Sacred Heart girls basketball wins 3rd straight state title

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After a scare in the morning semifinal, Sacred Heart girls basketball was at its devastating best in beating a good McCracken County team Saturday night at Rupp Arena to claim its third consecutive state championship.

The Valkyries trailed 5-0, then scored 15 straight points and led by double digits nearly the rest of the way. They shot a stunning 71 percent for the game, making 27-of-38 shots, including 5-of-10 threes and won 68-53 over the Mustangs.

They beat George Rogers Clark 57-53 Saturday morning to advance to the title game.

The team's lone senior Triniti Ralston set the tone as always on defense. She finished with seven steals and five assists. Juniors Reagan Bender and Angelina Pelayo scored 19 and 17 points respectively. Bender hit 3-of-6 from deep and Pelayo made all seven of her shots from the field, joining the 1,000-point club for her career in the process.

Sophomore Zakiyah Johnson simply let the legend grow.

She made 12-of-14 shots for 30 points, just one shy of Clemette Haskins mark for a championship game set in 1983. Johnson also had eight rebounds and five assists and was named tournament MVP for the second straight year.

For coach Donna Moir, it was win number 773 in her amazing career. It was her sixth title as a coach and the second three-peat. She also won three straight titles in 2002-2004 with the Valkyries. Plus she played on the school's other title team in 1976.

And despite the fact that SHA only loses Ralston to graduation, Moir isn't thinking ahead to next year.

"We're gonna enjoy this for sure," said Moir. "It's hard. I've had enough disappointment in all my coaching where we've had really good teams and something happens. It is special to win a championship. I'm not even thinking about next year. We're just going to enjoy this one."

The Valkyries finished 36-3 for the second straight year. Each of those losses came to out-of-state teams.