Sixteen things to get you ready for Kentucky’s 2025 Girls’ Sweet 16 basketball tournament
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2025 Girls’ Sweet 16 basketball preview
Click below to view more coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com previewing the girls’ state high school basketball tournament to be held March 12-15 in Rupp Arena in Lexington.
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The 2025 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16 begins Wednesday as teams from around the state will square off to see who will capture the high school game’s ultimate prize.
Here are 16 things to think about as the state tournament returns to Rupp Arena:
1. Potential Heart stoppers
Sacred Heart’s historic run to a record fifth straight Girls’ Sweet 16 title and ninth overall seemed almost inevitable until their Valentine’s Day defeat at Simon Kenton this season.
The Pioneers’ 75-70 overtime win at home broke Sacred Heart’s 92-game win streak against Kentucky competition, which included perfect runs in the last three state tournaments. And Simon Kenton did so playing only five players as Valkyries standouts ZaKiyah Johnson and Amirah “Tootie” Jordan fouled out down the stretch.
Though Sacred Heart ran the table against their regular season and playoff slate from there, it barely survived the 7th Region semifinals against Louisville rival Assumption, eking out a 45-44 win before routing Manual in last Thursday’s finals.
“My therapist loves me,” Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said in response to a question Monday about pressure on this year’s team.
According to the final media rankings of the regular season, Sacred Heart has a tough road to the big gold trophy this year with No. 3 Cooper, No. 9 Henderson County and No. 2 George Rogers Clark the worst-case scenario opponents at each stage if they get past Johnson Central in Thursday’s opener.
But the Valkyries have played and beaten more teams in this state tournament field than anyone else this season, going 7-1 with wins against Ashland Blazer, George Rogers Clark (twice), Cooper, Mercy, Danville Christian and Douglass.
2. “Z”
If ZaKiyah Johnson does not hear her name called as Miss Basketball at this Sunday’s Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony at Lexington’s Griffin Gate Marriott, it would rank as the biggest snub in Kentucky high school basketball history.
Johnson, Sacred Heart’s three-time Girls’ Sweet 16 most valuable player, has simply been magnificent in her four seasons with the Valkyries and two before at Shelby County.
“I think she is the best high school basketball player to ever come through Kentucky,” Moir said Monday.
The 6-foot, five-star, Louisiana State signee has earned three consecutive Kentucky Gatorade player of the year honors, three straight Herald-Leader player of the year honors (voted on by coaches) and been named first team all-state by both the Herald-Leader and Courier Journal as a freshman, sophomore and junior. She was even Herald-Leader second team all-state at Shelby County as an eighth grader.
Entering this week, Johnson has tallied 3,788 points and 1,519 rebounds, marks that rank her among the top 10 in scoring and top 20 in rebounding in KHSAA history. And she holds Sacred Heart’s school record for assists with 555 and counting, an average of 3.7 assists per game.
As a senior, Johnson has averaged 21.3 points and seven rebounds per game as the best player on the state’s No. 1 team four years running.
All that’s left is to see if she and the Valkyries can keep adding to their legends.
3. Miss Basketball finalists abound
In addition to Johnson, the tournament field also includes six other region players of the year who were named Miss Basketball finalists last month by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation and the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches.
Two of them will square off in Wednesday’s 11 a.m. opener when North Laurel and Murray State signee Brooke Nichelson take on Ashland Blazer and Eastern Kentucky signee Kenleigh Woods. Nichelson, a 5-11 forward, averages 23.7 points per game while Woods, a 5-9 point guard, puts up 15.8.
Pikeville signee Kyra McAlarnis (22.6), a 5-10 guard leads, Knott County Central against Taylor County at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Wednesday’s 6 p.m. game pits George Rogers Clark’s Michigan signee Ciara Byars (10.4 points) against Franklin-Simpson’s Tennessee Tech signee LaReesha Cawthorn (20.8 points).
