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Five performances you may have missed from the Ninth Region quarterfinals

brendan connelly, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read

Now that the first round of the KHSAA Ninth Region tournament is complete, the field is set for the boys and girls semifinal matchups. In each game, the stars stepped up to lead their teams to victory. But coaches will preach that every victory is a team effort. In each game, under-the-radar players will step up and play crucial roles.

Here are five individuals whose performances in the first round of regional action put their team over the top and into the semifinals.

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Nmandi Azaeju, Cooper

The senior's only first-half statistic was two rebounds, but his biggest impact came in the second half. Head coach Tim Sullivan had him guard Highlands' Seth Ryan, who scored 21 points in the first half. Azaeju held Ryan to seven points in the second half and overtime. Thanks to his contributions, the Jaguars were able to defeat Highlands 68-62 for their first regional tournament win since 2019.

"He's a humongous piece of what we've got," Sullivan said.

Ajaezu finished the game with seven points and five rebounds.

Quinn Eubank, Ryle

Eubank's performance extends beyond the Ninth Region quarterfinal. She also stepped up in the 33rd District final when leading scorer Abby Holtman was held to four points.

Eubank also led the Raiders with 18 points in their quarterfinal win over Highlands. Eleven of those points came in the first half, including two buckets that triggered a 10-3 run to end the half. In the second half, she racked up four of her game-high six assists. Three of those came in crunch time to help Ryle pull away to victory. She also had a game-high eight rebounds.

"I knew that everyone needed the ball in their hands to get their points because not one person can do it," Eubank said.

Nejai Lewis, Holy Cross

In her first year at Holy Cross, Lewis has been the perfect frontcourt complement to Julia Hunt. Her presence was needed in Sunday's quarterfinal when Hunt picked up her fourth foul late in the third quarter. Lewis tallied 15 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of action, but scored seven while Hunt was on the bench.

"She's a workhorse. Any time when you play with Julia, a lot of times you'll get overshadowed just because of her presence on the court," head coach Ted Arlinghaus said. "She just goes in there and does the dirty work."

Lewis' ability to step up when called upon helped deliver Holy Cross' first Ninth Region tournament win since 2017.

Athens McGIllis, Covington Catholic

The freshman has been playing significant minutes for the Colonels all season, and he stepped up when it mattered. Playing the role of secondary ball-handler, McGillis scored seven points during a 17-6 Colonels run that helped build an insurmountable lead. He was an efficient 4-for-5 from the field while also dishing out two assists.

"Since Evan (Ipsaro) was being denied the whole time, it was my time to step up," McGillis said.

James Turner, Newport

In their white uniforms with red details, the Newport Wildcats may have reminded fans of the University of Houston's "Phi Slama Jama" teams of the 1980s. The Wildcats threw down seven dunks in their quarterfinal win over Beechwood, including four from Turner. Three of his slams came in the first half, then he capped off the night with this lob in the second half.

"It's just super exciting to see somebody dunk. Everybody gets behind you whenever somebody dunks," Turner said.

Turner finished the night with 11 points, four rebounds and one block. Three of his rebounds were on the offensive end, leading to six second-chance points for the Wildcats.

Ninth Region schedule

  • March 3: Cooper vs. Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m.; Holy Cross vs. Ryle, 8 p.m.

  • March 4: Girls championship, 7 p.m.

  • March 5: Newport vs. Lloyd, 2 p.m.; Covington Catholic vs. Cooper, 3:30 p.m.

  • March 7: Boys championship, 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: KHSAA basketball: five impact performances from regional quarterfinals