NewCath guard breaks school record, moves to top of girls scoring stats in tournament victory

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Newport Central Catholic basketball player Caroline Eaglin became her school’s all-time leading scorer and moved to the top of Northern Kentucky’s current girls scoring standings Tuesday when her team defeated Beechwood, 64-46, in the opening game of the 9th Region All “A” Classic at St. Henry High School.

The senior guard scored 28 points to give her a career total of 2,125 and raise her season average to 22.6 points per game. She surpassed the NewCath school record of 2,124 points that was set by 2001 graduate Ronny Dawn for boys and matched by 2004 graduate Nicole Chiodi for girls.

After breaking the record on a layup late in the third quarter, Eaglin received the game ball, posed for a photo with Chiodi and then took a seat on the bench for the rest of the game.

“It felt really rewarding. I felt like I’ve worked really hard,” she said in a post-game interview. “You know, none of this is possible without my teammates getting me the ball and getting me open. They deserve credit too for helping me.”

Eaglin, who made a commitment with Northern Kentucky University last spring, finished the last two seasons with the highest scoring average in Northern Kentucky girls basketball.

On Tuesday, she moved into the top spot this season previously held by Ludlow junior Addy Garrett with a 22.4 average. Ryle sophomore Jaelyn Jones remains third at 21.9.

The top scorer in Northern Kentucky boys basketball is Cooper senior guard Andy Johnson with a 25.1 average. The two players behind him are Walton-Verona senior forward Aaron Gutman (24.3) and Covington Catholic junior guard Athens McGillis (22.2).

Johnson, who missed most of last season following knee surgery, scored 121 points in the first four games last month for a 30.2 average. He’s currently shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 77.8 percent at the foul line. He’s also averaging a team-high 7.4 rebounds for the Jaguars.

The boys rebounding leader is Lloyd senior forward EJ Walker at 10.8. He’s also averaging 18.9 points per game, which ranks sixth on the boys scoring list. Two girls players — Ludlow junior forward Kiley Huff and St. Henry senior center Corrine Blackburn — are averaging 10.9 rebounds per game.

This is Blackburn’s first season of varsity basketball. She was a 6-foot-3 middle hitter on St. Henry’s volleyball team and made a commitment to play that sport at West Point.