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With Notre Dame, Highlands, Holy Cross and Ryle all advancing to this year's Ninth Region semifinals, Tuesday night's action at Northern Kentucky University's Truist Arena promised, on paper, two high-level games.
After Notre Dame pulled away from Highlands for a 48-31 victory, Holy Cross staged an epic comeback to beat Ryle in overtime, setting up a third matchup this season between the Pandas and Lady Indians.
Here's how Notre Dame and Holy Cross advanced to Friday's Ninth Region championship game.
The first game of the night was a Ninth Region tournament grudge match between the Pandas and Bluebirds, with Notre Dame winning in last year's semifinals and Highlands claiming victory in the 2024 quarterfinals.
As the Pandas will do when they're playing well, they got 3-pointers from Joslyn LaBordeaux-Humphrey, Emma Holtzapfel and Addie Lawrie to take a 9-2 lead.
While LaBordeaux-Humphrey sparked Notre Dame in its first-round win, fellow forward Sarah Young set the tone early with two blocks, an assist and a rebound in the first three minutes.
"In practice yesterday, we were emphasizing that they don't have much size. We do. So I think it was really important to establish some presence in the post," Young said.
Trailing 11-7 to start the second quarter, Highlands outscored Notre Dame 9-1 to take a 16-12 halftime lead.
Eighth-grader Solu Nzekwu scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half, not afraid to take on Young and inspiring her teammates to be more aggressive with the ball.
"We talked about the middle. The middle was open and we weren't able to get the ball to that person as much as we should have. But they're so long and tall and they rebound," Highlands coach Jaime Walz-Richey said.
A flurry of scoring started the second half as Notre Dame and Highlands combined for 19 points in just over five minutes. Five straight points from Holtzapfel and a jumper from Young gave the Pandas the lead for good before Amelia Stallard hit a 3-pointer for a 27-23 lead and a little breathing room.
A 10-0 run from the 1:40 mark of the third quarter to the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter flipped the game on its head. After Highlands' 3-2 zone kept the Pandas out of the paint in the second quarter, eight of the points on their game-defining run came from close range.
"What I'm most proud of is we were just a lot tougher on offense in the second half. We were not tough at all in the first half," Notre Dame head coach George Stoll said.
Notre Dame was at its best when the defense was confounding the Bluebirds. They denied Highlands entry into the lane in the first quarter, then switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half.
The Pandas held Kaylee Mills, the Bluebirds' leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, to just three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
"I thought that we did an overall good job. We weren't perfect, but our length and size can cause problems sometimes," Stoll said.
Notre Dame advances to its second straight regional final, hoping to flip the script from a 60-57 loss to Cooper in 2025.
"It's gonna be intense, it's gonna be high pressure, but that's what you practice for. I'm really excited," Young said.
Highlands finishes the season at 18-12, graduating four seniors in Mills, Avery Barber, Madison Barlow and Katie Bucher.
Notre Dame: Holtzapfel 3 8 16, LaBordeaux-Humphrey 4 3 12, Lawrie 3 1 8, Young 3 0 7, Stallard 2 0 5. Totals: 15 12 48.
Highlands: Nzekwu 6 0 13, Richey 2 2 6, Bucher 2 0 5, Mills 1 0 3, A Lickert 1 0 2, M Lickert 1 0 2. Totals: 13 2 31.
Half: H 16-12. 3-pointers: ND 6 (Holtzapfel 2, Stallard, Young, Lawrie, LaBordeaux-Humphrey); H 3 (Mills, Bucher, Nzekwu).
Trailing 31-15 at the half, Holy Cross head coach Ted Arlinghaus had one message for Riley Eberhard: be aggressive and score the ball or the Lady Indians weren't winning.
The junior forward responded by scoring 14 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and overtime to lead the Lady Indians to a 66-60 win. Her stretch of 8 straight points late in the third quarter trimmed the deficit from 8 points to just two.
Just as Paige Arlinghaus had done in Sunday's first round, Eberhard grabbed a crucial offensive rebound in the waning moments to secure the victory.
"Freaking awesome," Ted Arlinghaus said. "She went out there and scored the ball. It doesn't necessarily have to be the points. It's the mindset."
Arlinghaus's total message at halftime was that, despite trailing by 15, the Indians could still make it their story.
With Ryle's Jayden McClain racking up 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the first 16 minutes, the Lady Indians were hesitant to bring the ball into the paint and searched for answers for the 6-foot-6 center on defense. McClain also scored 6 points as Ryle ran out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game.
"We wanted to try to get her into more actions and score or dish it out because people were gonna help," Eberhard said.
Alyssa Arlinghaus added: "Because she was so aggressive in drawing McClain, that helps everyone else, so everyone else can cut and get open."
The first crack came in the third quarter when McClain stepped out to help on the perimeter and Jai Johnson drove unimpeded for a layup. From there, Holy Cross scored 8 points in the paint as they steadily closed the gap.
