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By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Holy Cross wanted to exploit its size advantage on offense by getting the ball inside during a first-round game of the 9th Region tournament on Monday at BB&T Arena. The plan didn’t work very well early on, but two young guards provided the spark the Indians needed in a 76-39 victory over Lloyd.
Holy Cross guard Piper Macke puts up a shot after getting past Rumour Setters, No. 11, of Lloyd in a 9th Region first-round game. (Photo by Mary Lynn Lampke)
During a 26-12 run in the first and second quarters, sophomore Olivia Crigler and freshman Piper Macke made five 3-point shots and scored a combined total of 19 points to give Holy Cross a 15-point halftime lead. The Indians continued to pull away in the second half.
“What we ran (on offense) was really to get the ball to the paint,” said Holy Cross coach Kes Murphy. “But another option of that set was getting a three out of those guys, so it worked out really good.”
Crigler scored 11 points and Macke had eight during that decisive run. They got 15 of the 19 points on shots from behind the 3-point line with Crigler hitting three and Macke two. Their ability to bury those long-range jump shots in the spacious college arena offset Lloyd coach Tyler Teke’s defensive strategy.
“The game plan early was to pack it in (on defense),” Teke said. “This a tough place to shoot, not many gyms in Northern Kentucky look like this. But they shot it and that was our game plan, to make them shoot it, so hats off to them.”
The run started late in the first quarter when Crigler and Macke both made a 3-pointer to open up a 21-12 lead. Macke scored the team’s first five points in the second quarter and Crigler came on strong at the end of that period, hitting two threes and a field goal in the final four minutes.
“We’ve got to thank all of our teammates because they look for us,” Crigler said. “They drive and they dish and they look for us. Without them, we wouldn’t have those points.”
Holy Cross outscored Lloyd, 21-10, in the third quarter to put the game away. Murphy started pulling his starters after that. Crigler finished with a game-high 17 points, followed by Macke with 16. The team’s other double-figure scorers were 6-foot-4 center Sydney Thomas, who got 10 of her 13 points in the second half, and sophomore guard Trinity McClendon with 10.
The leading scorer for Lloyd was senior guard Devin Cheatum with 16 points. Her team shot 29.6 percent (13 of 47) from the field compared to the Indians’ 48.1 percent (26 of 54).
Holy Cross will play Cooper in a regional semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The teams played each other in early December and Cooper posted a 58-32 victory.
“The first time we played them they kind of pushed us around,” coach Murphy said. “We’ve got to get our minds right this time and make sure we execute our game plan and hopefully we can beat them.”
Holy Cross came into this season with mostly first-year starters in the lineup. The Indians have become a much better team since then and plan to prove it in the rematch with Cooper.
“They’re a good team. We’ve got to play better than the first time, but I think we’re ready to come out and fight,” Crigler said.
“We’ve definitely been working really hard toward our goals and getting better,” Macke said. “All I can say is this is what we’ve been trained to do, and our confidence is really up right now.”
HOLY CROSS 21 18 21 16 — 76
LLOYD 12 12 10 5 — 39
HOLY CROSS (19-10): Crigler 6 1 17, McClendon 3 4 10, Tucker 2 5 9, Thomas 5 3 13, Macke 5 3 16, Murphy 2 0 4, Arlinghaus 1 0 3, Rankin 1 0 2, Bradshaw 1 0 2. Totals: 26 16 76.
LLOYD (16-14): Binkley 2 0 5, Pouncy 2 1 6, Cheatum 4 6 15, Yates 1 0 3, Lebordeaux 2 0 4, Setters 1 0 3, Carr 1 0 3. Totals: 13 7 39.
Three-pointers: HC — Crigler 4, Macke 3, Arlinghaus. L — Pouncy, Cheatum, Binkley, Yates, Setters, Carr.
RE: “The team’s other double-figure scorer was 6-foot-4 center Sydney Thomas, who got 10 of her 13 points in the second half.”
And guard Trinity McClendon. She had 10 as well. Let’s give “T” her due.
Also, Holy Cross did pull its starters for good early in the 4th quarter, and the end of the bench played almost six minutes in the fourth.. But in reality Coach Murphy had 10-11 girls cycling in and out of the game from the beginning. That’s one of the joys of watching this team play. A lot of girls contribute. Last night the bench scored 27.
Trinity McClendon’s name has been added to the story as one of the double-figure scorers for Holy Cross.