Finally, Danville Christian boasts 6-foot-5 Louisville signee Grace Mbugua (22.3 points, 13.6 rebounds), who will pose a serious threat to Daviess County at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
4. On the radar
There’s no shortage of sensational underclassmen in Lexington this week. Among them: Kenzlee Terry (13.9 points, 2.8 3s per game), Marshall County sophomore; Brooklyn Gibson (13.4 points) and A’Tylia Green (12.7 points), Henderson County juniors; Kennedy Lane (18.4 points), Daviess County junior; Kennedy Deener (18.5 points), Taylor County eighth grader; Abby Reitzel (15.7 points), Mercy junior; Amirah “Tootie” Jordan (13.1 points) and Brianna Wilkins (11.8 points), Sacred Heart sophomore and junior, respectively; Brynli Pernell (14.8 points), Simon Kenton sophomore; Haylee Noel (15.2 points), Cooper sophomore; Kennedy Stamper (11.4 points) and Teigh Yeast (10.7 points), George Rogers Clark, sophomore and junior, respectively; Jaelee Knowles (17.8 points) and Tamia Waide (11.8 points) Frederick Douglass, sophomore and eighth grader, respectively; Paisley Metz (14,3 points), Danville Christian junior; Karlea Stanley (11.4 points), Johnson Central freshman; and Gabby Karle (11.3 points), Ashland Blazer junior.
5. Present and future comeback stories
Region championship teams aren’t immune to injury. At least five tournament teams have dealt with having a key player out due to injury for part of this season.
▪ Naja Nolan, Franklin-Simpson senior point guard, missed the Wildcats’ first 18 games with a stress fracture in her foot.
▪ Clark’s Byars missed the first 14 games of the season as she recovered from a knee injury suffered last January. She returned to the lineup Jan. 31.
▪ Danville Christian’s Mbugua suffered a knee injury at a summer camp but beat predictions and returned to action in just seven months. She missed 12 games.
▪ Ashland Blazer’s Woods suffered a broken leg playing for the soccer team in September. She returned to the basketball lineup Jan. 3.
▪ Woods’ teammate Gabby Karle missed 12 games after suffering a broken bone in her hand in preseason.
▪ Unfortunately, Frederick Douglass’ second-leading scorer, Kate Baker, a Transylvania commit, suffered a season-ending knee injury against Cooper on Feb. 18. With the rest of the season dedicated to her, the Broncos rolled through the 11th Region.
6. Going for The Double
Danville Christian will try to be the first team since Lexington Christian in 2008 to win both the All “A” Classic small-school state championship and the Girls’ Sweet 16 in one season. Hazard also achieved the rare double in 2004.
DCA became the first school to sweep the boys and girls All “A” Classic crowns this year.
7. Knott County Central’s sister act
It’s not unusual for high school teams to have siblings on the roster. However, Knott County Central has taken that up a notch.
The Patriots have three sets of sisters — senior Kyra McAlarnis and seventh grader Dani McAlarnis; senior Drew Reed and eighth-grader Frankie Reed; and junior Addison Conley and eighth grader Aidyn Conley.
But somehow, junior Rachel Combs and eighth graders Avery Combs and Aubrey Combs aren’t related, coach Megan Mosley said.
8. Put it on repeat
Henderson County leads the pack in the number of consecutive Girls’ Sweet 16 appearances with seven. Sacred Heart has made six straight, Cooper and George Rogers Clark have each made four straight and Danville Christian is here back-to-back years.
9. First-time appearances
Daviess County is making its first state tournament appearances as winners of the 3rd and 5th regions, respectively.
Daviess County (21-12) overcame a horrific start to the season, going 1-5 out of the gate. The Panthers were 10-10 on Feb. 1 with two of their ultimately three losses to 9th District rival Owensboro Catholic.
In fact, Daviess hadn’t beaten Owensboro Catholic since 2012. Their region finals win over the Aces on Sunday snapped a 33-game losing streak in the series.
Meanwhile, Taylor County is making its first trip since 1977. The Cardinals are led by eighth grader Kennedy Deener, a 5-7 guard who tops them in scoring and helped them reach the Class 2A Championships finals in Owensboro on Jan. 19, a 48-46 loss to Franklin County.
10. Schedule strength
While the KHSAA’s quirky RPI standings don’t properly account for how tough out-of-state opponents are in any sport, they do offer a glimpse into how tough a team’s in-state opponents have been.
Based on opponents’ winning percentage, Sacred Heart (0.67016) has faced the toughest schedule this season. George Rogers Clark (0.66383) and Cooper (0.66077) are close behind. The easiest schedule among Girls’ Sweet 16 teams goes to Knott County Central (0.51233).
11. Preseason expectations
Ahead of the season, 108 coaches statewide voted in the Herald-Leader’s preseason poll. How’d they do? Ten of this week’s 16 teams made our preseason top 25.