The first possession of the second half truly gave coach Arlinghaus hope that his team could pull off the comeback. After a loose ball, Johnson drained a 3-pointer that sparked a 13-4 run.
Holy Cross cut the deficit to seven at 49-42 to start the fourth quarter, fulfilling Arlinghaus's desire to get it to single digits. A McLain triple for a 55-46 lead at the 4:49 mark felt like a back-breaker, but the Lady Indians rattled off 9 straight points in just over three minutes.
"Our message was, 'We're still gonna make our story. Nobody works harder. We're outworking them.'" Ted Arlinghaus said.
When the Lady Indians traveled to Union on Feb. 9 and beat Ryle 63-45, they knocked down 47 percent of their 3-pointers to come back from a double-digit deficit. After going 0-for-6 in the first half on Tuesday, they made 7-of-13 after halftime.
Avery Sturgeon hit from the top of the key with 1:34 left to tie the game at 55-55 and send it to overtime, then Alyssa Arlinghaus, who matched Eberhard with 21 points, gave the Indians a 61-60 lead with a triple from the left wing with 42 seconds left. Arlinghaus then hit the final four free throws to cement the win.
"To come back like that, I knew we had it in us. It feels really, really good," Alyssa Arlinghaus said.
With the largest student section of any participating school in tow, Holy Cross now advances to its first regional final since 2015 when, coincidentally, it beat Notre Dame on the way to its only state championship.
"They know a lot about us. We know a lot about them. I love my team. I like my chances," Ted Arlinghaus said.
The Pandas have won four straight in the series and 13 of the last 17 matchups dating back to the 2018-2019 season.
Ryle finishes the season 21-10 and graduates three seniors in Piper Aschermann, Ava Warner and Ninth Region Player of the Year Jaelyn Jones.
Holy Cross: A Arlinghaus 5 10 21, Eberhard 9 1 21, Sturgeon 3 1 10, Johnson 4 0 9, P Arlinghaus 1 1 3, Hunt 0 2 2. Totals: 22 15 66.
Ryle: McClain 8 4 21, Jones 7 2 16, Dowell 3 0 7, Hampton 2 3 7, Cooper 2 0 5, Aschermann 1 0 2, Warner 1 0 2. Totals: 24 9 60.
Half: R 31-16. 3-pointers: HC 7 (Sturgeon 3, Eberhard 2, A Arlinghaus, Johnson); R 3 (McClain, Dowell, Cooper).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Notre Dame, Holy Cross set to battle for 2026 KHSAA Ninth Region title
Continue reading...
After Notre Dame pulled away from Highlands for a 48-31 victory, Holy Cross staged an epic comeback to beat Ryle in overtime, setting up a third matchup this season between the Pandas and Lady Indians.
Here's how Notre Dame and Holy Cross advanced to Friday's Ninth Region championship game.
Notre Dame defense confounds Highlands, Pandas advance to second straight title game appearance
The first game of the night was a Ninth Region tournament grudge match between the Pandas and Bluebirds, with Notre Dame winning in last year's semifinals and Highlands claiming victory in the 2024 quarterfinals.
As the Pandas will do when they're playing well, they got 3-pointers from Joslyn LaBordeaux-Humphrey, Emma Holtzapfel and Addie Lawrie to take a 9-2 lead.
While LaBordeaux-Humphrey sparked Notre Dame in its first-round win, fellow forward Sarah Young set the tone early with two blocks, an assist and a rebound in the first three minutes.
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"In practice yesterday, we were emphasizing that they don't have much size. We do. So I think it was really important to establish some presence in the post," Young said.
Trailing 11-7 to start the second quarter, Highlands outscored Notre Dame 9-1 to take a 16-12 halftime lead.
Eighth-grader Solu Nzekwu scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half, not afraid to take on Young and inspiring her teammates to be more aggressive with the ball.
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"We talked about the middle. The middle was open and we weren't able to get the ball to that person as much as we should have. But they're so long and tall and they rebound," Highlands coach Jaime Walz-Richey said.
A flurry of scoring started the second half as Notre Dame and Highlands combined for 19 points in just over five minutes. Five straight points from Holtzapfel and a jumper from Young gave the Pandas the lead for good before Amelia Stallard hit a 3-pointer for a 27-23 lead and a little breathing room.
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A 10-0 run from the 1:40 mark of the third quarter to the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter flipped the game on its head. After Highlands' 3-2 zone kept the Pandas out of the paint in the second quarter, eight of the points on their game-defining run came from close range.
"What I'm most proud of is we were just a lot tougher on offense in the second half. We were not tough at all in the first half," Notre Dame head coach George Stoll said.
Notre Dame was at its best when the defense was confounding the Bluebirds. They denied Highlands entry into the lane in the first quarter, then switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half.
You must be registered for see images attach
The Pandas held Kaylee Mills, the Bluebirds' leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, to just three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
"I thought that we did an overall good job. We weren't perfect, but our length and size can cause problems sometimes," Stoll said.
Notre Dame advances to its second straight regional final, hoping to flip the script from a 60-57 loss to Cooper in 2025.
