Saturday, January 29, 2000
Brossart, Walton girls meet in All 'A' semis
Schwegmann lifts 'Stangs; Ryan leads 'Cats
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
RICHMOND, Ky. — The 100 or so Walton-Verona students screamed for a game between their Ladycats and defending All “A” state champion Bishop Brossart.Today, they get their wish.
Walton-Verona and the Lady 'Stangs meet in the semifinals at 10:30 a.m. at McBrayer Arena.
The first semifinal at 9 a.m. features 1999 runner-up Somerset and Todd County Central, which eliminated Newport 66-50 in Friday's quarterfinals.
Neither Brossart (15-6) nor Walton-Verona (17-2) had it easy Friday.
Junior guard Katie Schwegmann scored 35 points in Brossart's 57-50 win over 11th Region champ Berea, and Walton-Verona senior guard Caitlyn Ryan scored 21 in the Ladycats' 54-46 victory over 15th Region winner Pikeville.
Today marks the second straight time a Northern Kentucky girls team is guaranteed a spot in Sunday's championship. Brossart defeated Holy Cross in the semis last year on the way to its title.
“This tournament means a lot to me,” Schwegmann said. “I put (pressure) on myself to get it going. Everybody else joined in.”
Walton-Verona coach Tom Luebbe predicted a Ladycats win today.
“If we hold Schwegmann to 20 points, we feel we can go out and win the game,” Luebbe said. “We don't want her to score 30, 40.”
Containing Brossart usually means more than Schwegmann. Walton-Verona will have to deal with Lady 'Stangs senior center Emily Phillips, who grabbed 12 rebounds against Berea, and junior guard Carrie Clift, who served up four assists.
And Brossart probably will have more worries besides Ryan. Six-foot junior forward Jessica Schmidt has recorded a double-double in points and re bounds every game this season — she leads the state in rebounds and had 19 against Pikeville — and she blocked six shots Friday.
Berea would have been happy for the 5-10 Schwegmann to score just 20. She poured in 15 points in the first half and scored all 14 Brossart points in the third quarter.
“I tried to pick her up,” Berea senior guard Allyson Baker said. “She's smart; she knows what she's doing.”
Brossart had its hands full with the 5-3 Baker. She led the Lady Pirates with 23 points and added seven assists.
“We knew we weren't going to stop her,” Brossart coach Ray Kues said. “We hoped to wear her down a little.”
Like Brossart, Walton-Verona had to worry about one key opposing player. Pikeville junior guard Jill Kimberlain scored 20 points and had four steals.
But in the fourth quarter, Ryan preserved the win for Walton, and not just because of her five assists, four blocked shots and three steals. Ryan was 9-for-10 from the free throw line over the last five minutes, and she blocked two shots in the final minute.
BISHOP BROSSART (57) — Phillips 4 0 8, Schwegmann 13 5 35, C. Clark 1 1 3, Clift 3 0 6, Henke 1 1 3, Schultz 0 2 2. Totals: 22 9 57.
BEREA (50) — Baker 8 5 23, Himes 4 1 9, Baskin 1 0 2, Sarah Newman 6 0 16. Totals: 19 6 50.
Bishop Brossart ....... 13 13 14 17—57
Berea ....... 15 12 7 16—50
3-point goals: BB—Schwegmann 4; Be—Sarah Newman 4, Baker 2. Records: Bishop Brossart 15-6, Berea 13-6.
WALTON-VERONA (54) — C. Ryan 4 13 21, Hegland 2 0 4, Messmer 2 0 6, Vonhandorf 2 4 9, Schmidt 5 2 12, McIntyre 1 0 2. Totals: 16 19 54.
PIKEVILLE (46) — Johnson 0 5 5, Childers 2 0 4, Boyd 3 0 6, Hall 1 3 5, Kimberlain 6 5 20, Kelly 1 4 6. Totals: 13 17 46.
Walton-Verona ....... 14 15 8 17—54
Pikeville ....... 8 16 4 18—46
3-point field goals: WV—Messmer 2, Vonhandorf; P—Kimberlain 3. Records: WV 17-2, P 12-5.
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