jonathan DeGoff with 11 and Ethan Smith with 10.
Cooper’s top scorers were senior forward Shaun Pouncy with 22 points and junior guard Yamil Rondon with 15. In the second half, those two players accounted for 24 of their team’s 28 points.
It was the third straight win for the Raiders (9-6), who were ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll of Northern Kentucky coaches. Cooper (9-7) was ranked No. 4 in that poll.
