‘Outstanding’ defense powers Sacred Heart in near-record Sweet 16 win over Johnson Central

A couple of late jumpers in the first quarter breathed life into Johnson Central’s bid to upset Sacred Heart. Then the four-time defending state champs pulled the plug.

After a brief lull, the Valkyries rolled to a 71-25 win Thursday morning in the first round of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls Basketball Sweet 16 state tournament in Rupp Arena.

Johnson Central’s Kaylyn McKenzie lifted the lid with a 3-pointer. The Golden Eagles (27-4) led for a little over two minutes before Sacred Heart (32-3) ripped off a 14-0 run and never looked back. Johnson Central pulled to within six on a long 2 from the corner by Maddie Prater late in the opening period; the 15th Region champs then went almost 13 full minutes of game time before scoring again.

ZaKiyah Johnson, who prior to tip-off was named Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year for a fourth straight season, scored the bulk of her 26 points amid a 32-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter to about midway through the third. The LSU signee stuffed the stat book, ending the day with 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocks. She made as many field goals (11 of 14) as Johnson Central did as a team (11 of 32).

“I just kinda went into today knowing that it was my last first here at Rupp Arena,” Johnson said. “I want to show everything I got, leave it all out on the floor every game, and that’s what I did today.”

Karlea Stanley drove into the paint and connected on a floater to stop the Valkyries’ onslaught with 5:04 left in the third quarter, by which a running clock was in effect. Sacred Heart then scored the next seven points. The Valkyries nearly broke their own state-tournament record for margin of victory, 48, set by the 2004 edition. Their 46-point margin was the second most in the event’s history.

Sacred Heart held Johnson Central, which went 14–0 against region rivals, 40 points below its scoring average. The Valkyries scored 31 points off 21 turnovers.

“Our defensive effort was just outstanding,” Sacred Heart head coach Donna Moir said. “We worked really hard on our scout with them, shout-out to my second team for running their offense to a T. Our defense really dictated our offense today.”

The Valkyries await the winner between Cooper and Mercy Academy, who played in a first-round game Thursday afternoon. They defeated both teams in their only meetings this season.

ZaKiyah Johnson’s greatness

During a pre-tournament conference call, Moir said she believes Johnson might be the best girls basketball player to come through Kentucky. Her fourth consecutive Gatorade recognition is another endorsement of that; she’s the state’s first player to achieve that feat since the award began in 1986, pushing past Elizabethtown’s Erin Boley (three). She’d already received the honor more times than fellow Sacred Heart star Crystal Kelly, whom Moir also coached at the turn of the century, and Ryle’s Maddie Scherr; they both were awarded twice.

Following his team’s defeat, Johnson Central head coach Jim Hicks likened Johnson to Ukari Figgs, Kentucky’s 1995 Miss Basketball at Scott County. Hicks got to see Figgs up close quite a bit while he was a boys basketball assistant at Scott County under his uncle, the late Billy Hicks.

“She’s a three-level scorer: she can take it to the rim, she can hit the mid-range and she can shoot the three,” Hicks said. “She’s 6-foot-1, she’s got length, athleticism. And she plays really hard. A lot of times, your special players, elite players, they just turn it on and off.

“That young lady plays hard all the time, at least what I’ve seen on film and what I saw out there just a bit ago.”

This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM.