Frederick Douglass survives with 9-0 run; Sacred Heart moves on and more from the KHSAA Girls' Sweet 16 Quarterfinals

We’ve officially narrowed things down to the final four teams left standing in the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16. Some heavy favorites remain in the field, and as we’ve already seen from some of these teams, these Semifinals are set up to a doozy.

But first, let’s take a look at what went down in the Quarterfinals on Friday.

GRC makes Semifinals for second time in three years after beating North Laurel

Multiple games came down to the wire on Friday, and GRC-North Laurel is the one that set the tone for the day. After having a lead with 1:40 to go in the game, the Lady Jaguars fell victim to a comeback from the Lady Cardinals and as a result, GRC got the 50-42 win to make the Semifinals for the second time in three years.

Michigan commit Ciara Byars and sophomore Kennedy Stamper both recorded 10 points in the win, shooting a combined 7-14 from the field. North Laurel’s Brooke Nichelson had a game-high 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in a losing effort. The Murray State commit may have ended her career on the wrong side of the scoreboard, but she showed some serious promise for the Racers in her two-game stint in the state tournament.

Perhaps the difference in the game was the turnover margin and the points scored off of those turnovers. GRC forced 19 turnovers, recording 18 points off of them. North Laurel had just six points off of 12 turnovers committed by the Lady Cardinals.

GRC will take on Frederick Douglass at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday. If they win, they’ll move on to the championship game that night, taking on the winner of Sacred Heart-Danville Christian at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Frederick Douglass ends game on 9-0 run to squeak by Taylor County

After upsetting Simon Kenton in the first round, Frederick Douglass avoided its own upset by sparking a late 9-0 run to claim an eight-point, 61-53 victory over Taylor County. It was 53-52 Lady Cardinals with 2:52 to go, but the Broncos turned up the heat down the stretch.

Douglass dominated the battle on the boards, out-rebounding Taylor County 34-19 overall and 15-9 overall on the offensive glass. Sophomore Jaelee Knowles had a game-high 11 boards for the Broncos, also putting up 21 points on 7-12 shooting. She also rejected six shots in 32 minutes of action.

As for Taylor County, they were led by eighth grader Kennedy Deener, who recorded 24 points on 7-16 shooting, going a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. She also had five steals and three rebounds on the day. Clearly, Deener can hang with the best of the best, even at such a young age. Watch out for her to be one of the best in the Bluegrass in the coming years.

Louisville commit Grace Mbugua puts up 32 PTS, 15 REBS to lead Danville Christian past Henderson County

Like the last two games, this one was decided in the final minutes. Danville Christian was on the ropes, trailing 42-41 with six minutes to go in regulation. However, some late-game heroics from Louisville commit Grace Mbugua secured a 60-55 victory for the Lady Warriors over Henderson County.

Mbugua continued her Sweet 16 dominance as she put up an insane stat line of 32 points on 12-14 shooting, 15 rebounds and four blocks — all of that in just 32 minutes. Granted, she did play all 32 minutes in the game, but those numbers in that amount of time is still impressive. The definition of an iron woman.

Henderson County won the turnover battle 21-9 and recorded 11 steals to just Danville Christian’s three. They scored 20 points off of those turnovers, but in hindsight, they just didn’t capitalize on enough of the opportunities they were given.

Danville Christian has a date with Sacred Heart at 1:30 p.m. ET in the Semifinals on Saturday. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Frederick Douglass-GRC game in the state championship game.

Sacred Heart looks to make fifth consecutive state championship game following victory over Cooper

Two of the last three years, Cooper has seen its season end at the hands of Sacred Heart, and on Friday, that became three of the last four as the Valkyries handed the Lady Jaguars a 78-61 loss en route to yet another Semifinals appearance.

LSU commit ZaKiyah Johnson had a 26-point, 10-rebound effort in the first round, and she followed that up with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Junior Brianna Wilkins recorded 16 points on 6-10 (1-1 3PT) shooting in 22 minutes of play.

Sacred Heart could very well be on their way to a fifth-straight state championship game appearance, but they’ll have to get by Grace Mbugua and the Lady Warriors first.