By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic will face one of Kentucky’s premier high school players in the championship game of the King of the Bluegrass at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fairdale High School in Louisville.
The Colonels’ opponent will be North Laurel, a team led by junior guard Reed Sheppard, a University of Kentucky recruit who’s averaging 25.7 points and shooting 57 percent from the field for the 7-1 Mustangs.
North Laurel advanced to the title game with a 74-66 win over Dorman, a perennial power in South Carolina high school basketball. Sheppard had 34 points, nine steals, six assists, two blocks and two rebounds in that victory.
CovCath defeated Louisville Male, 68-56, in Monday’s other semifinal game to run its record to 8-1. In the preseason state rankings, CovCath was No. 3 and Male was No. 2.
Junior guard Evan Ipsaro scored a game-high 17 points for the Colonels. He also had five assists and five rebounds. Senior center Mitchell Rylee posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
CovCath junior forward Chandler Starks returned to action after missing the last two games and contributed 13 points, three rebounds and two assists.
The Colonels also played well on the defensive end, scoring 19 points off 12 turnovers and holding Male to 40.8 percent (20 of 49) shooting from the field. CovCath shot 50 percent (26 of 52) and had a 31-28 rebound advantage.
This is the first time that CovCath or North Laurel has reached the championship game of the King of the Bluegrass tournament that began in 1981.
Simon Kenton boys basketball coach gets 300th career win
Simon Kenton boys basketball coach Trent Steiner picked up his 300th career victory on Monday when the Pioneers defeated Muhlenberg County, 61-58, in the first round of the Scott Winter Classic holiday tournament.
Steiner had 11 wins as Lawrence County’s head coach before coming to Simon Kenton in 2003. He got his 289th win as the Pioneers’ head coach in Monday’s game, according to annual season records posted on the khsaa.org website.
In his 19th season at Simon Kenton, Steiner has a 289-241 record going into a semifinal game against Conner in the Scott Winter Classic at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Last week, Conner defeated Simon Kenton, 54-48, in a regular-season game.
Simon Kenton posted a winning record in 12 of the previous 18 seasons that Steiner has been head coach. His teams won the 32nd District title 10 times and compiled an 8-15 record in 8th Region playoff games. He took the Pioneers to the 8th Region finals three times.
Last season, Simon Kenton senior Kelly Niece was the leading scorer in the the state with a 30.1 average. The Pioneers are off to a 4-3 start this season with a more balanced offense. In their first two victories, they had four double-figure scorers and five players did that in a win at South Oldham last Friday.
Wrestling teams earn trophies at major tournament in Ohio
Ryle finished second in a field of 44 teams at the Southwest Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Classic last weekend at Harrison High School. Walton-Verona placed 10th, but the Bearcats received a trophy for having the highest score among small-school teams in the two-day tournament.
Ryle had four wrestlers in the championship finals with senior Noah Duke winning the 190-pound title. The second-place finishers were freshman Landon Evans (106), senior Cole Thomas (138) and senior Carter Messerly (165).
Duke, who won the 170-pound weight class in the Kentucky state tournament last March, picked up the 200th victory of his high school career during the tournament. He defeated Jonathon Sanchez of Moeller, 10-1, in Sunday’s championship finals.
Thomas, a three-time Kentucky state champion who entered the season with 92 consecutive wins over the previous two seasons, lost to Jeff Niffenegger of LaSalle, 9-4, in the 138-pound final on Sunday.
Walton-Verona senior Isaac Thornton defeated Chase Plulharr of Brecksville, 13-4, in the 132-pound championship final. His freshman teammate TJ Meyer lost in the 120-pound title match. The tournament’s third-place finishers included Simon Kenton senior Hunter Creech at 144 pounds.
Cooper grad on nation’s highest scoring women’s basketball team
Cooper graduate Lexi Held is a starting senior guard on the DePaul University women’s basketball team that leads NCAA Division I national statistics in scoring average (92.2 ppg) and total assists (281).
Held is averaging a team-high 5.1 assists for the 11-2 Blue Devils. She’s also one of five double-figure scorers in the starting lineup with a 13.8 average. During her team’s current seven-game winning streak, Held shot 52 percent (38 of 73) from the field overall and 48 percent (19 of 39) from 3-point range.
Held’s current career totals are 1,339 points and 290 assists in 101 games. She has started in 69 consecutive games since she was a sophomore. After her junior season, she was an All-Big East first-team selection and named Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year.
DePaul has scored 100 points or more in five of its last seven victories. The Blue Demons will close out the December portion of their schedule with home games against Notre Dame on Wednesday and Connecticut on Dec. 31. Both of those teams are ranked among the top 25 in Division I women’s basketball.