LEXINGTON, Ky. — With one of their stars hurt and the other in foul trouble, Brie Crittendon and Juliet McGregor came to the rescue for the Ryle Raiders on Saturday.
Crittendon scored 19 points and McGregor had 15 to spark Ryle past Owensboro Catholic 55-43 in the Kentucky Girls Sweet 16 semifinals at Rupp Arena.
Lady Raiders are going to the state championship!!! Wow! @Boone_County @Ryleladyraiders @RyleSection pic.twitter.com/wdbLTDZztn
— Larry A. Ryle HS (@Ryle_HS) March 17, 2019
The Raiders (32-5) will take on Southwestern (27-5) in the finals at 2 p.m. Sunday. Southwestern beat Male 52-42.
Only one Northern Kentucky team has ever won the girls' title. That was Holy Cross in 2015.
Ryle’s Maddie Scherr, the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, was 1 for 12 from the field and scored only three points. She was battling a leg injury, coach Katie Haitz said.
Lauren Schwartz, the Ninth Region Player of the Year, sat out most of the first half because of fouls but finished with 16 points, six steals, four rebounds and four assists.
Owensboro Catholic cut Ryle’s lead to 43-41 with 3:19 left but the Raiders pulled away with a 12-2 run, scoring all 12 points from the foul line.
The Raiders had lopsided advantages in free throw shooting and turnovers. Ryle made 27 of 32 free throws (84 percent) to 6 of 7 for Owensboro Catholic.
Crittendon was 9 of 10 from the line, Schwartz was 8 of 9 and McGregor was 7 of 9.
Owensboro Catholic committed 20 turnovers to Ryle’s 10. Ryle had 13 steals and eight blocks while Owensboro Catholic had two steals and no blocks.
Hannah McKay scored 16 points and was the only player in double figures for OC (29-8).
