2022 Girls Sweet Sixteen Tournament set to begin Wednesday

The scent of March Madness has been wafting around the basketball world for over a week now, but the senses are about to get hit with an overload in the coming days. Starting on Wednesday morning, the 2022 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament will tipoff inside of Rupp Arena where a Kentucky state champion will be crowned.

This year’s field is loaded with talented teams and even more talented players. One prospect, in particular, senior guard Amiya Jenkins of Anderson County, is a current Kentucky Wildcat commit and will suit up for head coach Kyra Elzy this fall. Jenkins is up for Kentucky Miss Basketball, as well. Elsewhere, Sacred Heart’s Josie Gilvin is also up for Kentucky Miss Basketball, as is Gracie Merkle of Bullitt East. There will be plenty of star power across the bracket.

Myself, along with a star-studded group of KSR interns in Alex Weber, Grant Grubbs, and Sam Gillenwater, will be at Rupp Arena to provide all the necessary coverage from the event. So without further ado, let’s dive into the state’s top 16 teams.

McCracken County (31-1) vs. Southwestern (25-7)

Wednesday: 6:00 p.m.

The one-loss McCracken County Lady Mustangs are led by head coach Scott Sivills Jr., with the lone blemish coming against a team that is not in the Sweet Sixteen field, DuPont Manual. Since that loss on Dec. 20, McCracken has rattled off 24 consecutive victories, including a win over Sweet Sixteen team Bowling Green, and three big wins over Marshall County, which came out of the 1st Region in 2021. The Lady Mustangs are powered on offense by junior wing Destiny Thomas, who pours in 17.9 points per game on nearly 55 percent shooting. Thomas is receiving college interest from Murray State and Northern Kentucky, along with some out-of-state schools.

Moving over to Southwestern, the Warriors easily won the 12th Region with tournament victories of 29 points, 19, and 16, respectively, en route to the Sweet Sixteen. Led by head coach Junior Molden, Southwestern has beaten all of the teams it was expected to, although all six of the team’s seven losses this season came against schools in the Sweet Sixteen field. The Warriors trot out a trio of double-digit scorers in Ayden Smiddy (14.7 ppg), Kinsley Molden (14.1 ppg), and Payton Acey (12.5 ppg).

Henderson County (24-4) vs. Franklin County (27-7)

Wednesday: 8:30 p.m.

Winners of the 2nd Region, Henderson County and head coach Jeff Haile will take a 17-game winning streak into the Sweet Sixteen. A vast majority of the Lady Colonels’ losses came early in the year during early-season tournaments or against out-of-state opponents. Once the schedule simplified, Henderson County took off, beating its last 17 opponents by an average of over 27 points per outing. Henderson County boasts two double-digit scorers in Jarie Thomas (14.6 ppg) and Graci Risley (13.6 ppg).

As for Franklin County, head coach Joey Thacker did an excellent job of getting his Lady Flyers back into the Sweet Sixteen coming out of the 11th Region. Despite losing Kentucky Miss Basketball winner Brooklynn Miles to Tennessee, Franklin County hasn’t missed a beat, winning games by committee. No one scores more than 12 points per game for the Lady Flyers, and yet the team has won its last seven games. That being said, five of Franklin County’s seven losses came against teams currently in the Sweet Sixteen field. They’ll look to change that against Henderson County.

Bullitt East (30-4) vs. Bethlehem (23-7)

Wednesday: 1:30 p.m.

In what will be a rematch of last year’s first-round matchup in the Sweet Sixteen, Bullitt East and Bethlehem will go head-to-head once again. Only this time, Bullitt East will look to come out on top.

Led by head coach Chris Stallings, the 6th Region champion Lady Chargers is engineered through 6-foot-6 center Gracie Merkle, who is committed to play for Bellarmine and is up for Kentucky Miss Basketball. Merkle averages 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest while shooting an efficient 71.7 percent from the floor. She gets plenty of help from Emma Egan though, who adds 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds of her own. Two of Bullitt East’s four losses this season have come against defending champion Sacred Heart Academy.

5th Region winner Bethlehem and head coach Jason Clark will look to make it two straight wins over Bullitt East in the Sweet Sixteen. Five of the Banshees’ seven losses this season came before the calendar switched over to 2022 and the two losses since then have come against Sacred Heart and Campbellsville. A trio of 13-point per game scorers helps balance out the Bethlehem offense: Carlie Thurmond (13.3 ppg), Emma Filiatreau (13.1 ppg), and Xaviara Smalley (13.1 ppg).

Boyd County (21-11) vs. Meade County (28-6)

Wednesday: 11:00 a.m.

Boyd County does not rank among the top five in terms of RPI from the 16th Region, but a good draw in the regional tournament powered the Lady Lions into the Sweet Sixteen. Head coach Pete Fraley has his squad playing its best basketball at the right time, sweeping through district and regional play, while beating the region’s second-best team by RPI, Ashland Blazer, twice in the process. At one point in the year, Boyd County had lost seven of eight games. Now, Audrey Biggs (17.5 ppg) will lead her team into the state tourney.

