By Terry Boehmker & Will Jones
NKyTribune sports reporters
Holy Cross became the first girls basketball team to win four Kentucky All “A” Classic state championships Sunday and the Indians needed two victories on the same day to complete the historic accomplishment.
The final rounds of the small school state tournament at Owensboro Sportscenter were postponed last weekend due to the harsh winter weather that swept across Kentucky.
But the determination of the Holy Cross players didn’t waver during the layoff. They returned on Sunday and won two games by large margins, including a 60-42 win over Owensboro Catholic in the championship final.
“The score doesn’t reflect how good of a team Owensboro Catholic is,” Holy Cross coach Ted Arlinghaus said in a post-game interview. “We just came out and shot the lights out from the 3-point line. I think we were 7-of-10 in the first half and they were 0-for-7. That was the game right there.”
Those long-range baskets helped the Indians open up a 33-25 halftime lead. The closest Owensboro Catholic got during the second half was 16 points.
The Aces finished with the lowest point total on their Sportscenter home court this season.
“I’m ready proud of them,” Arlinghaus said of his players. “They put in the work and that’s our team motto, ‘Nobody works harder,’ and we showed it.”
Holy Cross ended up making 10 of 17 3-pointers in the game with each of the five starters getting at least one. The team leader was junior guard Alyssa Arlinghaus, the coach’s daughter, who hit five treys to account for 15 of her game-high 21 points.
Her last three gave the Indians their largest lead, 57-35, with 4:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. That’s when her father started clearing the bench.
“When you’re open, shoot the ball,” Alyssa said. “I started knocking them down, so I just kept shooting. It felt good.”
Holy Cross sophomore guard Jai Johnson made both of her threes during a 10-0 run in the first quarter that ended with her team holding a 15-8 lead.
The Indians were 4-for-4 from behind the arc in the second quarter when they outscored the Aces 18-7.
Owensboro Catholic ended up shooting 38.6 percent (17 of 44) from the field with two 3-point goals and 10 assists. Holy Cross shot 51.1 percent (23 of 45) with 10 treys and 16 assists.
“They have all kinds of defenses that make it hard on everybody,” coach Arlinghaus said of the Aces. “So one thing we talked about before the game was passing up a good shot to get a great shot.”
Johnson was named most valuable player on the state all-tournament team. Her four-game totals included 35 points, 20 steals and 15 assists. Alyssa Arlinghaus, junior forward Riley Eberhard and sophomore guard Avery Sturgeon were the other all-tournament selections for the Indians.
Holy Cross won its first three All “A” Classic state championships in 2015, 2023 and 2024. The 2015 team went on to win the Kentucky post-season state tournament. Coach Arlinghaus said the final three weeks of the regular season are designed to prepare for the post-season playoffs.
“Four of our next six games are against top 20 teams in the state,” the coach said of matchups against Ryle, Cooper, Campbell County and Brossart. “We just want to focus on us and anything we can improve on. Win some or lose some, we just want to keep developing as a team.”
HOLY CROSS 15 18 15 12 — 60
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 8 7 17 10 — 42
HOLY CROSS (19-2): Johnson 6 0 14, A. Arlinghaus 8 0 21, Sturgeon 1 0 3, P. Arlinghaus 4 1 10, Eberhard 2 2 7, Hunt 2 0 4, Saalfeld 0 1 1. Totals: 23 4 60.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC (17-6): Hagan 5 3 13, Mannahan 2 0 4, Munsey 3 0 8, Martin 1 0 2, Newby 4 3 11, riley 1 0 2, Boarman 1 0 2. Totals: 17 6 42.
Three-point goals: HC — A. Arlinghaus 5, Johnson 2, Sturgeon, Eberhard, P. Arlinghaus. OC — Munsey 2.