They are H-L preseason No. 1 Sacred Heart, No. 2 George Rogers Clark, No. 6 Cooper, No. 7 Henderson County, No. 8 Ashland Blazer, No. 9 Danville Christian, No. 11 Franklin-Simpson, No. 12 North Laurel, No. 14 Frederick Douglass and No. 20 Simon Kenton.
12. Final media poll rankings
Nine teams ranked in the final media poll of the regular season made it to Rupp Arena. They are No. 1 Sacred Heart, No. 2 George Rogers Clark, No. 3 Cooper, No. 4 Franklin-Simpson, No. 6 Simon Kenton, No. 7 North Laurel, No. 9 Henderson County, No. 10 Danville Christian, and No. 12 Frederick Douglass.
13. Postseason predictions and upsets
Kentucky High School Basketball Media Poll members from across the state also forecast this year’s field. None of the 16 journalists polled picked Marshall County, Daviess County or Mercy to be here this week. Those three along with Taylor County, Knott County Central and Johnson Central were unranked before and after the regular season.
14. Sizing them up
Dave Cantrall, the Herald-Leader’s longtime basketball and football computer rankings guru, retired last year and there’s been no suitable replacement. So to compare this year’s matchups head-to-head, let’s turn to the RPI to rank the teams 1-16. Games are listed by tipoff time. (Statistical RPI rating in parentheses).
Wednesday’s first-round games
11. Ashland Blazer (0.61088) vs. 2. North Laurel (0.72001)
10. Taylor County (0.63202) vs. 15. Knott County Central (0.57978)
4. Franklin-Simpson (0.68937) vs. 7. George Rogers Clark (0.66208)
3. Simon Kenton (0.7031) vs. 9. Frederick Douglass (0.649)
Thursday’s first-round games
1. Sacred Heart (0.7217) vs. 8. Johnson Central (0.65504)
5. Cooper (0.68933) vs. 16. Mercy (0.52563)
6. Henderson County (0.67706) vs. 12. Marshall County (0.63141)
13. Danville Christian (0.62871) vs. 14. Daviess County (0.58623)
15. Top team stats
Scoring offense: Sacred Heart, 73 points per game. Scoring defense: Franklin-Simpson, 35.2. Scoring margin: North Laurel, 27.6. Field goal percentage: North Laurel, 50.3. 3-point field goal percentage: Daviess County, 38.5%. Free-throw percentage: Daviess County, 74.4%.
16 Top individual stats
Scoring: Brooke Nichelson, North Laurel, 23.7. Rebounding: LaReesha Cawthorn, Franklin-Simpson, 10.8. Field goal percentage: Eliyah Strode, George Rogers Clark 59.7%. 3-point shooting: Skylar Waller, Marshall County, 2.8 makes per game. 3-point percentage: Waller, Marshall County, 46.7%. Free-throw percentage: Haylee Noel, Cooper, 86.4%.
2025 Girls’ Sweet 16
What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion.
When: Wednesday through Saturday
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Tickets available for purchase at KHSAA.org.
Online bracket: Girls’ Sweet 16 schedule
WEDNESDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES
11 a.m.: Ashland Blazer (21-10) vs. North Laurel (31-2)
1:30 p.m.: Knott County Central (24-7) vs. Taylor County (24-8)
6 p.m.: George Rogers Clark (25-7) vs. Franklin-Simpson (28-2)
8:30 p.m.: Frederick Douglass (25-7) vs. Simon Kenton (26-4)
THURSDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES
11 a.m.: Johnson Central (27-3) vs. Sacred Heart (31-3)
1:30 p.m.: Mercy (19-14) vs. Cooper (25-5)
6 p.m.: Henderson County (27-5) vs. Marshall County (25-6)
8:30 p.m.: Danville Christian (25-7) vs. Daviess County (21-12)
FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
11 a.m.: Ashland Blazer-North Laurel winner vs. George Rogers Clark-Franklin-Simpson winner
1:30 p.m.: Frederick Douglass-Simon Kenton winner vs. Knott County Central-Taylor County winner
6 p.m.: Danville Christian-3rd Region winner vs. Henderson County-Marshall County winner
8:30 p.m.: Johnson Central-Sacred Heart winner vs. Mercy-Cooper winner
SATURDAY’S GAMES
11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s afternoon session
1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session
7:30 p.m.: Championship
Freelance writer Josh Moore contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 6:50 AM.
