Girls Sweet Sixteen Day Two, Pt. 2
The final two games of first-round action at the 2022 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament are now in the books as eight teams have advanced to the quarterfinals, which is set to take place at Rupp Arena throughout Friday.
But on Thursday night, it was the George Rogers Clark Lady Cardinals and the Sacred Heart Lady Valkyries who came out of the opening round with wins over Corbin and Anderson County, respectively.
To open the back half of the day’s schedule, GRC was powered by 21 points and eight rebounds from freshman Ciara Byars while 7th-grade point guard Kennedy Stamper added 10 points and 10 rebounds despite clocking in at clean 5-feet. The score was tight for most of the contest before the Lady Cardinals made their run in the third quarter. Corbin’s under 30 percent shooting clip from the field did them no favors as their state title run came to a close with GRC taking the win 42-35.
During game two, in what was a rematch of last year’s Sweet Sixteen semifinals matchup between defending champion Sacred Heart and Anderson County, there would be no revenge for the Lady Bearcats. Lady Valkyrie wing ZaKiyah Johnson, one of the top freshmen in the entire country according to ESPN, posted 16 points and seven rebounds while incoming Kentucky WBB commit Amiya Jenkins finished with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and 11 turnovers for Anderson County.
Friday’s quarterfinals schedule
11:00 a.m. – Southwestern vs. Franklin County
1:30 p.m. – Bullitt East vs. Meade County
6:00 p.m. – Cooper vs. Bowling Green
8:30 p.m. – George Rogers Clark vs. Sacred Heart
Now let’s dive into the full recap from Thursday’s final two games.
George Rogers Clark 42, Corbin 35
Both George Rogers Clark and Corbin got off to a slow start offensively as the Rupp Arena nerves needed a couple of minutes to melt away. But once they did, the action quickly picked up. The pace received a jolt as transition opportunities were traded ahead of the first media timeout.
The score was knotted at 8-8 with a little over two minutes left as quick buckets were exchanged. The two teams would eventually settle in though before a big 3-pointer from 7th grader Kennedy Stamper with under a minute left gave GRC a 13-10 lead heading into the second quarter. The Lady Cardinals were led by six points and two rebounds from freshman Ciara Byars while Corbin saw five different players score in the opening eight minutes.
The second quarter started out as a defensive battle. Open looks were hard to come by as both units locked in on that end of the floor, preventing any easy shot attempt. Corbin’s Kallie Housley would score the first points of the second frame after nearly three minutes ran off the clock — a pair of free throws that trimmed the GRC lead to 13-12. But Byars would counter right back to get the Lady Cardinals on the board, as well.
A pair of buckets from Housley and Darcie Anderson would push Corbin back in front 16-15, but another timely 3-pointer from Stamper put GRC in front 18-16 at the intermission. Byars led the way with eight points and six rebounds while Stamper added six points and six rebounds of her own.
Byars got herself going early in the third quarter, adding five points in under 90 seconds to balloon the Lady Cardinals’ advantage to 23-16. Corbin would finally add some points thanks to a triple from Anderson, putting her at a team-high nine points on the contest, but not before four-plus minutes ran off the clock.
GRC would make a mini-run down the stretch of the third period, scoring four points in the final minute to take a commanding 30-21 lead into the final frame. Byars was up to 16 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Cardinals while Anderson had nine for Corbin.
The Lady Redhounds would immediately score four much-needed points out of the gate to start the fourth quarter, forcing GRC head coach Robbie Graham into a timeout as Corbin cut the deficit to five at 30-25. The defensive intensity began to ramp up a notch for Corbin, forcing the Lady Cardinals into multiple turnovers. The scoring would pick up, too, but George Rogers Clark always had an answer, holding a 37-32 lead at the final media timeout.
GRC would enter the bonus in the closing minutes, extending the lead to 39-32 with under two minutes remaining. The Lady Cardinals would hit enough free throws to keep Corbin from making a last-ditch effort. GRC would seal the win by a final score of 42-35, advancing them to the quarterfinal round on Friday night.
Byars finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for GRC on 7-14 shooting while Stamper, who is listed at 5-feet tall, added 10 points and 10 rebounds on two made triples. Trinity Gay contributed five points while Tyra Flowers hauled in 11 boards.
Anderson led the way for Corbin, posting 13 points and two rebounds while Housley added 10 points. Shelby Stewart went for eight points and five rebounds. The Lady Redhounds shot just 27.1 percent from the floor and was outrebounded by 16.
Sacred Heart Academy 48, Anderson County 38
The fourth and final game of the night started out much like the third — nervous energy sneaking its way into the rhythm early. Nearly four minutes elapsed before Sacred Heart’s star freshman ZaKiyah Johnson finally found the basket. She would steal a pass on the next possession and run out for an easy layup to give the Valkyries a 4-0 advantage at the first media break.
Kentucky WBB’s class of 2022 commit Amiya Jenkins was forcing the issue with little success, turning the ball over five times after just five minutes of action. The future ‘Cat would lock in quickly though, dishing a dime to Lainey Johnson in the corner for a 3-pointer that finally got Anderson County on the scoreboard.
But Johnson got back to work on the other end for Sacred Heart, converting another shot at the rim before connecting on a free throw and a big triple in the corner. She was up to 10 points and two rebounds after the first quarter as the Lady Valkyries took a 12-3 lead into the second period.
After a short rest in between quarters, Anderson County finally came alive as both sides began to run up some points. Senior guard Paige Serafini was up to 13 points midway through the second period for the Lady Bearcats as the Sacred Heart lead was cut to 18-16 at the 3:17 mark.
Serafini wasn’t done there though. She drilled another 3-pointer to give Anderson County its first lead of the night at 19-18. However, Alex Wolff hit a layup with under 10 seconds before the half to give Sacred Heart a slight 20-19 advantage at the break. Serafini posted 16 points on 5-7 shooting while Johnson added 12 points and was a perfect 5-5 from the floor for the Lady Valkyries.
Sacred Heart’s Reagan Bender would open the third quarter scoring after nearly two minutes went by, giving the Lady Valkyries a three-point cushion. But Jenkins would finally hit her first shot of the game after missing the previous seven before knocking down a pair of free throws to put Anderson County back in front.
Kentucky Miss Basketball candidate Josie Gilvin would answer for Sacred Heart but Jenkins wasted no time getting back to the line. Halfway through the third period, the Lady Bearcats held a slight one-point lead. But a 6-0 run from the Lady Valkyries would shift the momentum back their way before Jenkins once again responded. At the second media timeout, Anderson County found itself down 30-27.
Sacred Heart would go for the kill once play resumed. The Lady Valkyries rattled off a devastating 9-0 run in the final 1:36 to take a commanding 39-27 lead into the fourth period. Johnson was up to 14 points on a still-perfect 6-6 shooting while Bender poured in 10 more.
Jenkins would strike first to begin the fourth, cutting the Sacred Heart lead down to 10. Scoring came to a sudden halt for both teams though, as neither side hit another shot going into an Anderson County timeout at the 4:31 mark. The next several possessions saw a few scores as the Lady Bearcats managed to get within eight points with under two minutes to go. Jenkins worked her way back to the charity stripe to make it just a seven-point hole but Anderson County was forced to foul the rest of the way.
The final minute was never in doubt for Sacred Heart, as the Lady Valkyries locked up its spot in the quarterfinals by a final score of 48-38. Sacred Heart advances to the quarterfinals on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. where they’ll face off against George Rogers Clark for a shot at the semifinals.
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