Brendan ConnellyCincinnati Enquirer
All four games of the Thursday session of the KHSAA Sweet 16 featured comebacks as Bethlehem, Henderson County and Sacred Heart advanced to the quarterfinals. The Cooper Jaguars pulled off a comeback of their own after trailing Danville Christian, 20-12, at the end of the first quarter to win, 65-63.
"This is March! It was a grind. Just the emotion of that game, especially early. Danville Christian did a really good job of jumping out to that big lead on us and then we had to fight back," Cooper head coach Justin Holthaus said.
The Jaguars almost blew a 12-point lead as the Warriors got within one point with 29 seconds left, but free throws and defense helped Cooper come out on top.
Keys to the win
Survival of the fittest: The team that fouls less and makes a better percentage of its free throws usually comes out on top. There were a lot of both in this contest. By halftime, nine different players had at least two fouls. A total of 39 fouls were called during the game, leading to 52 free throws. Cooper made 73 percent of its charity shots, including seven of eight in the second half. Danville Christian went 61 percent from the stripe.
"We just had to adjust to the officiating. Everyone from the bench came in and really stepped up," senior Liz Freihofer said.
Force someone besides Grace Mbugua to step up: The Warriors only had two losses coming into the tournament. Mbugua, who stands at 6-foot-4 and averages 25.4 points per game, sat out one loss and had 8 points in the other. In both games, the Warriors only had two double-digit scorers. Mbugua finished with 34 points, but no other Warrior scored more than 8. In fact, players not named Mbugua went 8-for-19 from the field and 9-for-15 from the free-throw line.
"She's a super talent with her ability to handle the ball the length of the court, her ability to stretch the floor and make jump shots and her ability to score around the rim, she's a really special player," Holthaus said.
Turnovers: The Jaguars' active hands and in-your-face defense caused 22 turnovers. Four of those came during a 10-0 run in the third quarter that expanded Cooper's lead to 12 points. The Jaguars only forced three turnovers in the final stanza, but the most important one came with 18.5 seconds left as Mbugua lost the ball out of bounds.
"We knew defensively, we had to sell out and we had to stop them from hitting the shots. We had to rebound, put some more pressure on the ball. Defense was gonna win us that game," senior Logan Palmer said.
Freihofer converted two free throws on Cooper's next possession to put the game out of reach.
Experience matters: Cooper's four starting seniors of Freihofer, Palmer, Bella Deere and Maleah Alexander combined for 41 points, 16 rebounds and 10 steals. They also had the ball in their hands as the Jaguars took two and a half minutes off the clock towards the end of the game.
Stars of the game
Bella Deere, Cooper: She scored 8 of her 10 points in the second half. She knocked down two 3-pointers and had five rebounds and two steals.
Grace Mbugua, Danville Christian: She led all scorers with 34 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. She made three 3-pointers and had four blocks, three turnovers and two steals. Her most impressive feat was playing the entire second half with four fouls.
"I've been watching tournament basketball since I was 5 years old... I've seen an unbelievable amount of tournament games. I think that was the gutsiest performance I've ever seen," Danville Christian head coach Billy Inmon said.
Logan Palmer, Cooper: The senior finished with a team-high 15 points. Four of those came in the fourth quarter, a layup with 7:11 left in regulation and two free throws that broke a six-and-a-half-minute scoring drought.
What's next?
The Jaguars will play Henderson County in the 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal on Friday. The Lady Colonels (26-7) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 43-39 win over Owensboro.
This will be the first meeting.
Cooper 65, Danville Christian 63
Cooper (30-4): Palmer 4 6 15, Freihofer 5 3 14, Noel 4 3 11, Deere 3 2 10, Brissey 2 2 6, Thompson 2 1 5, Scott 1 0 2, Alexander 0 2 2. Totals: 21 19 65.
Danville Christian (29-3): Mbugua 12 7 34, Metz 3 0 8, Meyer 2 0 6, Heck 0 6 6, Musasi 2 2 6, Blackford 1 1 3. Totals: 20 16 63.
Half: C 36-13. 3-pointers: C 4 (Deere 2, Freihofer, Palmer); DC 7 (Mbugua 3, Metz 2, Meyer 2)