You must be registered for see images attach
"It's gonna be intense, it's gonna be high pressure, but that's what you practice for. I'm really excited," Young said.
Highlands finishes the season at 18-12, graduating four seniors in Mills, Avery Barber, Madison Barlow and Katie Bucher.
Notre Dame: Holtzapfel 3 8 16, LaBordeaux-Humphrey 4 3 12, Lawrie 3 1 8, Young 3 0 7, Stallard 2 0 5. Totals: 15 12 48.
Highlands: Nzekwu 6 0 13, Richey 2 2 6, Bucher 2 0 5, Mills 1 0 3, A Lickert 1 0 2, M Lickert 1 0 2. Totals: 13 2 31.
Half: H 16-12. 3-pointers: ND 6 (Holtzapfel 2, Stallard, Young, Lawrie, LaBordeaux-Humphrey); H 3 (Mills, Bucher, Nzekwu).
Holy Cross stuns Ryle with epic comeback, earns first regional final berth since 2015
Trailing 31-15 at the half, Holy Cross head coach Ted Arlinghaus had one message for Riley Eberhard: be aggressive and score the ball or the Lady Indians weren't winning.
The junior forward responded by scoring 14 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and overtime to lead the Lady Indians to a 66-60 win. Her stretch of 8 straight points late in the third quarter trimmed the deficit from 8 points to just two.
Just as Paige Arlinghaus had done in Sunday's first round, Eberhard grabbed a crucial offensive rebound in the waning moments to secure the victory.
"Freaking awesome," Ted Arlinghaus said. "She went out there and scored the ball. It doesn't necessarily have to be the points. It's the mindset."
Arlinghaus's total message at halftime was that, despite trailing by 15, the Indians could still make it their story.
With Ryle's Jayden McClain racking up 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the first 16 minutes, the Lady Indians were hesitant to bring the ball into the paint and searched for answers for the 6-foot-6 center on defense. McClain also scored 6 points as Ryle ran out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game.
You must be registered for see images attach
"We wanted to try to get her into more actions and score or dish it out because people were gonna help," Eberhard said.
Alyssa Arlinghaus added: "Because she was so aggressive in drawing McClain, that helps everyone else, so everyone else can cut and get open."
The first crack came in the third quarter when McClain stepped out to help on the perimeter and Jai Johnson drove unimpeded for a layup. From there, Holy Cross scored 8 points in the paint as they steadily closed the gap.
The first possession of the second half truly gave coach Arlinghaus hope that his team could pull off the comeback. After a loose ball, Johnson drained a 3-pointer that sparked a 13-4 run.
Holy Cross cut the deficit to seven at 49-42 to start the fourth quarter, fulfilling Arlinghaus's desire to get it to single digits. A McLain triple for a 55-46 lead at the 4:49 mark felt like a back-breaker, but the Lady Indians rattled off 9 straight points in just over three minutes.
"Our message was, 'We're still gonna make our story. Nobody works harder. We're outworking them.'" Ted Arlinghaus said.
You must be registered for see images
When the Lady Indians traveled to Union on Feb. 9 and beat Ryle 63-45, they knocked down 47 percent of their 3-pointers to come back from a double-digit deficit. After going 0-for-6 in the first half on Tuesday, they made 7-of-13 after halftime.
Avery Sturgeon hit from the top of the key with 1:34 left to tie the game at 55-55 and send it to overtime, then Alyssa Arlinghaus, who matched Eberhard with 21 points, gave the Indians a 61-60 lead with a triple from the left wing with 42 seconds left. Arlinghaus then hit the final four free throws to cement the win.
"To come back like that, I knew we had it in us. It feels really, really good," Alyssa Arlinghaus said.
You must be registered for see images
With the largest student section of any participating school in tow, Holy Cross now advances to its first regional final since 2015 when, coincidentally, it beat Notre Dame on the way to its only state championship.
"They know a lot about us. We know a lot about them. I love my team. I like my chances," Ted Arlinghaus said.
The Pandas have won four straight in the series and 13 of the last 17 matchups dating back to the 2018-2019 season.
Ryle finishes the season 21-10 and graduates three seniors in Piper Aschermann, Ava Warner and Ninth Region Player of the Year Jaelyn Jones.
Holy Cross: A Arlinghaus 5 10 21, Eberhard 9 1 21, Sturgeon 3 1 10, Johnson 4 0 9, P Arlinghaus 1 1 3, Hunt 0 2 2. Totals: 22 15 66.
Ryle: McClain 8 4 21, Jones 7 2 16, Dowell 3 0 7, Hampton 2 3 7, Cooper 2 0 5, Aschermann 1 0 2, Warner 1 0 2. Totals: 24 9 60.
Half: R 31-16. 3-pointers: HC 7 (Sturgeon 3, Eberhard 2, A Arlinghaus, Johnson); R 3 (McClain, Dowell, Cooper).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Notre Dame, Holy Cross set to battle for 2026 KHSAA Ninth Region title
Continue reading...
