Sacred Heart wins fourth KHSAA Sweet 16 Final in a row, downs McCracken Co. 60-49

Sacred Heart achieved the unprecedented. The Sacred Heart Valkyries won their fourth KHSAA Sweet 16 Final in a row, permanently etching their names in history as the first Kentucky school to do so in the girls’ tourney.

After an unbeaten regular season against instate foes, Sacred Heart faced a familiar foe in the final, McCracken County. The two teams met in last year’s Sweet 16, with a final score of 68-53, Valkyries.

Despite a valiant effort, the McCracken County Mustangs were unable to hold on against ZaKiyah Johnson and Co., and fell 60-49. While McCracken County displayed incredible shooting in their semifinal win against Butler, in the championship, the shooting was everything but. The Mustangs were only 17-35 (48.6%) from the field and didn’t make a three until the third quarter. The majority of their points came from senior Samford commit, Claire Johnson, who finished with 24 points. Johnson had previously scored 39 points in the semifinals, despite sitting for six minutes in the fourth quarter.

Much like the semifinals, the only other double-digit scorer for McCracken County was Mikee Buchanan, who finished with 19. Lezharia Bolen scored four points on the night, and that was it for the Mustangs.

For Sacred Heart, it was an entirely different story. While ZaKiyah Johnson finished with 21, there were two other players in double-digits. Sacred Heart played their semifinal game at 1:30 on Saturday, and had less time to rest than the Mustangs, but they didn’t look fatigued at all. In fact, it was McCracken County who could not stop making mistakes, committing 20 turnovers in the championship. The Valkyries scored 15 points off of McCracken County’s giveaways.

McCracken County, however, won the battle on the boards, 20-19, and scored five second chance points. The largest discrepancy between the two teams though, was the movement of the ball. McCracken County only recorded three assists. Sacred Heart, on the other hand, recorded a whopping 22 assists and scored 40 of their 60 points in the paint.

Both teams, however, should be extremely proud of the performance put on in the KHSAA Sweet 16 Tournament this season. Like so many others, McCracken County could not counter Sacred Heart’s dominance. Head coach Donna Moir created a dynasty unlike any other.