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On this date in area sports history …
Fourteen years ago on this date, March 8, 1994, the Kenton Ridge girls basketball team advanced to the regional final by beating Carlisle. Complete story on the jump.
Published March 9, 1995
KENTON RIDGE KEEPS ROLLING
FINKES IGNITES COUGARS AFTER SLUGGISH START
By Cindy Horner, Sports Writer
VANDALIA - Kenton Ridge’s Angie Finkes looked up at the scoreboard in the first quarter and realized that her team was trailing, 11-7.
Yes, the Cougars were actually trailing.
But not for long, because Finkes decided to take it upon herself to turn things around.
Her teammates found her in the paint and as Angie Finkes went, so did Kenton Ridge.
The 6-foot junior post scored seven out of KR’s nine points in the final minutes of the first quarter, and poured in 26 of her game-high 41 before the intermission to help the Cougars capture a 94-54 victory over Carlisle in the Division III regional semifinals Wednesday in front of about 3,800 fans at Vandlia-Butler’s Student Activity Center.
“I looked up there (at the scoreboard) and thought we’d better get going here,” said Finkes, who is one of five Cougars averaging double figures this season. “I figured it was my turn to step up. We knew they’d be good, but we weren’t expecting them to come out at us like that.”
Kenton Ridge was actually down by as many as four, at 9-5, after the Indians’ Heather Lieungh hit a bucket at the 4:01 mark of the first quarter. The Cougars did not regain the lead until Heather Nienaber hit a bucket to make it 16-15 with the clock showing 1:44. They finally took the lead for good on a layup by Finkes 35 seconds later.
By the half, the Cougars’ pressure defense forced Carlisle into 20 turnovers, helping them to a staunch 55-32 lead.
“We finally made some nice shots and started picking things up on offense, especially when we started going to Angie a little more in the middle,” said Kenton Ridge Coach Ed Foulk, whose team improves to 25-0.
“I think this was pretty much a normal game for us tonight,” Foulk continued. “We shot about 55 percent from the field and we’ve been averaging around 53.7 percent. I was happier with this. We shot just 35 percent against Eastern Brown in the last game and didn’t play well on both ends. It may have been because we were playing at a new place. I think we’re used to Vandalia now.”
That may not be good news for Versailles, the Cougars’ next opponent. The Tigers, also 25-0, defeated Marion Elgin to set up a rematch with KR in the regional finals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Vandalia.
Versailles knocked the Cougars out of the tournament in the first round last year. However, Kenton Ridge defeated the Tigers in the 1990-91 season at this same point to advance to the state semifinals.
“We really have no preference for who we play next,” said Finkes, who also led the team in rebounding with eight boards. “We just want to win. Our fans always want Versailles and I guess in a way we want to play them because they knocked us out last year. Still, the opponent doesn’t matter, we just want to stay focused on our game.”
Carlisle may have hung around a little longer than most KR opponents, but the Cougars showed no signs of slowing down in the second half as they quickly went up by 32 after the third quarter.
“They eventually took over with their superior quickness and offensive talent,” said Carlisle Coach Mike Griffith, whose team finishes at 21-3. “We knew we weren’t going to make up 32 points in the final eight minutes. We challenged them as long as we could, but their constant pressure wore us down. I’ve never seen a team put on the pressure so well for so long.”
Nienaber was the only other player to score in double figures for the Cougars with 24 points.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s a lot of fun,” Foulk said. “We have a very balanced team. Anyone can score out there. The intensity both in practice and in the games gets better and better every step of the way. We just need to keep it up.”
KENTON RIDGE (94) - Finkes 16 9-14 41, Shingler 4 1-2 9, Bichler 3 2-4 8, H. Nienaber 9 3-4 24, Nutter 1 1-4 3, N. Nienaber 1 1-2 3, Laub 0 2-2 2, McMaken 1 0-0 2, Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 36 19-32 94.
CARLISLE (54) - Deatherage 1 0-0 2, J. Parr 3 3-4 10, Schworber 1 2-4 4, Imfeld 6 6-9 19, Lieungh 9 1-1 19, H. Parr 0 0-2 0, Lewis 0 0-1 0. Totals: 19 12-21 54.
Kenton Ridge 21 55 75 94 Carlisle 18 32 43 54 Three-point goals: Kenton Ridge 3 (H. Nienaber 3); Carlisle 2 (J. Parr, Imfeld)
Records: Kenton Ridge 25-0; Carlisle 21-3
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