By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
In a 9th Region girls semifinal game on Tuesday, Holy Cross got off to a shaky start and was behind by 16 points at halftime. When the players got together in the locker room, coach Ted Arlinghaus encouraged them to turn the page and strive for a happy ending in the second half.
“I told them, ‘This is your chance. Let’s go out there and let’s make this our story, where at the end of the game with 0:00 on the clock we have one more point than they do,'” Arlinghaus recounted.
The Indians responded with an astonishing comeback and defeated Ryle, 66-60, in overtime at Truist Arena.
And the heroine in the story’s final chapter turned out to be the coach’s daughter, Alyssa Arlinghaus, who scored nine of her team’s 11 points in the overtime period.
“To come back like that, to force it into overtime and win, feels really, really good,” said Alyssa, who hit a 3-point shot that put her team ahead, 61-60, and made four free throws in the final 21 seconds to clinch the victory.
“I was ready to take that shot,” she said of the 3-pointer. “I practice shooting every single day, so I was kind of dreaming about having a big shot go down at NKU. So that was really cool.”
The win puts Holy Cross (28-5) in the 9th Region championship game for the first time since 2015. The Indians will face 35th District rival Notre Dame (23-7) in the title game at 7 p.m. Friday.
Notre Dame has won the last four games between the two teams, including a 60-43 victory in last week’s district final.
“They know a lot about us, we know a lot about them,” coach Arlinghaus said of the matchup. “I love my team, and I like my chances Friday.”
In the first half of their semifinal game, the Indians shot a dismal 24 percent (6 of 25) from the field with three shots blocked by Ryle 6-foot-6 freshman center Jaden McClain. That’s why they were behind, 31-15, at the break.
Holy Cross opened the second half with a 14-4 run, getting points from five players. The rally continued and junior forward Riley Eberhard scored eight of the team’s next 11 points, including a three that reduced the margin to 42-40. That was one of seven treys the Indians made after going 0-for-6 in the first half.
“We shared the ball,” coach Arlinghaus said of the comeback. “We knew if we tried to drive and shoot ourselves, it wasn’t going to work out well. McClain was going to block it. She’s amazing at the amount of ground she can cover. So our message was always drive and dish, drive and dish.”
Ryle recovered and extended its lead to 55-46 on a 3-pointer by McClain with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter. But Holy Cross scored nine straight points to tie the score, 55-55, and send the game into overtime.
That set the stage for the Indians’ game-winning 11-5 scoring run led by the coach’s daughter.
“Our motto is nobody outworks us,” coach Arlinghaus said. “We’re going to be the hardest working team in the gym. After the game, teams are going to know that they played Holy Cross. We’re not going down. That was our motto at halftime.”
McClain finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots. Ryle’s other double-figure scorer was senior guard Jaelyn Jones with 16 points. Those two players netted 18 of their team’s 29 points in the second half and overtime.
The scoring leaders for Holy Cross were Eberhard and Arlinghaus with 21 points each. In the second half and overtime, they had a combined total of 29 points and sophomore guard Avery Sturgeon had 10.
Eberhard also pulled down 10 rebounds to post a double-double while Arlinghaus went 10-for-10 at the free throw line and snagged eight rebounds.
In Friday’s championship game, Eberhard will be competing against former teammates. She played on Notre Dame’s region runner-up team last season.
“I am really excited about it,” she said. “I know all the (Notre Dame) players so it’s good to play against them and have some fun with it, but I’ll still go in there to win the game.”
HOLY CROSS 9 6 27 13 11 — 66
RYLE 18 13 18 6 5 — 60
HOLY CROSS (28-5): Johnson 4 0 9, Hunt 0 2 2, A. Arlinghaus 5 10 21, Sturgeon 3 1 10, P. Arlinghaus 1 1 3, Eberhard 9 1 21. Totals: 22 15 66.
RYLE (21-10): Aschermann1 0 2, Cooper 2 0 5, Dowell 3 0 7, Jones 7 2 16, McClain 8 4 21, Warner 1 0 2, Hampton 2 3 7. Totals: 24 9 60.
Three-pointers: HC — Sturgeon 3, Eberhard 2, Johnson, A. Arlinghaus. R — Cooper, Dowell, McClain.
Girls basketball region tournaments
9TH REGION GIRLS AT TRUIST ARENA
Friday
Championship game: Notre Dame (23-7) vs. Holy Cross (28-5), 7 p.m.
10TH REGION GIRLS AT HARRISON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
George Rogers Clark (27-2) vs. Mason County (18-9), 6 p.m.
Campbell County (22-6) vs. Nicholas County (19-12), 8 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 7 p.m.
8TH REGION GIRLS AT HENRY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
Anderson County (22-9) vs. Owen County (19-8), 6:30 p.m.
Simon Kenton (29-2) vs. Spencer County (22-8), 8 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball region tournaments
10TH REGION BOYS AT MASON COUNTY FIELDHOUSE
Wednesday — Upper bracket
Scott (15-14) vs. Mason County (7-19), 6 p.m.
Pendleton County (17-12) vs. George Rogers Clark (26-4), 8 p.m.
Thursday — Lower bracket
Montgomery County (17-12) vs. Bracken County (14-15), 6 p.m.
Campbell County (21-9) vs. Nicholas County (20-12), 8 p.m.
Monday, March 9
Upper bracket semifinal, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket semifinal, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10
Championship game, 7 p.m.
8TH REGION BOYS AT HENRY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Wednesday — Upper bracket
Henry County (19-11) vs. South Oldham (20-8), 6:30 p.m.
Simon Kenton (16-10) vs. Spencer County (19-13), 8 p.m.
Thursday — Lower bracket
North Oldham (22-5) vs. Walton-Verona (17-15), 6:30 p.m.
Woodford County (17-7) vs. Gallatin County (11-20), 8 p.m.
Monday, March 9
Upper bracket semifinal, 6:30 p.m.
Lower bracket semifinal, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10
Championship game, 7 p.m.
9TH REGION BOYS AT TRUIST ARENA
Saturday, March 7 — Upper bracket
Highlands (25-5) vs. Conner (14-12), 1 p.m.
Covington Catholic (28-2) vs. Dixie Heights (18-12), 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 — Lower bracket
Lloyd (22-4) vs. Holy Cross (21-9), 6:30 p.m.
Ryle (21-8) vs. Newport (21-9), 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 8
Upper bracket semifinal, 6:30 p.m.
Lower bracket semifinal, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10
Championship game, 7 p.m.