Gracie Merkle, Bullitt East dominate Southwestern; advance to Sweet 16 title
There was no stopping Grace Merkle from leading her Bullitt East squad to the championship game of the 2022 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament.
The 6-foot-6 senior put the Lady Chargers on her back in the semifinals against the Southwestern Warriors, cruising to a dominant 66-42 win where the final score was never truly in doubt. Bullitt East led from start to finish and will now face the winner of Cooper and Sacred Heart during Saturday night’s title matchup, which is set for 7:00 p.m. EST inside of Rupp Arena.
Merkle was the star of the contest, dropping an insane 27 points, 21 rebounds, and five blocks on 10-15 shooting. Southwestern simply had no answers for the star post player, as she was an immovable force in the paint. The Lady Chargers shot 46 percent from the field while holding Southwestern to just 26 percent and a poor 6-31 clip from beyond the arc. Bullitt East outscored Southwestern in the paint by 30.
“It was a whale of a ball game. I thought our kids did a really good job of coming out of the gate, being ready to go,” Bullitt East head coach Chris Stallings said postgame. “We had told them, the last time we played Southwestern, those kids were not going to quit. And we really preached that to our kids in the film room last night and in the locker room today. We just knew that they were going to play us and battle us for four quarters and that’s what they did.
“I’m proud of my bunch, they hung tough and they were ready to play. It’s been a goal of ours to reach this point all year. That’s what we’re working on. I’m proud of our team and I’m really happy for our community and our school, and our kids, to be in this position.”
Bullitt East came out playing technically sound basketball on offense, whipping the ball from side to side before penetrating to the middle. And if the first action or two wasn’t there, a Lady Charger would lob the ball down low to Merkle for easy scores at the rim. The Bellarmine commit was hauling in any and every offensive rebound as Bullitt East took an 11-2 lead midway through the first frame.
It wouldn’t get any easier for Southwestern, either. Merkle closed the first quarter with 10 points and seven rebounds as Bullitt East took a commanding 19-5 lead into the second frame. Emma Egan was up to five points for the Lady Chargers while Ayden Smiddy paced the Warriors with all five of her team’s points.
Southwestern switched up its defense during the short break, electing to pack the paint, which prevented Merkle and Bullitt East from scoring for the first four-plus minutes of the second period. The Warriors would slowly fight back thanks to another score from Smiddy plus an and-one from Kaylee Young that cut the Bullitt East lead down to 19-10.
The Lady Chargers would finally get on the board in the second with a Merkle free throw, which was followed up by an Egan layup, extending the Bullitt East back to double-digits at 22-10. BE head coach Chris Stallings continued to force the ball inside to Merkle, who was up to an incredible 15 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks at the half. Bullitt East took a sizable 28-14 advantage into the intermission.
It didn’t matter if Southwestern brought a double- or even triple-team, Merkle found the basket, despite battling through plenty of contact.
“I just keep going up strong whenever they do double-team me,” Merkle said postgame. “Some people were pitching it to me so I just kept going up strong, kept wanting my teammates to get me the ball so I could go to that free-throw line. Then I got in a little physical battle my teammates calmed me down and just told me it’s going to be okay.”
Bullitt East didn’t let off the gas to begin the second half. The Lady Chargers won the first four minutes 8-4 before Egan and Smiddy traded baskets, making it 39-20 in favor of BE at the media timeout. Merkle was up to 18 points and 17 rebounds on an efficient 7-9 shooting clip while Smiddy was the first Southwestern player to hit double-digits, although she needed 16 shots to reach that mark.
By the end of the third quarter, Bullitt East was in full control, leading 45-22 with just eight minutes left until a berth in the championship bout. Merkle was up to 22 points and 18 rebounds while Egan was not too far behind with 11 points and seven boards.
Southwestern would actually begin the fourth quarter on an 11-5 run midway through, but still trailed 50-33. From there, with no shot clock available, the Warriors were forced to foul Bullitt East to try and get the ball back. The Lady Chargers brought in the reserves down the stretch for its victory lap, eventually sealing the win by a final score of 66-42.
“It’s awesome. To be back in this position, we knew that we could get back here and we worked really hard all season,” Bullitt East guard Lilley Reid said postgame. “We have so many pieces that we put together to be successful. We have drivers, we have shooters, and next game we’re gonna need all of them to close it out.”
For the game, Merkle finished with a wild stat line of 27 points, 21 rebounds, and five blocks on 10-15 shooting in 27 minutes of action. Egan’s day came to a close with 13 points and eight rebounds while Jada Hughes posted eight points and two assists for Bullitt East. Meanwhile, Smiddy contributed 11 points, but on 4-20 shooting for Southwestern while Young added 11 points of her own on 4-8 shooting, in addition to four rebounds.
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