Nicole Kiernan scored 22 points and had 17 rebounds in NewCath's win
Just eight days after Brossart pulled off an exciting 48-45 overtime victory over NewCath, the Lady Mustangs will have to prove it was no fluke.
Both the Mustangs and the Thoroughbreds advanced to the semifinals of the All ‘A’ State Tournament where they will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday.
NewCath did their part early Friday morning by knocking off Green County 51-37 in the quarterfinals. Brossart held up their end of the bargain by beating Louisville Holy Cross 49-43 in the second game of the day.
“It’s a great opportunity. We have nothing but respect for NewCath,” Brossart Head Coach Josh Feldmann said. “Obviously, they’ve been on this stage many times. They’ve been the kingpin of the Northern Kentucky area for a long time, and we’re just trying to make our mark. We’re excited about it. I didn’t think we’d see them eight days later on this stage, but it’s an opportunity that we’re going to embrace.”
The two teams faced similar challenges in their quarterfinal matchup. Both had to settle in against tough zone defenses and work for good shots inside.
NewCath found themselves down 12-6 after the first quarter against Green County, as they struggled early on the offensive end. The Breds made just 7-of-24 shots in the first half, and trailed the Lady Dragons 15-14 at intermission.
“Try to make a shot or two,” NewCath Head Coach Ron Dawn joked about his message to his team at halftime. “We’re not a good shooting team, but sometimes we just settle and fire it up there. We need to be patient and get it inside more. We kind of just got out of things there that first quarter, but I thought we settled down after the first quarter.”
Green County star point guard Micah Jones, who finished with a game-high 24 points, buried a three to open up the second half. However, an Alexus Mayes layup would ignite a 16-2 NewCath run. NewCath center Nicole Kiernan scored 10 of her team-high 22 points during the run. Kiernan also added 17 rebounds.
“She did a great job,” Dawn said about his center. “I think she felt she was getting fouled there in the first half a couple of times, and after that she got it going. We felt that had to be our advantage, because their guard (Micah Jones) is tough.”
The Thoroughbreds never looked back as they extended their lead to 15 by the the 2:00 mark in the fourth quarter, and sealed the win by making 6-of-8 free-throw attempts.
The Breds have played in four straight All ‘A’ State Tournaments, and won it just two seasons ago. That experience and past success gives any team a psychological edge.
“I think so,” Dawn agreed. “We’ve got a few girls that have been down here the last couple of years. I think just being familiar with things and how the tournament works… we’re not in awe down here. Sometimes you get down here for the first time in a while and you’re just happy to be here and not thinking, ‘Hey, we can win this.’ But I think our girls feel that we’ve got a shot to win it.”
After seeing NewCath advance to the semis, Brossart took the court for their game against the Lady Cougars of Holy Cross.
After playing Holy Cross to a 13-13 tie in a first quarter where Brossart only attempted eight shots, the Lady Mustangs patience paid off in the second quarter, as they closed the half with a 7-0 run to give them a 30-20 lead.
Brossart finished the half with only 16 field goal attempts, and just two attempts from beyond the arc against Holy Cross’ zone.
“We talked a lot yesterday in our pre-game meeting to be patient with the basketball,” Feldmann said. “They run a really effective zone, but what we’ve noticed in our tapes and what we’ve heard is that it’s spread wide, because they want to get you to the corners to trap. We talked about being patient and getting it to the middle of the zone where there might be a soft area, and always look opposite. I thought we showed some really nice patience at the end of the quarters to pull it out and work for a good shot. That’s just another example of our kids really listening to what we’re trying to teach them and then executing it, so I was really proud of them for that.”
Though Brossart only won by six, Holy Cross never cut it to a one possession game in the second half.
The Lady Mustangs took care of the ball against the Lady Cougars’ trapping defense and beat them at their own game as they converted 17 Holy Cross turnovers into 17 points.
Brossart was led by Sarah Futscher, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Abby Stadtmiller chipped in with 10 points.
Now the local rivals will face-off with a trip to the All ‘A’ State Championship on the line.
“It’s going to be a blood bath,” Stadtmiller said.
