Sacred Heart is going for its third straight state championship this week. (Twitter Photo)
Excuse Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir for being the master of the understatement.
“I just have a really good starting five,” said Moir Monday on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association pre-state tournament media call. “We can score from all five positions.
Pretty good?
Sacred Heart is 32-3 this year and all three losses are to out of state teams. The only close to a Kentucky team was 54-53 to George Rogers Clark Feb. 7. But Sacred Heart beat Bowling Green 75-47, Mercy 85-41, Cooper 52-40, Frederick Douglass 60-50 — and they are all also in the state tourney along with Sacred Heart and GRC.
Sacred Heart has not lost a postseason game since the first round of the 2020 state tournament. The Valkyries have won the last two state championships and are an overwhelming favorite to make it three in a row.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Moir said about the postseason streak. “I just have a lot of good kids. I am never going to apologize for winning. We are looking forward to that continuing.”
Sacred Heart opens state play Wednesday afternoon against 15th Region champion Lawrence County which will be making its first state appearance. Moir had a warning for opponents, too.
“We don’t get caught up in rankings. We just try to play the opponent in front of us,” Moir said.
Sacred Heart is led by sensational sophomore ZaKiyah Johnson who averages 22.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She is a 74 percent foul shooter and 52 percent shooter overall from the field. Johnson has also taken 189 3-pointers this year and made 75 — a 39.7 percent mark.
Moir said she has taken her game to another level.
“What she has done in the postseason has been incredible,” Moir said. “She lives for those big games. She has worked really hard.
“She worked tirelessly over the summer on 3-point shooting. She made seven against Central. It has been fun to watch her develop what was a weakness and make it a strong option.”
Angelina Pelayo, a 6-3 center, averages 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She shoot 63 percent from the field
“She has got a lot of confidence. Not many people have a girl 6-3 like her who keeps the ball over her head,” Moir said. “She runs the floor exceptionally well. She can defend. Our kids do a really good job finding her in transition and in the half court. She is also an amazing passer out of the post.”
Senior guard Triniti Ralston scores 8.2 points per game but is going to her fourth straight state tournament.
“She has sacrificed a lot of scoring. She had 10 assists against Central, nine assists against Manual. She has sacrificed her glory for the team,” Moir said.
Guard Reagan Bender scores 14.8 points per game and is a 47.5 percent shooter from the field with 56 3-pointers.
“Ask anybody in the state and they are going to say Sacred Heart is the favorite,” GRC coach Robbie Graham said. “They have really good personnel. They have really good size. They are so well disciplined. They are really hard to score against. They’ve got girls who score from the perimeter and they can throw it inside and score. They are a tough matchup for anybody.”
Frederick Douglass coach Daryl Moberly’s team lost 60-50 to Sacred Heart on Dec. 29.
“Anybody can be beat. I do think that. Sacred Heart is a great, well coached team. They play together,” he said. “They definitely are the team to beat.”
