Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Highlands girls reach Sweet 16
Bluebirds gain revenge vs. Holmes
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
COVINGTON — Maybe it was right for Highlands sophomore guard Christian Stefanopoulos to make the shot that made the Ladybirds one of the Sweet 16.
Her layup with nine seconds left clinched Highlands' 51-45 victory over defending champion Holmes Tuesday on the Lady Bulldogs' floor.
Highlands meets Seventh Region champion Louisville Dupont Manual in the opening round of the state tournament at 8:30 p.m. March 23 at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.
“I have confidence in this team,” Stefanopoulos said. “I think we can go pretty far.”
Highlands had many reasons to celebrate Tuesday, and not only because the win eased the memory of last year's last-second loss to Holmes.
There was Stefanopoulos wanting people to finally quit asking her about the picture of her sobbing seconds after last year's loss. She didn't gloat Tuesday.
“It was just a good game,” she said. “(The picture) was motivation for me to work harder.”
There was Highlands being in its seventh straight regional final and not winning one since 1996.
Senior guard Joanna Imhoff thought about that. She has been a member of the varsity since she was a seventh-grader in 1995 and was part of the 1995 and 1996 title teams.
“It's a relief,” Imhoff said. “We're going downstate.”
Imhoff didn't score, but she and junior guard Katie Winkler held Holmes' leading scorer, sophomore guard Erica Hallman, to 17 points, seven under her average.
There was junior forward Stephanie Ripberger hoping to atone for being shut out during Monday's semifinal win over Notre Dame. She atoned — she scored 13 points Tuesday and grabbed Most Valuable Player honors.
“I didn't mind being shut out,” Ripberger said. “Last year we were all intense and didn't have any fun. This year we had fun and had to worry about being intense.”
There was sophomore center Tara Boothe's 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots despite Holmes double-teaming her all night.
“We knew they were going to double-team me,” Boothe said. “We knew someone would be open inside or outside.”
Holmes was 18-of-36 from the field and committed only six turnovers, but two misses at the end hurt.
“Nobody expected us to be here,” Holmes coach Alison McCarthy said. “We have everybody back. That's our consolation.”
HIGHLANDS (51): Winkler 1 0 2, Ripberger 5 3 13, Stefanopoulos 3 2 9, Boothe 6 5 17, Dickerson 4 0 10. Totals: 19 10 51.
HOLMES (45): Jackson 4 2 10, Collins 1 0 2, Brinkman 2 0 4, Hodgen 1 0 2, Hallman 6 5 17, Patterson 2 2 6, Herindon 1 0 2, Larry 1 0 2. Totals: 18 9 45.
Highlands ....... 17 17 5 12—51
Holmes ....... 10 12 13 10—45
3-point goals: Highlands-Dickerson 2, Stefanopoulos. Records: Highlands 26-5, Holmes 16-14.
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