‘We all did it together.’ Sacred Heart tops Bullitt East for record sixth Sweet 16 crown.
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2022 Girls’ Sweet 16 coverage
Click below to read all of the coverage from Kentucky.com and the Lexington Herald-Leader during the Girls’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament in Rupp Arena.
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It’s been 20 years since Coach Donna Moir’s Sacred Heart began a string of three straight Kentucky girls’ high school basketball state championships.
On Saturday night, her Valkyries delivered the school its second-straight state crown this decade with a 64-46 victory over Bullitt East in the 2022 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
Beyond the record six overall state championships for the school, this season held a special, personal meaning for its coach.
“I just can’t tell you how excited I am that we’re actually up here and being state champs,” Moir said during her tear-filled opening remarks after the game. “It takes a lot for me to get emotional, but these girls have had my back all year. It’s been a tough year.”
In August, Moir’s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Campbell Moir, a former player, passed away at the age of 32 after a lengthy cancer battle. Elizabeth Moir’s youngest daughter sat in Coach Moir’s lap during the press conference. The older one sat with player Reagan Bender, who is also Coach Moir’s niece.
“(The players) came up with T-shirts that said “Fight” and we delivered all year long,” Moir said. “It has just been so much fun. It kept my mind off everything. and they’ve taken these girls (her grandchildren) in. To see all this come to fruition has just been amazing.”
No. 1 Sacred Heart (36-3) faced perhaps the hardest path to the championship any team could have taken this year, drawing a top-rated team at every stage, starting with No. 3 Anderson County in the first round, No. 2 Clark County in the quarterfinals, No. 5 Cooper in the semifinals and, finally, No. 6 Bullitt East in the championship game. Bullitt East was one of only three teams to have beaten Sacred Heart this year. Each Sweet 16 opponent lost by double digits.
“If you look at the regional tournament, the state tournament, we just went through seven amazing teams … These kids didn’t really think about it,” Moir said. “They just enjoy being with each other.”
Sacred Heart took control against Bullitt East in the title game from the outset. Its trademark full-court pressure and tenacious defense forced eight first quarter turnovers that led to 11 points and helped the Valkyries build a 20-10 lead at the first break. The margin grew to as many as 17 points before settling at 38-23 at halftime.
“Before the game we watched film of the last time we played them in the (Louisville Invitational Tournament) and, I think, what killed us on that game was defense,” said Bender, who scored 13 of her 16 points in the first half. “So, we knew we had to play defense in order to win this game. And our defense clearly creates our offense.”
Bullitt East trimmed the lead to nine points late in the third quarter on a Gracie Merkle layup and foul shot to make it 44-35 with 1:48 to go in the period.
But Sacred Heart answered with a 6-0 run from Josie Gilvin on four free throws and a runner in the lane on the next three possessions to put the Valkyries back up 50-35 before the start of the fourth quarter. Bullitt East got no closer than 13 the rest of the way.
“Turnovers really hurt us tonight. It really kept us from getting any offensive rhythm,” Bullitt East Coach Chris Stallings said. “Credit Sacred Heart. We didn’t get some of the same looks that we normally get, but like I said, 27 turnovers against anybody, let alone a really good team, puts you behind the eight ball.”
Gilvin, a Western Kentucky commit who was last year’s Sweet 16 MVP, spent much of her night helping double team Bullitt East’s 6-foot-6 Merkle, and had 15 points to go with nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. Sacred Heart was lightly regarded in last year’s tournament, but came into this season as a heavy favorite.
“It did feel different, but I felt like everyone wanted to beat us, so that made us want to win even more,” Gilvin said. “It gave us way more motivation and all my team teammates, they all pushed us and we all wanted to win. So, we all did it together for each other.”
This year’s Sweet 16 MVP, Sacred Heart freshman ZaKiyah Johnson, scored 12 points in the title game after leading the team in scoring all season and being a key factor in each tournament win.
“It’s one of my biggest accomplishments and completing that accomplishment so early is really big, and I’m really appreciative,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t do it without everybody on this team, and I’m just so happy about it.”
Bullitt East (33-5) reached its first state finals and graduates seven seniors including standout Emma Egan, who played with a stress fracture in her right foot at the end of the year, and Merkle, who became one of the most dominant post players the state has ever seen as a junior and senior.
Merkle led the state in field goal percentage each of the last two years and made 71.7 percent of her shots this season. She went 6-for-9 Saturday and made 12 of 16 free throws for a game-high 24 points.
“Of any player I’ve had, she’s improved the most,” Stallings said of Merkle, a Bellarmine commit. “And, especially this year, there’s been a lot more pressure, and she’s grown up and matured and been able to handle that. We’re all very proud of her and what she accomplished here.”
Moir has been involved in all six Sacred Heart state championships, one as a player in 1976 and the rest as its coach in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2021 and this year. The Valkyries now have one more crown than Butler, Ashland Blazer and the defunct Laurel County program.
Moir declined to rate this team compared to her other champions.
“Each team is special … you can’t compare it … So, I think, let me talk about it when we get three in a row,” Moir joked. “We’re going to enjoy this state championship. I think that’s one of the things I’ve learned from back when I was an earlier coach. It is hard to win the state championship. Things have to go right for you. We stayed injury free. It’s tough. And to defend your title is even tougher.”
Attendance figures
This year’s Girls’ Sweet 16 drew a total of 32,245 fans to Rupp Arena over the four days of the event, well above the pandemic 2021 season, but still shy of the 40,852 that attended in 2019 before COVID-19.
Last year, 21,914 fans attended the girls’ tournament under COVID-19 restrictions. There were no COVID restrictions on this year’s event.
Friday’s afternoon session, which included large fan contingents from Bullitt East and Meade County, set a Rupp Arena record for the Girls’ Sweet 16 with 6,790 fans. It was the third largest girls’ crowd at any venue for the event. Wednesday’s first round afternoon session’s 5,028 fans also beat its corresponding 2019 number (4,725,) but the other sessions this year fell below pre-pandemic marks.
This is the last year of a four-year contract the Kentucky High School Athletic Association has with Rupp Arena for the girls’ tournament. KHSAA officials have said they are in talks to renew.
Saturday’s championship game drew 4,460 fans for a game between a Louisville-area public school and a Louisville private school playing less than 12 hours after a major snowstorm. In 2019, 5,607 fans attended the title game between Ryle of northern Kentucky and Southwestern of Pulaski County.
All-tournament team
Patience Laster (Franklin County); Peyton Bradley (Meade County); Saniyah Shelton (Bowling Green); Ciara Byars (George Rogers Clark); Kinsley Molden and Makayla Noritis (Southwestern); Liz Freihofer and Whitney Lind (Cooper); Emma Egan, Gracie Merkle and Lilly Reid (Bullitt East); Josie Gilvin, Triniti Ralston and Most Valuable Player ZaKiyah Johnson (Sacred Heart)
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 7:48 AM.
