‘Not getting complacent.’ Sacred Heart basketball positioned for state title three-peat.
The Valkyries of Sacred Heart Academy have won five girls’ basketball state championships under the leadership of Donna Moir: an unstoppable three-peat in 2002, 2003, 2004, and a back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
As the 2022-23 regular season comes to a close and the postseason looms, all eyes are on the No. 1 team in the state again. The Valkyries, recent champions of the Louisville Invitational Tournament, have dominated the landscape of Kentucky girls’ basketball in recent years, and, despite losing five seniors from last season’s 36-3 campaign, don’t seem to be slowing down.
Sacred Heart (24-3) has plenty to stand on again this season. Moir’s experience. Three players averaging double figures in scoring. Veteran leadership in lone senior and 2023 McDonald’s All-American nominee Triniti Ralston. High-level defense.
All of that was put to the test Tuesday night when the defending Sweet 16 champions visited seventh-ranked George Rogers Clark, putting on the line a 35-game winning streak against teams from Kentucky dating to last season.
The Valkyries’ only losses this season have come at the hands of three of the top programs in the nation — La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), Archbishop Mitty (Calif.) and Incarnate Word Academy (Mo.).
What works so well for this season’s roster?
“I think, not freaking out and not getting complacent, either,” Sacred Heart star ZaKiyah Johnson said after Tuesday night’s 54-53 victory over George Rogers Clark. “Coming into a hostile environment and being down is not something we’re used to. Just keeping our calm and being chill and playing together is a big accomplishment for my team.”
Johnson, the reigning Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year for girls’ basketball and one of the top recruits in the class of 2025, leads the Valkyries in scoring with 21.8 points per game. The 5-foot-11 sophomore scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds Tuesday night.
“She garners two-to-three people every time she touches the ball,” Moir said of Johnson. “And she’s calm, she keeps everybody calm. She’s capable of making the big shots and, if she’s outside, she can get inside, she just does so many things for us.”
Tuesday’s win was a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 quarterfinal game in Rupp Arena, in which Sacred Heart defeated George Rogers Clark 59-40. This time, the Cardinals pressed SHA into its only single-digits escape this season. Sacred Heart’s 24 wins have come by an average of 29.2 points.
Johnson, alongside juniors Reagan Bender (14.4 points per game) and Angelina Pelayo (11.0), provide a strong offensive core for Sacred Heart. But Ralston, who averages 8.9 points, and her senior presence is a major factor.
“To me, I think she’s Kentucky’s Miss Basketball,” Moir said. “If you look at her resume versus anybody else in the state, any senior in the state, she should get Miss Basketball.”
Sacred Heart has produced two Kentucky Miss Basketball winners, both of whom played a role in the Valkyries’ last quest for a three-peat of the state title: Crystal Kelly (2004) and Carly Ormerod (2005).
Ralston takes her role seriously.
“Everyone on the team looks up to me since I’m the only senior,” Ralston said. “And I gotta make sure I set a good example on and off the court. Making sure everybody’s into practice on time, making sure we’re doing what we need to do on the court, making sure everybody’s grades are up. All of that.”
And with just three games remaining in the Valkyries’ regular season, it’s full speed ahead. Despite the continued success, Moir is reminding her roster that there’s plenty of work to be done. Nothing is promised, even for Sacred Heart, as evidenced by Tuesday night’s close call on the road.
“I think it’s that time of year,” Moir said. “Where we’ve been going awhile and we’ve gotta pick up our practices, our intensity, and build for the end of the season. We’ve gotta have everybody practice and play like they’re gonna play 32 minutes. I think it’s gonna help us down the stretch.”
No team has scored more than 65 points against Sacred Heart this season. And no team in the state has found a way to score more than 59. The Valkyries take pride in their defense.
When asked what the key would be to earning another state title, Ralston was clear.
“It’s our defense,” Ralston said. “... That’s what helped us win the championships back-to-back these past two years. So, if we just keep working on that, then everything else will come.”
No. 1 Sacred Heart will finish its regular season with home games against Atherton (Feb. 10), Mercy (Feb. 12) and Bullitt East (Feb. 16). The Valkyries’ top challenger in the 7th Region figures to be fifth-ranked DuPont Manual (22-2), a team whose only two losses have been to SHA.
George Rogers Clark (17-7) had won four in a row entering Tuesday night’s contest. The Cardinals are undefeated in their district and region with four regular-season games left to play.