Sacred Heart overcomes early deficit to beat GRC; Cooper downs Danville Christian to end 1st round

The first of four games Thursday’s action in the 2024 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16 Tournament saw Leah Macy dominate with 31 points and 17 rebounds as the Bethlehem Banshees advanced after taking down Pikeville. Then, the Henderson County Lady Colonels made a comeback to defeat Owensboro 43-39 en route to the Elite Eight. The first two games on Thursday had a lot to unpack.

However, the fun didn’t stop there because the three-time defending state champs (Sacred Heart Academy) were tasked with facing a tough 30-4 George Rogers Clark team in the first round. Following that, Cooper and Danville Christian would square off in a battle between two heavyweights.

Here’s how it all played out.

Sacred Heart avoids loss as GRC goes scoreless in 2nd quarter

For the second time this season, Sacred Heart and George Rogers Clark met on the hardwood in what was destined to be a hard-fought game. KSR was in attendance for the February 9th meeting, and just from that, you knew that GRC would come ready for a fight in this one.

Then, GRC came out swinging from the jump. The Lady Cardinals got out to a surging 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter — a result that was not expected, to say the least. Then, Coach Donna Moir rallied the Valkyries to an incredible second quarter.

After scoring in bunches in the first quarter, GRC would go scoreless in the second. It was 26-21 Sacred Heart at the break.

From there, it was all Valkyries. After what was a sluggish start, Sacred Heart would ultimately win 57-46 to secure their 13th consecutive win in the state tournament. ZaKiyah Johnson, a top-five prospect in the 2025 class (ESPN), had 18 points on 8-11 (2-2 3PT) shooting as well as six rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals in the win. The leading scorer for the Valkyries was senior Angelina Pelayo who had 20 points.

Sacred Heart will take on Bethlehem on March 15th at 6:00 p.m. EST. Between Leah Macy and ZaKiyah Johnson, that will be a battle between two of the best players in the nation, let alone Kentucky.

Cooper earns 30th win of season, takes down Danville Christian

To conclude the first round, the Cooper Lady Jaguars took on Danville Christian who came into the matchup with a 29-2 record. Their only losses were to Ridgeview (Virginia) and Owensboro Catholic. All of this is to say that the Lady Warriors are a tough, tough team.

For a program that has only been around since the 2019-20 season, they have quickly emerged as a powerhouse in the Bluegrass.

The only issue for DCA, however, is that the Jags are just as good as they are. Cooper came into this one as winners of 11 straight and 26 of their last 27 games, and they weren’t ready for that streak to come to an end just yet.

In the first quarter, Danville Christian’s Grace Mbugua was absolutely unstoppable. The junior forward had 17 points through one, outscoring Cooper 17-12 by herself. While she would continue to dominate — finishing with 34 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, and two steals — Cooper ultimately turned up the heat to finish out the game.

Four Lady Jags would score in double-digits as senior Logan Luebbers-Palmer led the way with 15 points. Additionally, the Achilles heel for Danville Christian was the turnover battle. They’d end up committing 22 turnovers that resulted in 26 total points the other way.

With a 65-63 win, Cooper advances to a second Elite Eight in three years. They’ll take on Henderson County on March 15th at 8:30 p.m. EST. Check out the updated Sweet 16 bracket below.