Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Walton-Verona, Owensboro Catholic, Newport Central Catholic and Bishop Brossart have advanced to the semifinals of the Touchstone Energy All “A” Classic girls’ tournament.

Saturday’s semifinals in the Frankfort Convention Center will match NewCath vs. Brossart at 10 a.m., followed by Walton-Verona against Owensboro Catholic.

Walton-Verona 61, Monroe County 39: Courtney Sandlin pours in 20 points to propel the Bearcats. Kara Taulbee adds 15, all on three-pointers, followed by Michelle Judy with 11 points and Molly Clinkenbears with 10.

Monroe’s Madison Clements and Caylan Bybee score nine points each. Bybee fouls out with 2:05 left.

Bearcats lead by 17: Walton-Verona has pulled out to a 44-27 lead over Walton-Verona through three quarters.

The Bearcats have made six three-pointers — five by Kara Taulbee — to Monroe’s two (both by Molly Harlin).

Taulbee and Courtney Sandlin have 15 points each to lead Walton-Verona.

Caylan Bybee leads the Falcons with eight points, one more than Madison Clements.

Bearcats lead at half: Tied at 10 midway through the first quarter, Walton-Verona goes on a 13-0 run en route to a 27-13 halftime lead over Monroe County.

Courtney Sandlin, a 5-foot-11 junior, scored the first 11 points in that stretch, with Michelle Judy adding the bucket that gave the Bearcats a 23-10 lead midway through the second quarter.

Sandlin finishes the half with 13 points. Judy and Kara Taulbee have six each.

Monroe, runner-up to Owensboro Catholic in last year’s All “A” Classic, has Molly Harlin with six points. Caylan Bybee, the Falcons’ 6-1 senior center, has been held to a free throw and six rebounds.

No. 1 vs. No. 2: In a quarterfinals matchup of the top two teams in the tournament — according to Dave Cantrall’s rankings — No. 2 Walton-Verona leads No. 1 Monroe County 14-10 after one quarter in the Touchstone Energy All “A” Classic.

Kara Taulbee leads the Bearcats with six points, coming on a pair of three-pointers.

Madison Clements has four points for the Falcons.

Owensboro Catholic 49, Magoffin County 46: The Lady Aces led wire-to-wire, using a 9-0 run in the third quarter to break open a close game.

The 9-0 flurry gave the Aces a 31-18 lead with 3:55 left in the quarter.

The lead got up to 14 in the fourth quarter at 45-31.

Magoffin rallied to within 47-44 with 30 seconds left.

Mary Kate Clemens led Owensboro Catholic with 20 points, half of those coming in the fourth quarter. Destiny Howard and Leah Greathouse added 12 points apiece.

Madison Reed scored 20 for Magoffin, while Jamie Castle had 19.

Owensboro Catholic leads Magoffin County: It’s 33-23 in favor of the defending tournament champions after three quarters.

Leah Greathouse, Mary Kate Clemens and Destiny Howard have 10 points each for the Aces.

Madison Reed leads Magoffin with 10 and Jamie Castle has eight.

Aces lead 20-16 at halftime: Owensboro Catholic leads Magoffin County 20-16 at halftime.

The Aces have led all the way, but never by more than six points.

Magoffin is shooting just 13 percent (3-for-23), but has cashed in on 10 of 12 free throws and turned the ball over only two times.

Owensboro Catholic isn’t exactly lighting it up, either. The Aces are 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor, 4-for-6 at the foul line. The Aces are outrebounding the Hornets 27-15, but have committed seven turnovers.

Mary Kate Clemens is pacing the leaders with 10 points and five rebounds. Destiny Howard has eight caroms to go with four points.

Jamie Castle and Madison Reed have six points each for the Hornets. Morgan Arnett has five rebounds, plus two points.

Defending champs lead: Defending champion Owensboro Catholic leads Magoffin County 12-8 after one quarter of their girls’ All “A” Class quarterfinals matchup.

Mary Kate Clemens leads the Aces with six points.

Magoffin’s Jamie Castle has four points, all from the free-throw line.

Bishop Brossart 49, Louisville Holy Cross 43: Sarah Futscher scored 12 points and Abby Studtmiller had 10 to pace the Lady Stangs’ victory in the quarterfinals.

Brossart, ahead by seven points through three quarters, never let Holy Cross closer than five points in the fourth.

Maya Hardin had 15 points for the Lady Cougars, while Josie Hockman had 10.

Brossart will face Newport Central Catholic in Saturday’s first semifinal, at 10 a.m.

Stangs lead by seven through three quarters: Bishop Brossart leads Louisville Holy Cross 38-31 through three quarters.

Abby Studtmiller leads the Lady Stangs with 10 points. Sarah Futscher has eight.

Maya Hardin leads Holy Cross with 11 points.

10-point game at halftime: Bishop Brossart closes the first half with a 7-0 run to take a 30-20 lead over Louisville Holy Cross.

The Lady Stangs, outrebounded 16-9, nevertheless worked the ball inside and drew 11 fouls on Holy Cross. As a result, Brossart outscored the Lady Cougars 13-3 at the free-throw line.

Sarah Futscher leads Brossart with eight points.

Maya Hardin tops Holy Cross with six points.

First-quarter update: Louisville Holy Cross snd Bishop Brossart are tied at 13 through one quarter.

The winner will meet Newport Central Catholic in Saturday’s semifinals.

Josie Hoskins leads Holy Cross with five points. Abby Studtmiller and Sarah Futscher have six points each for Brossart.

Newport Central Catholic 51, Green County 37: The Thoroughbreds maintained throughout the fourth quarter and advanced to Saturday’s 10 a.m.  semifinals of the All “A” Classic.

Nicole Kiernan, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, led NewCath with 22 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals, all while committing only one turnover.

Micah Jones totaled 24 points, seven boards and four steals to lead Green County.

Third-quarter update: Newport Central Catholic went on a 12-0 run in the third quarter and leads 32-23 with one period left. Nicole Kiernan scored 12 points in the quarter and has 18 for the game.

Green County led 18-14 when Micah Jones hit a three-pointer to open the second half. The lead was 20-18 when NewCath made its run to grab a 30-20 lead.

First-half summary: Green County leads Newport Central Catholic 15-14 at halftime of the opening quarterfinals matchup in the girls’ All “A” Classic in the Frankfort Convention Center.

Western Kentucky signee Micah Jones leads Green County with nine points and seven rebounds.

Nicole Kiernan has six points and eight boards for NewCath.

Green’s zone held the Thoroughbreds to 3-for-14 shooting in the first half, but NewCath warmed up with a 4-for-10 effort in the second quarter.

The Lady Dragons, facing a man-to-man defense, shot 4-for-12 in the first quarter and 1-for-11 in the second.

Tied at 2, 4 and 6, Green County used an 8-0 run to lead early in the second quarter. NewCath outscored the Dragons 8-1 the rest of the period.