A guide to Kentucky’s top girls’ basketball teams as the postseason begins

The 57th St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament will tip off on March 7. The road to Northern Kentucky University’s BB&T Arena is open as of Monday evening; here’s some essential information to help you get through the ride there.

Top teams

Mercer County (46th District): The defending state champion returned five of its six top players from last season — including Miss Basketball favorite Seygan Robins, a Universty of Louisville signee.

Sacred Heart (27th): Indiana signee Grace Berger leads the Valkyries with 15.2 points and eight rebounds per game. Their only in-state loss was at Mercer County in December.

Campbell County (37th): Its three losses — Highlands in overtime, Mercer County and Sacred Heart — all were away from home and were by a combined five points.

Murray (4th): Miss Basketball challenger Macey Turley averages 17.3 points for the Tigers, who won this season’s All “A” Classic state title and haven’t lost since Dec. 23.

Scott County (42nd): The Cardinals lead the state in scoring (78.6, four points better than second-place Boyd County) and are favored to end Franklin County’s reign atop the 11th Region.

Butler (22nd): Only two of the Bearettes’ four losses this season were to in-state opponents; both were to Mercer County.

Clark County (40th): GRC played one of the beefier schedules this season but came away with an 1-7 mark against teams currently ranked in the top 20.

Ryle (33rd): Sophomore Maddie Scherr, who has been offered by the University of Kentucky, averages 15.9 points for the Raiders.

Male (26th): Senior Ciaja Harbison (14.2 points) was this year’s recipient of the Donna L.J. Murphy Award.

Elizabethtown (17th): Whitney Hay, a sophomore, leads Elizabethtown in scoring (19.8) and is second in rebounding (5.9).

Boyd County (64th): Marshall commit Savannah Wheeler, a junior, is averaging 25.7 points a night and leads the state with 3.5 three-point makes per game.

Harlan County (52nd): University of Kentucky signee Blair Green in early February joined the 3,000-point club, a list that included only 23 names entering the season.

A look at Lexington

Can Lafayette be vanquished? That’s the biggest question heading into Lexington’s district-tournament action.

The Generals (22-8) have won 12 straight and 35 of their last 36 against 43rd District competition dating back to 2014. They’ve won four straight 43rd District tournament championships.

Caroline Bennett (16.4 points, 38.2-percent shooting from three-point territory) leads a trio of double-digit scorers for Lafayette. Terri Abram (11.8) and Tekiya Garr-Carter (10.3) are followed closely by Lindi DeBilzan (9.7), who leads the Generals in rebounding (6.1).

Lafayette will play the winner between Lexington Christian and Tates Creek — who play at 6:15 p.m. Monday in a first-round game — in the semifinals at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. Tates Creek hasn’t defeated Lafayette since Dec. 21, 2011. LCA’s last win over the Generals was on Feb. 23, 2010.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, the No. 2 seed in the 43rd, plays Lexington Catholic in the 43rd semifinals at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Mashayla Cecil, who last week became the all-time leading scorer in Fayette County girls’ history and was named a Miss Basketball finalist, is ninth in the state at 25.3 points per game.

The Bulldogs (19-9) are the only 43rd District program to have beaten Lafayette over the last five regular seasons; they did it once in 2014 and once last year.

Jay Ballard (16.8 points, Lexington Catholic), Bethany Selby (15.2, LCA) and Tamira Watts (12.3, Tates Creek) lead their respective teams in scoring.

Henry Clay, the No. 2 seed in the 42nd District tournament, is the only city team to have beaten Lafayette this season. The Blue Devils (18-10) will play Bryan Station in the 42nd District semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Kiya Thompson (13.2 points) leads the Blue Devils in scoring.

Frederick Douglass and Sayre will play in a first-round game at 6 p.m. Monday. The winner will meet top-seeded Scott County, which has won 14 straight against district foes.

This story was originally published February 19, 2018 at 9:02 AM with the headline "A guide to Kentucky’s top girls’ basketball teams as the postseason begins."