By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Holy Cross sophomore forward Julia Hunt delivered another solid performance at both ends of the court in her team’s 50-33 win over Lyon County in the quarterfinals of the Kentucky All “A” Classic girls state basketball tournament on Friday at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena.
Hunt scored a game-high 22 points with 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the victory for the Indians (15-8), who will play Owen County (16-6) in a semifinal game at noon on Saturday.
Holy Cross sophomore Julia Hunt works for a basket on the low post against Lyon County. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
In her team’s first-round win over Paris on Wednesday, Hunt recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. She got off to a good start against Lyon County, getting 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in the first half that ended with Holy Cross holding a 31-17 lead.
Hunt did not score in the third quarter when Lyon County went on a 14-7 run that trimmed the margin to 38-31. But Hunt hit her first two shots in the fourth quarter and Elizabeth McCoy scored off an assist by Miyah Wimzie to put the Indians ahead, 44-31, with 6:49 left on the clock.
Lyon County scored its only two points in the fourth quarter at the 5:08 mark and ended up going 1-for-13 from the field in the final period. Hunt then scored four of the Indians’ final six points to finish with 22.
Hunt made 10 of 16 field goal attempts, but her teammates had a hard time putting the ball in the basket. Holy Cross ended up shooting 35.7 percent (20 of 56) from the field, hitting just two of 20 shots behind the 3-point line.
Holy Cross guard Miyah Wimzie splits defenders on a drive to basket. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
Lyon County shot 22 percent (13 of 59) from the field with two treys. The team’s only double-figure scorer was Calista Collins with 11 points.
Senior forward Hanna Robinson scored eight points for the Indians. Her junior teammate Aleah Arlinghaus had seven points, six assists and five steals.
Holy Cross had a 1-4 record in previous All “A” Classic girls state semifinal games. The only victory came in 2015 when the Indians went on to win the small school state championship.
Owen County will be making its first appearance in the semifinals on Saturday. The Rebels got there by defeating Jackson County, 44-31, on Friday. They made 15 steals in that game and scored 20 points off Jackson County’s 19 turnovers.
The other girls semifinal game will be Pikeville (19-1) vs. Owensboro Catholic (17-6) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The championship game will be noon on Sunday. Complete scoring summaries for all the games are posted on the allaclassic.org website.
