Friday, March 09, 2001
Boone Co. 'survives' against NCC
Top-ranked Rebels advance to region semis
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
HEBRON — Boone County's Nikki Molleson thought she knew where the ball was going when her teammate Ciara Henderson let it go. And Molleson was right. Her offensive rebound, layup and free throw with 29.5 seconds left in the game let the Lady Rebels advance with a 39-36 win over Newport Central Catholic in Thursday's girls Ninth Region game at Conner.
Boone County, the No.1 team in The Enquirer's Northern Kentucky coaches poll and the and sixth-ranked in Kentucky, will play Holmes in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Monday. The Lady Bulldogs eliminated Calvary Christian 70-52.
Molleson, who finished with 10 points, was to the right of the basket when Henderson's 3-point shot went up.
“I could tell exactly where it was going,” Molleson said. “I was a little under the basket. I looked for the white square on the backboard and put it in.”
Henderson's 3-pointer with 1:49 left in the game that tied the score. NewCath coach Christie McDonald said that was the key shot.
“She misses it, we win,” McDonald said.
NewCath still had a chance to tie the game, but the Thoroughbreds missed three shots in the final 15 seconds.
“Definitely, we survived,” Boone County coach Nell Fookes said.
Boone County survived cold shooting: The Lady Rebels were 16-of-59 for 27.1 percent from the field; and NewCath's Maria Chiodi hounded Henderson into 3-of-23 shooting, Henderson's worst performance since a 2-for-22 game against Mount Notre Dame last year.
“That's why Maria's on her,” NewCath coach Christie McDonald said.
Thursday's first half had to be among the worst performances the Lady Rebels have turned in all season. After one quarter, Boone County was 2-of-17 from the field (11.8 percent), and at halftime the Lady Rebels were 6-of-30 for a not much better 20 percent.
Still, the only reason NewCath wasn't further ahead than 21-15 at halftime was that the Thoroughbreds made just seven of their 27 shots in the half and were 13-of-44 for the game.
NewCath also committed 20 turnovers for the night and missed were 5-of-7 on free throws over the final two minutes of the first half.
While Boone County moves on, McDonald said she'd remember a NewCath (25-9) team that set school records for victories and points in a season and reached the state All “A” finals in January.
“I told them I experienced more in one year as a coach than I ever did as a player,” McDonald said. “It's a tribute to them.”
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC (36) — M. Chiodi 1 0 2, Maudlin 4 2 10, Kessen 0 1 1, Burks 0 2 2, N. Chiodi 4 0 9, Meyers 2 2 6, Ziegler 2 2 6. Totals: 13 9 36.
BOONE COUNTY (39) — Matheny 2 0 4, Molleson 4 2 10, Isaac 2 0 4, Stefanopoulos 4 0 8, Henderson 3 4 11, Madden 1 0 2. Totals: 16 6 39.
Newport CC13 8 6 9 - 36
Boone County 6 9 11 13 - 39
3-point goals: NCC-N. Chiodi; BC-Henderson. Records: NCC 25-9, BC 26-4.
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