Girls Louisville Invitational Tournament: Central, Sacred Heart, Manual and Cooper advance

J.L. Kirven, Louisville Courier Journal
·7 min read

Standing only 5-foot-11, Central girl basketball's Destiny Jones may not have the prototypical frame of a prototypical post player, but she has the mentality of one.

"She's just a dog," Central assistant coach Frank Mondell said. "She's under the radar, and I've been reaching out to college coaches all over the country. They say she's undersized, but at the end of the day you can't teach dog. You can't teach someone to be a gladiator."

Jones left the spectators at Valley High School entertained after dropping 32 points and 19 rebounds in the Yellow Jackets' 60-48 win over No. 9 Christian Academy in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

Central's coaches joke Jones is a walking double-double. The Centurions found out why early.

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"I think it's just my will and want to put the ball in the hole," Jones said. "No matter how many times I don't make it I know I'm going to get the next one."

With Central head coach DeShawn Pendleton out due to illness, Mondell stepped in and relied heavily on the junior. Jones spent most of Central's razor-thin win over Butler on Tuesday on the bench in foul trouble. It was one of her most frustrating performances of the year, but Jones had little trouble bouncing back Friday.

Jones got to her spots inside and banked shot after shot off the glass. When the Centurions couldn't slow her down, they fouled her and Jones finished game 10 for 16 from the free-throw line.

"I feel like I've proven myself so many times," Jones said. "They're already afraid when I'm out there on the court, but I'm still going to make them feel me."

With the win, Central set up a semifinal showdown Saturday with No. 1-ranked Sacred Heart. The Yellow Jackets lost to Sacred Heart 75-61 on Jan. 13 but could be the first team from Kentucky to defeat the Valkyries this season.

"With Sacred Heart, we're looking to get a jump," Jones said. "We need to go out, be strong and keep a lead. I've watched a lot of film on them and the key is lockdown defense."

Central 20 12 11 17 - 60

Christian Academy 10 12 12 14 - 48

Central (11-9): Diamond Roach 5, Amaya Asher 10, Miracle Thomas 5, Destiny Jones 32, JaLa Douglas 8

Christian Academy (15-5): Addison Kincaid 6, Bailee Duck 9, Ella Daniels 3, Brianna Wilkins 13, Mariah Knight 13, Ava Moore 4

Sacred Heart 61, Meade County 38

Sacred Heart’s Zakiyah Johnson gets back on defense after scoring the basket against Meade County. Jan. 27, 2023
Sacred Heart’s Zakiyah Johnson gets back on defense after scoring the basket against Meade County. Jan. 27, 2023

No. 1 Sacred Heart pummeled Meade County in the paint. The Valkyries out-rebounded the Waves 45-20 and outscored them 36-12 in the inside, but it was the Valkyries' defense that brought the bench to its feet.

Sacred Heart held Peyton Bradley, the state's fifth-best 3-point shooter, to 13 points on 3-for-16 shooting from the field. Outside of Katie Durbin (13 points), the Waves' offense received little support against Sacred Heart's suffocating defense.

"Nothing's easy, but our defense tonight was just outstanding," Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said. "We did a good job on No. 20 (Bradley) — she didn't really struggle, but we were always trying to make sure we had a hand up while she was shooting because she's the one that makes them go."

Star sophomore ZaKiyah Johnson led the Valkyries with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Moir was especially impressed with junior guard Claire Russell, who hauled in 11 rebounds.

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"She's been great because she's found her niche," Moir said. "She's found a way to really contribute to our team. She hits the boards hard."

Sacred Heart will face Central in the LIT semifinals. The Valkyries won the first matchup 75-61 on Jan. 13. Sacred Heart has won the past 11 meetings against the Yellow Jackets.

