By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Hiring a new head football coach was big news at Brossart High School on Wednesday, but the girls basketball teams stole the spotlight on Thursday with a hard-fought 61-55 win over Nicholas County in the 10th Region All “A” Classic championship game at Bracken County.
Jacob Martin is the Mustangs’ new head football coach. He’s a former Brossart player and assistant coach who spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator for Pendleton County’s team.
A coach that Brossart hired last spring, Aaron Stamm, is doing quite well in his first season. He guided the girls basketball team to a 61-55 win over Nicholas County in the region final on Thursday to earn a return trip to the All “A” Classic state tournament.
There were nine lead changes in the last three quarters of the title game. The Mustangs made seven of 12 free throws in the final 90 seconds to pull out the victory that extends their record to 17-1.
After a stickback basket by junior Hadley Eviston gave Brossart a 54-49 lead, sophomore guard Kiley Smith made five of the game-winning seven free throws and finished with 20 points.
The Mustangs’ other double-figure scorers were juniors Lilee Meyers and Graylee Kramer with 15 and 10 points.
Nicholas County junior Maggie Simons took game-high scoring honors with 26 points. She got 15 of her team’s 24 points in the second half.
In the opening round of the All “A” Classic girls state tournament, Brossart will play Green County (12-6) at 11:30 a.m. (CST) Wednesday at Owensboro Sportscenter.
In the 10th Region All “A” Classic boys region final on Thursday, Nicholas County held off a second-half rally to come away with a 74-61 win over Brossart.
The Mustangs trailed by 15 points, 39-24, at halftime and pulled to within seven, 60-53, late in the fourth quarter. But Nicholas County won the title game for the first time since 1994.
The top scorers for the Mustangs were senior guard Beckett Kuntz with 18 points and junior center Brady Boruske with 12. Senior guard Baxter Martin posted a game-high 25 points for the Blue Jackets.
The semifinal round of the boys 9th Region All “A” Classic at Holy Cross is set for Friday. The matchups will be Newport vs. St. Henry at 6 p.m. and Holy Cross vs. defending champion Beechwood at 7:45 p.m. The winners will return for the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday.