By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The stifling defense Holy Cross uses to limit an opponent’s scoring opportunities was very successful Sunday morning when the Indians rolled to a 54-30 victory over Lexington Christian in the semifinals of the All “A” Classic girls state tournament at Owensboro Sportscenter.
Lexington Christian made only eight field goals during the first three quarters and were behind, 50-19, when Holy Cross started pulling its starting players out of the game. At that point, the Indians had most of the 25 points it got off turnovers produced by their defense.
The victory put Holy Cross (18-2) in the All “A” Classic state championship game for the third time in four years. The Indians won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024 before getting eliminated in the first round last year.
Lexington Christian (16-6) finished with 24 turnovers and 19 of them came on steals by Holy Cross players.
Sophomore guard Jai Johnson had six of those takeaways. She was also involved with 10 of the Indians’ 20 field goals, hitting six shots with four assists.
The team’s other double-figure scorer was sophomore guard Avery Sturgeon, who made four treys for 12 points.
Johnson made two 3-pointers at the end of the first quarter to give Holy Cross a 13-9 lead. Over the next eight minutes, the Indians extended the margin to 30-13 at halftime and then opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run to make it 40-13.
Lexington Christian closed the game with an 11-4 run in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles still finished with their lowest point total of the season. Holy Cross has held 11 of its 20 opponents to 40 points or less going into the championship game against Owensboro Catholic.
Holy Cross and Owensboro Catholic have both won three All “A” Classic girls state titles. The winner of their showdown will become the first four-time champion in the history of the tournament.
HOLY CROSS 13 17 20 4 — 54
LEXINGTON CHRISTIAN 9 4 6 11 — 30
HOLY CROSS (18-2): Johnson 6 1 16, A. Arlinghaus 4 0 8, Sturgeon 4 0 12, P. Arlinghaus 1 0 2, Eberhard 3 1 7, Hunt 0 2 2, Brianna Saalfeld 1 1 3, Brooke Saalfeld 1 0 2, Bowens 0 2 2,. Totals: 20 7 54.
LEXINGTON CHRISTIAN (16-6): Graham 5 0 11, Waltz 1 1 3, Bertram 3 0 6, Do Toit 2 0 6, Helm 2 0 4. Totals: 13 1 30.
Three-point goals: HC — Sturgeon 4, Johnson 3. LC — Du Toit 2, Graham.
Owensboro Catholic 58, Brossart 56
It’s tough to win a basketball game when your team has more turnovers than field goals and two starters foul out in the fourth quarter. But Brossart almost pulled that off in the semifinals of the All “A” Classic girls basketball tournament on Sunday morning at Owensboro Sportscenter.
Despite all of those problems, Brossart lost to Owensboro Catholic, 58-56, in a game that was decided in the final seconds. On their final three possessions, however, the Mustangs committed two turnovers and missed two shots.
Final stats had Brossart committing 23 turnovers and shooting 37 percent (17 of 46) from the field.
The leading scorers for the Mustangs were junior forward Hadley Eviston with a game-high 17 points and sophomore guard Kiley Smith with 13. They were both named to the state all-tournament team.
The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for Brossart (20-2) and denied the team a shot at their first All “A” Classic state title since 1999.
The Mustangs also lost in the semifinals last year. Owensboro Catholic (17-5) advanced to the All “A” Classic championship game for the sixth time.
The score was tied, 44-44, going into the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. In that final quarter, the Mustangs committed turnovers on four of their first five possessions and went on to shoot 25 percent (3 of 12) from the field.
Two of their baskets were scored by Smith, but she fouled out with four minutes left in the game. Junior forward Rachel Shewmaker was the other Brossart starter who fouled out. The Mustangs still managed to pull within one point, 57-56, on a free throw by junior guard Lilee Meyers with 1:10 remaining.
After a Brossart missed shot and turnover, Owensboro Catholic made it 58-56 on a free throw by Taylor Mannahan with nine seconds left. The Mustangs then had a turnover and missed shot on their last two possessions.
Owensboro Catholic ended up shooting 34.4 percent (21 of 61) from the field with 22 points coming off turnovers. The Aces had a 38-36 advantage in total rebounds, committed 14 turnovers and had one player foul out.
BROSSART 12 14 18 12 — 56
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 11 17 16 14 — 58
BROSSART (21-2): Meyer 2 3 9, Smith 4 4 13, Eviston 5 7 17, Kramer 4 0 11, Weitholter 1 1 3, Guidugli 1 0 3. Totals: 17 15 56.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC (17-5): Hagan 4 1 10, Mannahan 6 2 15, Munsey 2 2 6, Martin 2 1 5, Newby 4 3 12, Riley 2 1 7, Osborne 1 0 3. Totals: 21 10 58.
Three-point goals: B — Kramer 3, Meyers 2, Smith, Guidugli. OC — Riley 2, Osborne, Newby, Mannahan, Hagan.