Girls’ Sweet 16 basketball: Opening-day wrap-up from Rupp Arena

The 66th Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament tipped off with four first-round games Wednesday in Rupp Arena.

Four more first-round games are on tap for Thursday. Who will else punch their tickets to Friday’s quarterfinals?

Follow along live Thursday as Jared Peck of the Lexington Herald-Leader provides live updates from courtside along with freelance writer Josh Moore.

Scroll down below to read their Twitter updates.

Wednesday’s first-round games

Game 1: North Laurel 51, Ashland Blazer 42 | Box score | Recap | Slideshow.

Game 2: Taylor County 53, Knott County Central 35 | Box score | Recap | Slideshow.

Game 3: George Rogers Clark 64, Franklin-Simpson 42 | Box score | Recap | Slideshow.

Game 4: Frederick Douglass 48, Simon Kenton 39 | Box score | Recap | Slideshow.

Thursday’s first-round games

Game 5: Sacred Heart 71, Johnson Central 25 | Box score | Recap.

Game 6: Cooper 70, Mercy 45 | Box score | Recap.

Game 7: Henderson County 45, Marshall County 30 | Box score | Recap | Slideshow.

Game 8: Danville Christian 53, Daviess County 40 | Box score | Recap | Slideshow.

More Sweet 16

Bracket: View the tournament pairings and scores

TV, radio: How to follow the state tournament

Sweet 16 predictions: A look at every team, plus @HLpreps’ game-by-game picks

Sweet 16 preview: Sixteen things to watch during the Sweet 16

Rosters: View the lineups for every team

Statistics: View stats leaders for every team

Live updates

View live, in-game updates on Twitter/X from the Sweet 16.

This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 10:45 AM.