Sacred Heart wins 3rd straight Girls’ Sweet 16 Tournament

*EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was submitted by freelance writer Alyx White, who has extensive knowledge in covering KY high school girls’ basketball. She is also one of two hosts for KSR’s women’s basketball podcast, the Know Her Name Podcast, which covers Kentucky women’s hoops. Alyx will assist in KSR’s coverage of the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 Tournament this week. You can follow her on Twitter: @alyxwhite_*

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After four straight days full of exciting games, the stage was set. The field of 16 was cut down to two as Sacred Heart (35-3) and McCracken County (35-2) were able to advance to the championship game of the KHSAA Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 on Saturday afternoon inside Rupp Arena.

As soon as the initial horn sounded, signaling that both teams could start their warmup routines, it was clear that both teams were determined to cut down the nets. Despite playing three games in the past four days, the energy was as high as it had been all tournament long.

McCracken County had all the momentum to start as junior Mikee Buchanan finished a layup on the first possession of the game and knocked down a triple on the very next possession, giving the Lady Mustangs a 5-0 lead. However, Sacred Heart controlled the quarter from there as McCracken County only scored once in the next seven minutes of play.

Five-star sophomore ZaKiyah Johnson, junior Reagan Bender, and junior Angelina Pelayo combined for 17 points to give the Valkyries team a 10-point lead by the end of the quarter. 

Both teams came out cold to start the second, but almost two minutes into the quarter, McCracken County junior Claire Johnson hit a much-needed outside shot. Unfortunately for the Lady Mustangs, Sacred Heart also started firing at that point as both teams knocked down their next three field goal attempts.

Senior Destiny Thomas was able to finish out the half strong for McCracken, scoring five points in the final two minutes of play, but her team was still down 12 at the break. SHA’s ZaKiyah Johnson had already scored 17 points of her own at that point. Bender and Pelayo were the only other Valkyries that scored in the opening half.

To open the second half, Sacred Heart continued where it left off. The Lady Mustangs had no answers on how to stop Johnson as she continued dominating the game. There were a few occasions in which McCracken County scored on back-to-back possessions, but they could never get back within reach. Going into the final quarter, Johnson had 26 points and her team had a 20-point lead.

It looked like things were going to continue on the same path until midway through the final quarter of play when McCracken County senior Caroline Sivills, senior Briley Benton, and Buchanan hit back-to-back-to-back triples to cut SHA’s lead to 14 points. However, it was too little, too late for the Lady Mustangs. Sacred Heart ultimately came out victorious, bringing home their third straight state title behind ZaKiyah Johnson’s 30 points. 

𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 | Sacred Heart 68 McCracken County 53@ValkyriesBBall and Head Coach @DonnaBenderMoir become the first school and coach to ever win back-to-back-to-back state championships two times🏆@ZJohnson_06 with 30 points and 8 rebounds@benderreagann added 19 points and 4… https://t.co/agvup6YAbO pic.twitter.com/vzXUu51qMm

— Alyx White (@alyxwhite_) March 12, 2023

Johnson’s point total tied for the second most ever in a championship game. Sacred Heart became the first school in KHSAA history to win back-to-back-to-back state championships on two different occasions, as did their head coach Donna Moir.

Caroline Sivills, Claire Johnson, and Destiny Thomas all had phenomenal showings all throughout the tournament for McCracken County which earned them a spot on the All-Tournament Team. For the Valkyries, it was senior Triniti Ralston and Reagan Bender who earned spots on the All-Tournament Team, while ZaKiyah Johnson was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.