Two very similar teams will meet in the KHSAA Ninth Region girls basketball championship game Friday night at BB&T Arena.
Union city archrivals Cooper and Ryle will face off for the regional title at 7 p.m. after winning semifinal games Wednesday night at BB&T Arena.
Cooper advanced to the title game for the second time in team history after ousting defending regional champion Dixie Heights 54-42. Cooper improves to 22-9 and Dixie finishes 25-8.
Cooper is in the finals for the first time since 2017 and is seeking its first regional title. Ryle won three straight from 2018-20 including the 2019 state title.
“It feels awesome,” said Cooper junior Kay Freihofer. “It hasn’t been done in a long time. We’re super excited and we’ve put a lot of hard work into this season.”
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Cooper won its ninth straight game, and did so with a stifling defense, allowing 41 points per game in that streak.
Along the way, the Jaguars avenged recent losses to rival Conner and Anderson County, one of the state’s top teams. Cooper allowed only 18 points to the Conner Cougars after allowing 68 in a loss on Jan. 7.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” Freihofer said. “One on one, we try not to give them anything easy, and that’s how we win a lot of games.”
That formula won the day against Dixie, as the Jaguars limited Dixie to 39 percent shooting and only two 3-pointers made for the game. Dixie came in averaging seven 3-pointers a contest.
Dixie guard Ella Steczynski hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter, pulling Dixie to within two points at 29-27. Cooper outscored the Colonels 12-6 the rest of the period, with all the Dixie points coming on free throws.
Meanwhile, Cooper shot 54 percent from the floor for the game.
“The big thing was being disciplined on the defensive end,” said Cooper head coach Justin Holthaus. “The second half, our girls really locked down defensively. (Dixie) gets up about 20 threes a game and they only got four threes off tonight.”
Leading by eight, 41-33, to start the third quarter, the Jaguars pulled away when Lind scored the first five points of the final period. The decisive basket came when Freihofer blocked a shot under her basket. Logan Palmer grabbed the loose ball and fired an outlet pass to junior Whitney Lind for an open layup, and Cooper led 46-33.
Lind, Cooper’s leading scorer, had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assits. Kay Freihofer posted 15 points, and sister Liz Freihofer had 11 points four rebounds and four assists.
Ryle won both seeding games against Cooper this year, but the Jaguars won the 33rd District championship by a 60-49 count last week.
There will be no secrets when the crosstown rivals play round four with all to play for.
“It’s all on the girls,” Holthaus said. “They continue to believe in this ride. It’s very special. We know we have a big test Friday against Ryle. They’re a really nice team and they have some good pieces on their side, and we will work to try to take some of those pieces away. Nobody’s a stranger now. At the end of the day, when we get in here on Friday, it’s going to be about getting it done on the court.”
Dixie senior Madelyn Lawson, one of two Ninth Region finalists for Miss Basketball, led the Colonels with 12 points and 11 rebounds in her final game.
COOPER: Noel 1 0 2., Lind 6 2 16, Alexander 1 0 2, K. Freihofer 7 0 15, L. Freihofer 4 3 11, L. Palmer 3 0 8. Totals: 22 5 54.
DIXIE HEIGHTS: Steczynski 2 0 5, Ragan 0 1 1, Buddenberg 1 7 9, Brooks 1 0 2, Berma 4 5 13, Lawson 5 1 12. Totals: 13 14 42.
Halftime, C 29-24. 3-pointers: C 5 (Lind 2, L. Palmer 2, K. Freihofer), D 2 (Steczynski, Lawson).
RYLE 62, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 40: Ryle (21-9), who won three straight Ninth Region championships from 2018-20, advances to the championship game for the fourth time in five seasons.
Ryle took control with a quick 10-0 run late in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead (34-22) at halftime over the Thoroughbreds, who finished 22-11.
Leading 22-19, Ryle got two straight baskets from Quinn Eubank. On the second, she intercepted a pass on the Ryle side of the court and raced the other way for an uncontested layup.
On NCC’s next possession, sophomore Gracie Carrigan stole a pass that quickly led to a transition layup for Abby Holtman.
Austin Johnson scored on an offensive rebound. Then, Eubank scored again in transition after another steal by Carrigan.
Holtman had 15 of her team-high 25 points in the first half after scoring 27 to lead the Raiders to a comeback win over Notre Dame in Sunday’s quarterfinals. She recorded four steals as well.
Ryle began the second half on a quick 6-1 run, with baskets by Eubank, Johnson and Sarah Baker, and led by 23, 50-27 after three quarters.
Quinn Eubank had 12 points and came close to a double-double with nine rebounds. She added four assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
Johnson had eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sarah Baker posted six points and eight rebounds.
Ryle outrebounded NCC by 17.
NCC senior Rylee Turner scored 30 points in her final game. She added eight rebounds and three blocked shots. The Miss Basketball finalist finished with over 2,000 career points after reaching the milestone Sunday in the quarterfinal win over Ludlow.
RYLE (21-9): Eubank 6 0 12, Nguyen 1 0 3, Holtman 10 1 25, Johnson 2 4 8, Snider 1 0 3, Jones 1 0 3, Carrigan 0 2 2. Totals: 24 7 62.
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC (22-11): Green 0 1 1, Brannen 1 0 2, Meyer 0 1 1, Kinnett 1 0 3, Eaglin 1 0 3, Turner 10 10 30. Totals: 13 12 40.
Halftime, R 34-22. 3-pointers: R 7 (Holtman 4, Nguyen, Jones, Snider); N 2 (Kinnett, Eaglin).
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