Sacred Heart 18 13 19 11 - 61

Meade County 10 2 12 14 - 38

Sacred Heart (19-3): Triniti Ralston 15, ZaKiyah Johnson 16, Claire Russell 6, Reagan Bender 7, Angelina Pelayo 11, Emi-Lee Howe 6

Meade County (14-8): Annabelle Babb 2, Paige Medley 7, Mattie Clanton 3, Peyton Bradley 13, Katie Durbin 13

Manual 62, Bullitt East 41

Manual’s Jakayla Thomson makes a pass against Bullitt East’s Logan Ortega. Jan. 27, 2023
Manual’s Jakayla Thomson makes a pass against Bullitt East’s Logan Ortega. Jan. 27, 2023

University of Buffalo commit Jakayla Thompson led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds as the No. 2 Crimsons (20-1) coasted to their 20th straight win.

Manual outrebounded the Chargers 42-25 and came away with 18 second-chance points. Neither the Crimsons (5 for 18) nor the Chargers (3 for 20) shot well from beyond the arc, but Crimsons coach Ashley Franklin said her team wasn’t deterred.

“They were flying all over the place,” Franklin said about her team. “We weren’t hitting from outside as much as we’d like, but I was pleased with how they pushed through it and kept a good attitude about it.”

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Attitude is key for the Crimsons this week. Despite being ranked the No. 2 team in the state, Manual’s still locked in the same region as defending state champion Sacred Heart. And while an LIT title is the goal, Franklin said the purpose of this week is to see where the Crimsons stack against the rest of the state a month out from the playoffs.

“It’s exciting because if we really want to make a run at state, this is who we’re going to see,” Franklin said of the LIT field. “It’s a challenge for us that’s either going to show us where we are or where we need to be.”

Manual will face Cooper in Saturday's semifinals.

Manual           12          18        22         10   -    62

Bullitt East       2           11        19          9    -   41

Manual (20-1): Lexi Weaver 2, Jakayla Thompson 26, Sydne Tolbert 17, Ashlinn James 7, Londyn James 1, Jazmine Chatman 2, Alana Smith 2, Madison Brittle 2, Morrai Blount 3

Bullitt East (15-7): Madeline Curtsinger 1, Anna Tinelli 7, Logan Ortega 9, Anna Rodgers 9, Lilly Reid 14, Mollie Johnston 1

Cooper 67, Mercy 64

Mercy’s Leah Macy makes the basketball against Cooper’s Whitney Lind. Jan. 27, 2023
Mercy’s Leah Macy makes the basketball against Cooper’s Whitney Lind. Jan. 27, 2023

Mercy's Leah Macy and Cooper's Whitney Lind capped off Friday night's quarterfinals with a duel for the ages.

Macy exploded for 37 points and nine rebounds, but it was Lind's 31 points and four rebounds that led the Jaguars to their 15th straight victory.

"It was like two heavyweights," Cooper coach Justin Holthaus said. "Whitney played unbelievable, but we knew coming in that Leah was going to be a load and she put it on us. I liked our resiliency to fight back."

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Cooper and Mercy battled back and forth in a game that resulted in 15 total lead changes. Mercy nearly sent the game to overtime with a Hail Mary 3-pointer from Alyssa Murphy that bounced off the rim.

"This tournament is ran like the state tournament," Holthaus said. "So your reward for playing Mercy is turning around and playing Manual."

Cooper meets Manual in Saturday's semifinal.

Cooper 16 12 19 20 - 67

Mercy 15 15 16 18 - 64

Mercy (16-8): Mary Smith 5, Abby Reitzel 5, Alyssa Murphy 17, Leah Macy 37

Cooper (17-2): Haylle Noel 5, Whitney Lind 31, Maleah Alexander 4, Bella Deere 2, Kay Freihofer 9, Liz Freihofer 10 Logan Palmer 6

Follow Courier Journal reporter J.L. Kirven on Twitter @JL_Kirven for more updates on Louisville prep sports.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Invitational Tournament: Central, Sacred Heart, Manual win