By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle girls basketball fans wore hard hats and bright yellow work vests to their team’s 9th Region semifinal game on Friday at BB&T Arena. It was appropriate attire to watch the Raiders, who demolished Dixie Heights, 68-32, to move one step closer to their third consecutive regional title.
To complete the championship trifecta, Ryle will have to take down a talented young Notre Dame team that edged Conner, 42-38, in Friday’s other regional semifinal. The title game is set for 2 p.m. Sunday.
With mostly sophomores in its player rotation, Notre Dame doesn’t come close to matching their opponent’s big game experience. Ryle has three starters back from last year’s regional and state championship team, including all-state senior point guard Maddie Scherr.
But Notre Dame coach Kes Murphy knows what it takes to pull off an upset. Five years ago, he was in charge of the Holy Cross girls basketball team that defied all odds and won the 2015 state tournament.
“It’s just a mindset,” Murphy said. “You are who you think you are. You can’t be somebody who thinks you don’t have the skill set and experience just because you’re 15 years old playing against 17-year-olds. If that gets in your head, then you can’t be a player out there fighting against somebody you’re just as good as. If that’s our mindset, then there’s hope. If not, we don’t stand a chance.”
Notre Dame won a back-and-forth battle against a Conner team that had mostly seniors in its starting lineup to reach the regional final for the first time since 2014.
Conner scored 12 straight points in the first and second quarters to build a 14-5 lead. Notre Dame answered with a 12-3 run and tied the score, 17-17, on a 3-point shot by sophomore guard Macie Feldman in the final seconds of the first half.
In the third quarter, Conner junior guard Ellie Smith scored 12 of her team’s 14 points, including a pair of 3-point goals. But the Pandas hit three shots from behind the arc on their last four possessions in that period and the score was tied once again at 31-31.
A solid fourth quarter by sophomore Lacey Bradshaw carried the Pandas to the victory. In the final eight minutes, she scored seven points with one assist and snagged a couple of rebounds. She came down with the ball after Conner’s final field goal attempt and took it up the court as time expired.
“I felt like I needed to step up and just finish the game,” said Bradley, who ended up with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals. “I wanted this win so bad and my team wanted this, so I needed to do it for my team.”
In the second semifinal game, Ryle took a 15-8 lead in the first quarter and steadily pulled away. Officials started a running clock after the margin reached 35 points late in the third quarter.
Ryle shot 56 percent (27 of 49) compared to Dixie Heights’ 20 percent (8 of 40). The Raiders had 25 fast break points with several coming off the Colonels’ 15 turnovers.
The game’s leading scorer was Ryle junior guard Brie Crittendon with 14 points. Dixie Heights junior guard Sydney Lockard and Ryle senior guard Jaiden Douthitt each had 10 points. Lockard was carried off the floor after being injured late in the third quarter and did not finish the game.
Scherr, who was named Gatorade’s Kentucky Player of the Year earlier in the day, had nine points, six assists, five rebounds and two blocks when she went to the bench in the third quarter. None of Ryle’s starters played in the fourth quarter and the team ended up with 22 points off the bench.
“I was just so proud of them, to stay focused like they did and continue the game plan from the first quarter to the fourth quarter with everyone on the team getting in,” said Ryle coach Katie Haitz.
The Raiders had a big win against Notre Dame, 66-38, on Feb. 8, but Haitz doesn’t expect another runaway in the regional final rematch.
“They’ve got a good team,” she said. “They’re very disciplined and they all know their roles just like we do. It should be a very good game.”
CONNER 8 9 14 7 — 38
NOTRE DAME 5 12 14 11 — 42
CONNER (21-12): Drummonds 1 4 6, Murphy 2 3 7, Smith 6 0 14, Taylor 1 2 4, Craddock 1 0 3, Zorich 0 2 2, Burcham 1 0 2. Totals: 12 11 38.
NOTRE DAME (25-6): Feldman 3 2 10, Bradshaw 5 4 14, Aytes 2 0 4, Thelen 1 0 3, Hemmer 1 0 2, McKnight 2 0 6, Hicks 1 0 3. Totals: 15 6 42.
3-pointers: C — Smith 2, Craddock. ND — Feldman 2, McKnight 2. Thelen, Hicks.
RYLE 15 21 19 13 — 68
DIXIE HEIGHTS 8 5 9 10 — 32
RYLE (21-11): Eubank 2 1 5, Moening 1 0 2, Crittendon 6 0 14, Holtman 3 0 8, Johnson 2 0 4, Scherr 4 1 9, Douthitt 4 0 10, Crist 1 3 5, Strode 1 0 2, Brook 3 3 9. Totals: 27 8 68.
DIXIE HEIGHTS (21-13): Gerding 0 2 2, Pelfrey 0 4 4, Teeters 2 0 6, Buddenburg 1 1 3, Berman 1 2 5, Lockard 4 0 10, Reynolds 0 2 2. Totals: 8 11 32.
3-pointers: R — Crittendon 2, Holtman 2, Douthitt 2. DH — Teeters 2, Lockard 2, Berman.