By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
This is the sixth season that Sarah Baker and Quinn Eubank have been on the Ryle girls basketball varsity team. The senior veterans are determined to end their high school careers as 9th Region champions and you could tell that by the way they played during a 49-43 win over Highlands in a semifinal game on Friday at Truist Arena.
Both of them posted a double-double in the victory. Baker, a 6-foot-2 post player, scored a game-high 20 points with 11 rebounds. Eubank, a 5-foot-11 guard, finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
You know both seniors will be giving it all they’ve got when Ryle meets Cooper in the region final for the third consecutive year at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Cooper won the last two region championship games and has a seven-game win streak against its neighboring rival.
“It’s do-or-die time,” Baker said after of her performance in the semifinal game. “My parents have been talking to me about that at this time of year. They say it’s your last chance to do what you want to do. So it doesn’t matter how tired you are, you have to give it everything because you won’t have a chance to do it again if you lose.”
Neither team got off to a good start in the semifinal game. The score was tied, 6-6, early in the second quarter because together they made just five of 15 field goal attempts during the first 10 minutes.
That’s when Ryle seventh-grade center Jaden McClain and Eubank hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 15-6 run that gave the Raiders a 21-12 halftime lead. Baker got three of her nine field goals during that run with one coming on an assist by Eubank.
Ryle extended its lead to 35-21 in the third quarter with Baker getting six of the team’s 14 points. But Highlands ended that period with a basket by junior center Marissa Green and a 3-point shot by sophomore guard Saylor Macke from near half-court that banked in off the glass as time expired to make it 35-26.
At that point, it looked like the momentum might shift. Ryle coach Katie Haitz was proud of the way her players responded to the challenge and stayed ahead.
“That’s why we play in Christmas tournaments and play the best teams that we can so that we’re in all kinds of situations and know what to do,” Haitz said.
With 1:26 left in the game, Highlands pulled to within four points, 43-39, on a free throw by Macke. To slow down the clock, the Bluebirds started fouling, but the Raiders made their last six free throws to secure the victory.
“We challenged our girls at halftime and they responded,” Highlands coach Jaime Walz-Richey said of her young team. “As a coaching staff, that’s what we want. We want to see growth individually and as a team. For us to see that, was huge for us.”
The top scorer for Highlands was Green, who got 13 of her 15 points in the second half. But the 6-foot-3 center was 6-of-14 in the paint had only one offensive rebound, which limited the Bluebirds to five second-chance points.
“I’m not super upset that she got points on me,” Baker said of her defensive effort against Green. “I did what I had to do. I made them hesitate to throw it inside to her. I did everything that coach wanted me to do.”
When the Raiders brought the 6-foot-5 McClain off the bench, Baker was able to move outside and hit a couple of jump shots. Her last basket came from the top of the lane and gave Ryle a 41-33 lead near the midway point of the fourth quarter.
“Hats off to Baker,” said coach Richey. “She came out and had a great game. She hit some mid-range jumpers and good players do that. She really stepped up.”
This is the seventh time in the last nine years that Ryle has reached the 9th Region championship game. The last time they won the title was 2020 when Baker and Eubank both played in more than 30 games as eighth-graders.
“It feels really cool that we were able to make such an impact again,” Baker said. “We struggled a little bit during the regular season, but it’s super cool to see how everything’s coming together and how the team’s meshing.”
Ryle ended up shooting 43.9 percent (18 of 41) from the field compared to 33.3 percent (14 of 42) for Highlands. Half of the Bluebirds’ field goals were 3-pointers with Macke and sophomore Kaylee Mills each getting three.
The Raiders won the battle on the boards, 32-22, which included a 22-9 advantage under the Highlands basket. The Bluebirds’ leading rebounder was sophomore forward Katie Bucher with five.
HIGHLANDS 3 9 14 17 — 43
RYLE 4 17 14 14 — 49
HIGHLANDS (22-9): Macke 3 3 12, Mills 3 0 9, Orme 0 2 2, Green 6 3 15, Bucher 1 0 2, Barber 1 0 3. Totals: 14 8 43.
RYLE (21-11): Eubank 2 6 11, Baker 9 2 20, Peters 1 0 3, Jones 1 2 4, Carrigan 1 0 2, McClain 4 0 9. Totals: 18 10 49.
Three-point goals — H — Macke 3, Mills 3, Barber. R — Eubank, Peters, McClain.
Basketball region tournament schedules
9TH REGION GIRLS AT NKU TRUIST ARENA
Saturday
Championship game: Ryle (21-11) vs. Cooper (28-4), 7 p.m.
9TH REGION BOYS AT NKU TRUIST ARENA
Sunday — Semifinals
Lloyd (25-8) vs. Newport (30-3), 2 p.m.
Covington Catholic (26-5) vs. Cooper (23-8), 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 12
Championship game, 7 p.m.