Cooper girls basketball 'super excited' for trip to KHSAA Sweet 16 state tournament

The Cooper Jaguars are in the KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 for the third straight year.

Their first appearance in 2022 resulted in a run to the state semifinals. This year, the Jaguars are looking to rebound from a disappointing loss to Mercy in the first round of the 2023 tournament.

Cooper will be the last team to take the court in the first round when they face Danville Christian at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Lady Warriors are making their first appearance at Rupp Arena.

"We're super excited to be representing the Ninth Region for a third straight year," Cooper head coach Justin Holthaus said.

The rest of the bottom half of the bracket includes three-time defending champion Sacred Heart (No. 1 in the statewide media poll), George Rogers Clark (No. 3), Pikeville (No. 5), Bethlehem and Henderson County.

For now, here's a look at the Jaguars' first-round opponent.

Scouting Danville Christian

Record: 29-2, 12-game winning streak

Best wins: West Jessamine (twice), Rockcastle County (twice)

Statistical leaders: Grace Mbugua, junior forward (25.4 points per game, 15.4 rebounds per game); Paisley Metz, sophomore guard (12.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg); Amauri Blackford, junior forward (10.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg); Grace Meyer, sophomore forward (6.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg); Braxtyn Heck, senior guard (5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg)

Analysis: The Lady Warriors are 67-18 in the last three years. This year, they have an average margin of victory of 25 points in their wins, but they have only beaten eight teams with a winning record.

They lost to Owensboro Catholic, 79-49, in the All "A" state tournament. Owensboro Catholic lost to Cooper, 68-56 on Dec. 19. Three players have scored 20 points in a game this season. Metz (30% 3FG) and Meyer (28% 3FG) have made four three-pointers in multiple games.

DCA leads the state with 43.8 rebounds per game. Mbugua, a 6-foot-4 Liberty University commit, is now the three-time winner of the state rebounding title and has 1,283 career rebounds.

"Grace is such an unbelievably humble child," Danville Christian head coach Billy Inmon said. "She's very self-motivated."

Prediction

The Lady Warriors are ranked 13th of the 16 teams in the bracket by the Courier-Journal's Jason Frakes. Cooper is ranked second. Mbugua will pose a problem, but the Jaguars will deploy the same tactics they used in the Ninth Region tournament to hold Holy Cross' Julia Hunt and Ryle's Sarah Baker to a combined 15 points.

"With Mbugua, it's a little bit different. She's super long, super athletic. I've been able to watch some film on her. I know a lot of their offense is run through her, so she's going to be a key piece that we definitely have to not necessarily take away, but we're going to have to limit some of her opportunities around the rim," Holthaus said.

The Jaguars are as versatile as can be. Logan Palmer leads the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and steals per game (2.4). Liz Freihofer was named the 33rd District and Ninth Region tournament MVP for the second straight year. Freshman Haylee Noel leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game. Maleah Alexander, who received the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference's Ms. Hustle Award, averages two pass deflections and 1.7 steals per game.

"There's some kids in the Ninth Region, especially in the 33rd District, that are really happy to see Maleah Alexander graduate," Cooper boys basketball coach Tim Sullivan said.

Holthaus emphasized the importance of shot selection and not settling for jump shots. The Jaguars shot 33 percent from the field against Mercy in 2023, including 13 percent from beyond the three-point line. Four of the Jaguars' five starters boast an effective field goal percentage of 50 percent or better.

Final score: Cooper 57, Danville Christian 41.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky high school basketball tournament: Cooper makes another trip