Looking at Meade County, head coach Dina Hackert has the Lady Waves on a 10-game winning streak out of the 3rd Region, and winners in 21 of its previous 22 outings. The lone loss during that stretch came against Bullitt East. Meade County runs its offense through impressive young freshman guard Peyton Bradley, who leads the team in scoring with over 19 points per game. She is the only Lady Wave player averaging double-figures.

Pikeville (31-2) vs. Cooper (23-9)

Thursday: 1:30 p.m.

The 15th Region champion Pikeville Panthers, led by head coach Kristy Orem, will enter this tournament as one of the perceived favorites. Both of the team’s losses this season came against teams that did not make the Sweet Sixteen, but Pikeville has beaten Boyd County twice and Shelby Valley twice, the latter of which features Kentucky WBB commit and Miss Kentucky Basketball candidate Cassidy Rowe. The Panthers have won 12 straight and will be heavy favorites to make it 13. All five of Pikeville’s top five scorers average 7-16 points per game, powered by one of the state’s top players in sophomore Trinity Rowe.

The 9th Region Cooper Lady Jaguars haven’t been as dominant as Pikeville, but a 10-game winning streak of its own sure isn’t bad. Head coach Justin Holthaus brought his team out of an early- to midseason lull that saw Cooper begin the year with a 13-9 record. But since then, a big win over Anderson County in mid-February has the Lady Jags playing excellent ball as of late. Cooper features three double-digit scorers: Whitney Lind (16.9 ppg), Logan Luebbers Palmer (10.6), and Liz Freihofer (9.8). Freihofer’s older sister, Kay, adds 9.8 points per game, as well.

Bowling Green (28-7) vs. Letcher County Central (26-9)

Thursday: 11:00 a.m.

The Bowling Green Purples cruised to a 4th Region title after an impressive regular season that saw them only drop games against the state’s best. Head coach Calvin Head took his group to Indiana and Tennessee early in the season for some out-of-state tests that proved to be worth it down the stretch. Bowling Green has lost twice to McCracken County, once to Sacred Heart, once to Mercy, and once to DuPont Manual. However, the Purples roll out one of the best players in the state in junior Meadow Tisdale, who averages 15.6 points and 7.5 rebounds on 58.4 percent shooting.

As for 14th Region champions Letcher County Central, the Lady Cougars are led by head coach Keith Baker. It’s been a sporadic season for Letcher County Central, with losses sprinkled in from start to finish. The team’s last loss was against Pikeville in mid-February and they needed a one-point win over Owsley County to make the Sweet Sixteen. Kayla Banks (13.5 ppg) and Kiera Couch (12.9 ppg) will provide enough scoring to make for an exciting matchup.

Corbin (25-6) vs. George Rogers Clark (30-2)

Thursday: 6:00 p.m.

Led by head coach Issac Wilson, the Corbin Lady Redhounds narrowly escaped the 13th Region with a two-point championship victory over South Laurel. Corbin has played just one Sweet Sixteen team this year, a win over Southwestern in the second game of the season, and doesn’t have much to show outside of that impressive victory. That being said, the Lady Redhounds boast a trio of double-figure scorers in Kallie Housley (15.6 ppg), Shelby Stewart (13.9 ppg), and Darcie Anderson (12.0 ppg).

A 30-2 record for George Rogers Clark might be a bit deceiving, but Robbie Graham’s Lady Cardinals squad is surely capable of making a deep run out of the 10th Region. GRC’s two losses came against Tates Creek in the third game of the season and then against Notre Dame Academy in mid-February. In between was a 23-game winning streak, including a pair of wins against Anderson County and Boyd County, but the resume doesn’t stick out other than that. Regardless, sisters Ciara and Brianna Byars will give the Lady Cardinals plenty of opportunities to beat Corbin. Those two combine to average over 33 points per game while both shoot above 47 percent from the field.

Sacred Heart (32-3) vs. Anderson County (30-4)

Thursday: 8:30 p.m.

A rematch of last year’s Sweet Sixteen semifinals, the first-round matchup between Sacred Heart Academy and Anderson County will have championship-level vibes.

Out of the 7th Region, Sacred Heart is the defending champion and overwhelming favorite to repeat. Head coach Donna Moir’s Valkyries have dropped just three games all season long, with one coming against a team from Missouri. Bullitt East also took down Sacred Heart, as did Mercy, but the Valkyries have beaten both, as well. Senior guard Josie Gilvin is a Miss Kentucky Basketball candidate while leading scorer, ZaKiyah Johnson, is already considered one of the top freshmen in the entire country, according to ESPN. Johnson averages 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting slightly over 50 percent from the field.

Don’t count out Anderson County from the 8th Region, though. Led by head coach Clay Birdwhistell, the Lady Bearcats will be a major threat to Sacred Heart and the rest of the tournament if they can pull off the opening-round victory. Senior guard and Kentucky commit Amiya Jenkins can win a game all by herself. She leads the team in scoring at 20.8 points per outing on 47.1 percent shooting and can break down her defender from anywhere on the court. Add in a more than capable supporting cast and Anderson County is a real threat to win the whole thing.