Sacred Heart Academy to face McCracken County in today's KHSAA Sweet 16 championship game

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Scoreless in the first half, Reagan Bender got the pep talk she needed at halftime.

“They told me that I need to be a complete player and not just focus on being one-dimensional with the scoring,” the Sacred Heart Academy junior said.

Bender got the message and lifted the Valkyries into the KHSAA state championship game for the third straight season. She scored all 21 of her points in the second half as Sacred Heart beat George Rogers Clark 57-53 in a semifinal of the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.

Bender hit 3 of 5 3-point tries and added three steals.

“I came out and had some good cuts, and my teammates found me,” said Bender, who has scholarship offers from Bellarmine, East Tennessee State and Murray State. “That’s why I got going.”

Five-star prospect ZaKiyah Johnson hit just 9 of 24 shots but led Sacred Heart with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The No. 1-ranked Valkyries (35-3) extended their winning streak to 18 and have won 43 straight against Kentucky competition. They’ll face McCracken County in Saturday’s 7 p.m. championship game.

Claire Russell said the short turnaround between the semifinal and final wouldn’t be a concern for the Valkyries.

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“We’ve done it the past two years, so we know what we need to do,” she said. “We’ll go get some rest, and I think we’ll all come back with the same heart and hustle that we played this previous game with.”

Brianna Byars, a University of Cincinnati signee, led No. 6 GRC (28-8) with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Cardinals played Sacred Heart tough twice this season, dropping a 54-53 decision Feb. 7 in Winchester.

“We weren’t going to be in awe of that jersey,” Cardinals coach Robbie Graham said. “We were going to give them everything we had for 32 minutes, and I felt like we did that. … We feel we’re an elite program in the state of Kentucky as well.”

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After a back-and-forth battle, Sacred Heart took the lead for good, 45-42, on Bender’s right-corner 3-pointer with 5:58 remaining.

Bender sank her third 3-pointer with 3:12 left to give the Valkyries a 50-44 lead.

“She just got loose on us, and we don’t know why,” Graham said. “You want to tag her the whole game and not give her a free look. We know she’s a great shooter.”

Kennedy Stamper’s 3-pointer pulled GRC within 55-51 with 24 seconds left, but Johnson and Bender both hit a free throw in the final seconds to seal it.

Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir credited a defense that forced GRC into 16 turnovers. The Valkyries converted those into 17 points.

“We really tried to mix it up defensively with them, and we got going when we started pressing a little bit and got them to turn it over,” Moir said.

Boys Sweet 16: See full schedule for next week's state championship at Rupp Arena

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 14        9        14       16 - 53

SACRED HEART                   13        9        17       18 - 57

George Rogers Clark (28-8) – Ciara Byars 8, Brianna Byars 23, Kennedy Stamper 9, Trinity Gay 2, Anaya Chestnut 8, Annette Miller 3.

Sacred Heart (35-3) – Reagan Bender 21, Angelina Pelayo 6, Triniti Ralston 3, ZaKiyah Johnson 22, Claire Russell 3, Emi-Lee Howe 2.

McCracken County 57, Henderson County 40

Claire Johnson scored 25 points and Destiny Thomas added 17 points and four steals as the No. 4 Mustangs (35-2) cruised past the No. 7 Colonels (28-5).

McCracken County jumped to a 19-3 lead midway through the second quarter and led 44-18 at the end of the third.

The Mustangs advanced to the state final for the first time.

Jarie Thomas led Henderson County with 17 points and seven rebounds.

In other news:Rick Stansbury resigns as Western Kentucky basketball coach after seven seasons

HENDERSON COUNTY    3        9        6        22 – 40

MCCRACKEN COUNTY    13      13      18         3 – 57

Henderson County (28-5) – Mallorie Veal 8, Jarie Thomas 17, Savannah Lacer 3, Graci Risley 7, Anna Kemp 2, Atylia Green 3.

McCracken County (35-2) – Caroline Sivills 4, Claire Johnson 25, Destiny Thomas 17, Mikee Buchanan 8, Briley Benton 3.

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sacred Heart vs McCracken County for KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 championship