Cooper, Sacred Heart punch tickets for Girls Sweet Sixteen semifinals

The semifinal matchups for the 2022 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament are locked in for Saturday after all four teams punched their ticket on Friday. We saw Southwestern and Bullitt East advance earlier in the day before Cooper and Sacred Heart Academy did the same against Bowling Green and George Rogers Clark, respectively.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s schedule:

11:00 a.m. – Southwestern vs. Bullitt East
1:30 p.m. – Cooper vs. Sacred Heart
7:00 p.m. Championship

Without further ado, let’s dive into the recaps.

Cooper 55, Bowling Green 47

Behind 29 combined points from Liz Freihofer and Whitney Lind, the Cooper Lady Jaguars sprinted ahead to a first-quarter lead against the Bowling Green Lady Purples that they would not relinquish. The two teams scored 41 points apiece over the final three quarters, but a 14-6 first-quarter win for Cooper was enough to push them over the top.

The Freihofer sisters wasted no time putting the pressure on Bowling Green. Kay and Liz Freihofer — nieces of the late John Schlarman, who was the offensive line coach at the University of Kentucky — combined for seven quick points while Cooper’s team defense held the Lady Purples to a goose egg. Junior wing Whitney Lind would get in on the action for Cooper with a 3-pointer before another Liz Freihofer bucket pushed the Lady Jaguars to an early 12-0 lead, forcing Bowling Green into a timeout at the 2:41 mark.

Out of the break, leading scorer Meadow Tisdale — who also holds a connection to Kentucky Football as the younger sister of junior safety Vito Tisdale — finally got her Lady Purples squad on the board thanks to a tough layup at the rim. Bowling Green began to find its offensive footing, but still trailed 14-6 after the opening quarter. Liz Freihofer led all scorers with eight points.

Bowling Green continued to put the pressure on Cooper, eventually cutting the Lady Jaguars lead down to 18-12 midway through the second. But a critical third foul call on center LynKaylah James, who had three points and four rebounds at the time, sent Bowling Green’s post presence to the bench. To make matters worse, Tanaya Bailey, who was up to five points and is the team’s second-leading scorer, would go down with an injury shortly after.

The Lady Purples trailed 26-17 at the half after Liz Freihofer hit a layup in the closing seconds of the second quarter. She had a game-high 16 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting from the field and a 6-6 clip from the free-throw line, in addition to three rebounds and two assists.

HALF

Cooper (@CooperHSGirlsBB) – 26
Bowling Green (@LadyPurpleHoops) – 17

It was a slow start for BG but they’ve battled back to make it a game at half. This bucket from Liz Freihofer right before the buzzer put Cooper up 9. pic.twitter.com/ouyY8LaSnY

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) March 11, 2022

Bowling Green would narrowly win the first half of the third quarter, cutting its deficit to eight at 31-23 behind four quick points from Saniyah Shelton. Lind would add five more of her own though for Cooper as the Lady Jaguars kept pace. The team’s leading scorer this season would pour in seven additional points to put her at 12 for the quarter.

Cooper couldn’t quite break away though as four different Bowling Green players scored in the third to make it a 38-30 score in favor of the Lady Jaguars heading into the final frame. Bailey, who appeared to injure her lower leg near the end of the first half, fought through the pain and continued to play, putting up 10 points by the end of the third.

The Lady Purples would make a run to begin the fourth frame, scoring six quick points before Cooper responded. After two minutes ran off the clock, the Lady Jaguars held a 42-37 advantage. Bowling Green would get within four points before a clutch and-one play from Liz Freihofer pushed the Cooper lead back to seven.

A much-needed 3-pointer from James pumped some life back into Bowling Green as the Lady Purples trailed 50-45 with just 90 seconds left. James would hit a layup after BG forced a turnover that trimmed the lead to just three. But Cooper would hit enough free throws down the stretch, sealing a 55-47 victory.

— Zack Geoghegan

Sacred Heart 59, George Rogers Clark 40

Sacred Heart may be the reigning champions — with most of its 2021 roster back plus a star freshman — but George Rogers Clark were the aggressors early on. Seventh-grade point guard Kennedy Stamper was the first player on the board for either team with a three for the Lady Cards. A few minutes later, she swished another one from the corner to open up a 9-2 advantage in the first quarter.

Sacred Heart looked frazzled. They turned the ball over on their opening possession and were sloppy throughout the opening period.

Another three from GRC, this time by Trinity Gay, made the score 14-6 near the end of the first as Cardinals fans erupted at their team’s early blitz. They led 14-8 heading into the second quarter.

The Valkyries quickly climbed back into the game in the next period. Specifically, junior point guard Triniti Ralston took over. She scored a quick layup and a few minutes later, stole the ball and slid a behind-the-back pass to 2021 Girls Sweet Sixteen MVP Josie Gilvin for a bucket to tie the game at 14.

GRC leaned on forward Brianna Byars to pump the score back up. She converted an and-one and an additional layup in the span of two minutes as part of a swift 9-2 spurt to put the Cardinals on top by seven, 23-16.

Brianna Byars with the basket to put ⁦@grc_hoops⁩ up 7 on defending champs Sacred Heart with three to play in the first half pic.twitter.com/FBnX0m7mu4

— Alex Weber (@alexweberKSR) March 12, 2022

But GRC scored just one more point the rest of the half. Meanwhile, Triniti Ralston scored eight Sacred Heart points in a row and cut the deficit to one with a free throw before the score settled at 24-22 in favor of GRC at the break. In that second quarter, though, Ralston either scored or assisted every made Valkyrie bucket.

The reigning champs came to play to open the second half. Reagan Bender tied the game at 24 with a bucket before star freshman forward ZaKiyah Johnson drained back-to-back threes to put the Valkyries ahead 30-24. A pair of free throws made it 32-24, completing a 16-1 run for Sacred Heart.

George Rogers Clark finally scored a basket but SHA’s third-quarter dominance wasn’t over. They produced an 11-2 run to make it 41-27 and a 25-4 run since GRC held a seven-point advantage in the second. Credit the Lady Cards, though. Ciara Byars scored five points in the final few minutes of the third to help GRC climb back within eight, 43-35, at the end of the quarter.

Sacred Heart re-extended the lead to start the fourth with a layup by Angelina Pelayo and an emphatic and-one by Ralston off a fastbreak. That seemed to be the critical moment for GRC, as SHA obtained a 13-point lead with all of the momentum and just six minutes to play. Their foot stayed on the gas pedal for most of the fourth. Sacred Heart opened up a 20-point lead, 56-36, before GRC scored their first bucket of the quarter with just two minutes to go.

As the clock marched towards zero, coaches emptied their benches to give the bench players a chance to play on the Rupp Arena floor, which we love to see. Sacred Heart eventually won 59-40 and will advance to the semifinals. They’ll face Cooper on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with a chance to play in the 7 p.m. title game. Of course, KSR will have you covered on all of the action.

Check out the entire boxscore from Sacred Heart’s quarterfinal victory below. Ralston and Johnson led the way for the Valkyries as the Byars sisters kept GRC competitive for most of the night.

— Alex Weber