Erin Boley is one of the best players in the Class of 2016 and has signed with Notre Dame.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Erin Boley saved her best for last.
The senior forward scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Wednesday to lead Elizabethtown to a convincing 60-37 victory against Butler in the final of Lexington Catholic’s Traditional Bank Holiday Classic.
It was the third consecutive year that Elizabethtown won the event, one of the state’s top tournaments, and its four victories came by an average margin of 23 points.
Boley, an American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason Team member, missed her first shot, but would score on a putback. That started a stretch of seven consecutive baskets for the 6-foot-2 Notre Dame signee. She scored 11 of her points as E’town (10-) jumped out to a 19-6 lead less than five minutes into the contest.
“Everything she got was in the scope of the offense,” coach Tim Mudd said of Boley, who made 11 of 15 shots, all three of her 3-point attempts and 14 of 15 free throws. “She didn’t force anything. She took what the defense gave her. That’s a sign of her maturity.”
Boley started playing on the varsity as a seventh grader, earned a starting spot during that season and has continued to get better since. A two-time Kentucky Gatorade State Player of the Year, she averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as a junior after averaging 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals as a sophomore.
Her numbers are even higher so far this season with Elizabethtown losing three players to Division I scholarships. Boley earned tournament MVP honors by averaging 28.5 points in the four wins and that included missing some time in E’town’s second game because of an eye injury. She was averaging 29 points and nearly 14 rebounds entering the tournament.
Elizabethtown heads to Florida for a tournament next week.
Butler would get as close as 47-35 with 6:28 left. But on E’town’s next trip down, the Lady Panthers worked the ball around and found Boley. Her third 3-pointer made it 50-35 with 5:56 to go.
“I wasn’t looking for anything in particular,” Boley said of the shot that ended the Butler rally. “I think at that point in time we knew we just had to keep our composure. … I had an open three. I took it. It’s just what was there.”
Contributing: USA TODAY High School Sports