By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
As a player, Ted Arlinghaus admits he was more focused on putting the ball in the basket than taking it away from an opponent. As a coach, he puts a heavy emphasis on defense and that’s what carried his Holy Cross girls team to a second straight 9th Region All “A” Classic championship.
In the region final on Saturday, Holy Cross forced more than 30 turnovers with a relentless trapping defense and scored off most of them during a 67-48 win over tournament host Newport Central Catholic.
After the victory, Arlinghaus was asked if he envisioned himself building a team around that part of the game.
“Absolutely not,” he replied. “I’m a shooter and a scorer. I never imagined I would’ve been a defensive coach. But a lot of times you just play the hand you’re dealt and that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
Holy Cross (11-3) earned a return trip to the Kentucky All “A” Classic state tournament that the Indians won last year.
Their opponent in the opening round on Jan. 24 at Corbin Arena will be the winner of the 7th Region tournament that starts on Thursday.
With the way the Indians are playing, Arlinghaus feels pretty good about their chances of making history. They could become the first Northern Kentucky girls team to win back-to-back state championships in the annual small-school playoffs.
“Defensively, we’re light years ahead of where we were last year,” he said. “Last year, we kind of incorporated this trapping defense, but we didn’t even try it for the first time until the regional All ‘A’ so we were just kind of winging it.”
In the region final on Saturday, Holy Cross scored 12 straight points off turnovers at the end of the first quarter to take a 25-11 lead. NewCath trimmed the margin to 26-18 before falling victim to the Thoroughbreds’ aggressive defense once again and trailed, 41-21, at halftime.
“I love how we play defense and force turnovers,” said Holy Cross senior Miyah Wimzie, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. “They say defense is what wins ball games and our defense is a game-changer.”
NewCath didn’t score during the first 4:50 of the third quarter and fell behind, 51-21, on a basket by Holy Cross center Julia Hunt. There was little hope for a comeback after that.
“Other teams run a similar defense as they do, they’re just really good at it,” said NewCath coach Dan Albrinck. “They’re just really quick and put a lot of pressure on the ball.”
NewCath guard Caroline Eaglin finished with a game-high 19 points. Holy Cross had four double-figure scorers led by Aumani Nelson and Aniyah Carter with 17 and 15 points.
Carter, the smallest player on the court, scored 11 points in the first half with four of her five field goals coming off takeaways.
“We hang our hat on defense,” coach Arlinghaus said. “At the beginning of the year we kind of said we’re going to need our defense to lead to our offense. That’s the way we’ve been playing all season and tonight was no exception.”
Holy Cross and NewCath are now tied for the most 9th Region All “A” Classic girls championships with 15 each and have a 5-5 record in title games against each other.
HOLY CROSS 25 16 16 10 — 67
NEWCATH 11 10 9 18 — 48
HOLY CROSS (11-4): Hunt 4 1 9, Arlinghaus 1 0 3, Hayes 5 1 11, Nelson 7 1 17, Wimzie 3 4 10, Carter 7 0 15, Klaiss 1 0 2. Totals: 28 7 67.
NEWCATH (9-4): Green 1 0 2, Brannen 4 0 11, Beck 1 0 2, Eaglin 5 9 19, McFarland 3 2 11. Cole 1 0 3. Totals: 15 11 48.
Three-point goals: HC — Nelson 2, Arlinghaus, Carter. NC — Brannen 3, McFarland 3, Cole.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Holy Cross — Miyah Wimzie (MVP), Julia Hunt, Aumani Nelson. NewCath — Jaylee Brennan, Caroline Eaglin. Beechwood — Gia Jones. Ludlow — Olivia King. Villa Madonna — Catherine Gifford. Bellevue — Sydni Massey. Dayton — Allyiah Hull. Newport — Amariana Cook. St. Henry — Kayla Unkraut.
BOYS 9TH REGION ALL “A” CLASSIC AT BELLEVUE
Monday
Ludlow vs. St. Henry, 6 p.m.
Bellevue vs. Dayton, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday
Holy Cross vs. Ludlow-St. Henry winner, 6 p.m.
Beechwood vs. Villa Madonna, 7:45 p.m.
Wednesday
Newport Central Catholic vs. Bellevue-Dayton winner, 6 p.m.
Newport vs. Heritage, 7:45 p.m.
Friday
Semifinal games, 6 and 7:45 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 7 p.m.