Sacred Heart reaches Sweet 16 semifinals for first time since it last won it all
Sacred Heart before this week had gone a long time between state tournament victories.
One didn’t satiate the Valkyries’ thirst: a 66-54 decision over Bowling Green sent them to the semifinals of the Mingua Beef Jerky/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 on Friday afternoon.
BOX SCORE: Sacred Heart 66, Bowling Green 54
Sacred Heart had made three state tournaments (2014, 2017 and 2020) since winning its last of three straight championships in 2004, but had not won a state-level contest before their first-round victory over Knott County Central on Wednesday. The Valkyries who fell to South Laurel in the final first-round game played in last year’s tournament before it was canceled were led by five seniors; this edition’s top seven scorers are underclassmen, including a sophomore (Triniti Ralston) and freshman (Reagan Bender) at the front of the herd.
Ralston finished with 26 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals. She was 16-of-20 from the free-throw line and didn’t commit a turnover in 27 minutes on the floor — often literally as she withstood blow after blow from Bowling Green defenders.
“It was very physical, this game,” Ralston said. “I’m always on the floor in each game we play, and my mentality is to just let everything slide and keep playing with the team, keep doing my thing.”
She did her thing in dazzling fashion, especially in the first half, several times shaking off defenders and dicing to the basket with precision beyond her years. Ralston attempted just two shots in the second half but lived at the stripe; 18 of her attempts came over the final 13 minutes of the game.
“Triniti came up big time for us and she has all season,” Valkyries Coach Donna Moir said. “She’s our leader. She has the ball in her hand most of the time. She can get to the basket. I was really proud of her, the way she maintained her composure on the floor.”
Bowling Green after a strong start from the field went ice cold. The Purples started 4-for-6, and led 10-6 halfway through the first frame, but missed all but one of their final eight shots in the period. Sacred Heart scored eight straight to take the lead before Bowling Green offered a response.
Sacred Heart scored eight straight again to open the second quarter. A pair of free throws by LynKaylah James stopped an 18-2 Valkyries run going back to the first quarter, and a minute and a half later she hit a three-pointer to bring Bowling Green back within single digits. That ignited a 12-0 run that tied the game before Bender hit a running three-pointer for Sacred Heart. James and Kiyah Gray combined to make four straight free throws over the next minute to briefly put the Purples back in front, but Ralston weaved to the basket for a layup in the final seconds to put Sacred Heart on top, 29-28, at the half.
Tanaya Bailey made a layup to put Bowling Green ahead 11 seconds into the second half. The teams traded baskets for a minute before a 5-0 run by Ralston — she made a pair of free throws and made the free throw following an and-one conversion — put the Valkyries up 37-32, and in front for good.
Bailey matched a triple from Sacred Heart’s Olivia Kaufman, her second of the game, to keep the Purples within eight, but a flurry of free throws by Ralston (two coming after she was the target of an intentional foul) and two more by Kaufman allowed Sacred Heart to double its advantage, 59-43, and the Valkyries led comfortably for the remainder.
The win was No. 699 for Moir, who’s also Sacred Heart’s athletic director and has been its head coach since 1991. She could become just the fourth girls’ basketball coach in state history to reach 700 wins on Saturday.
“That would be nice, but I’ve never coached for the wins,” Moir said. “I really enjoy what I do, and I get to work with great kids ... and players. It’s never been about wins for me. It’d be nice if we got it tomorrow, but I just want to come out and play well and not have any focus on me, ‘cause it’s about this team. It’s about what they do and not what I do.”
2021 Girls’ Sweet 16 Day 3 wrap-up from Rupp Arena
