Sixteen things to get you ready for Kentucky’s 2024 Girls’ Sweet 16 basketball tournament

The 2024 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 begins Wednesday as teams from around the state will square off to see who will capture Kentucky high school basketball’s ultimate prize.

Here are 16 things to think about as the state tournament returns to Rupp Arena:

1. Can anyone stop Sacred Heart?

Louisville’s No. 1 Sacred Heart (27-7) comes in as the three-time defending Sweet 16 champions and an overwhelming favorite to win an unprecedented fourth straight state title.

The old Laurel County and Sacred Heart have each won three straight titles. The Valkyries have done the three-peat twice and have seven championship overall, the most of any school.

Sacred Heart has not lost to a Kentucky team since 2022, a streak of 69 games, but it now faces perhaps its toughest path to the finals of this historic run.

The Valkyries begin with George Rogers Clark (30-4) on Thursday. The Cardinals ranked as the No. 4 team in the state at the end of the regular season, according to final Dave Cantrall Ratings. Also on the Valkyries’ side of the bracket are No. 2 Cooper (29-4), No. 6 Bethlehem (26-8) and No. 13 Pikeville (27-5).

Bethlehem and Cooper represent the two next-highest rated teams in the tournament and could be in Sacred Heart’s path in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

2. Two-time MVP

One of the reasons why Sacred Heart has been so successful lately is ZaKiyah Johnson, a 6-foot junior guard/forward who averages 18.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and has already twice been the Girls’ Sweet 16’s most valuable player.

A five-star recruit with offers from dozens of colleges, Johnson has narrowed her list to 12 that include LSU, Connecticut, South Carolina and … you get the idea. She’s rated as the No. 5 junior in the nation by ESPN’s HoopGurlz and is a two-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year.

3. Miss Basketball candidates

This year’s tournament features seven Miss Basketball candidates, who were their respective region’s players of the year as voted on by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches.

▪ Claire Johnson of McCracken County (22.9 points per game), a 5-10 guard committed to Samford has been part of the Mustangs’ three straight Sweet 16 appearances.

▪ Mariah Knight (15.5 points) and Ramiyah White of Butler (11.4 points) shared the 6th Region’s player of the year honors and make the Bearettes a formidable foe. White, a 6-3 center, is committed to Kentucky while Knight, a 5-7 guard, has picked Jacksonville.

▪ Reagan Bender of Sacred Heart (13.6 points), an uncommitted 5-10 guard, has been a big part of all three Valkyries state titles.

▪ Carly Smith of Owsley County, a 5-6 guard, has helped lead the Owls to their first Girls’ Sweet 16.

▪ Trinity Rowe of Pikeville (16.2 points), a 5-5 point guard committed to Southern Mississippi, has been a starter since seventh grade and is making her fifth Sweet 16 appearance.

▪ Shaelyn Steele of Russell (21.3 points), a 5-6 guard committed to Penn State, has helped bring the Red Devils to Rupp in three of the last five seasons.

4. Juniors rock

In addition to Sacred Heart’s Johnson, the tournament features a number of top-flight juniors who have garnered a ton of recruiting interest.

Bethlehem’s Leah Macy (25.3 points per game), a 6-2 forward, ranks as the No. 8 player in the class of 2025, according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz. Macy is making her second Sweet 16 appearance after helping Mercy to the 6th Region championship last season.

Other standout juniors here this week include: Danville Christian’s Grace Mbugua (25.1 points and 15.1 rebounds), a 6-4 forward already committed to Liberty; Anderson County’s Lainey Johnson (19.4 points); Bowling Green’s Katy Smiley (10.8 points); Franklin County’s Leia Hogan (11.2 points), Henderson County’s Allyson Rideout (12.0 points), one of three double-digit scoring underclassmen for the Colonels; North Laurel’s Brooke Nichelson (17.8 points); and Owensboro’s Shalyn Sprinkles (14.6 points).

Unfortunately, George Rogers Clark’s Ciara Byars, another HoopGurlz top-60 player, suffered a season-ending knee injury in January.

5. Coaching milestones

Sacred Heart’s Donna Moir won the 800th game of her career when the Valkyries claimed the 7th Region title last week. Franklin County’s Joey Thacker topped 500 wins this season, as did Pikeville’s Kristy Orem and McCracken County’s Scott Sivills. All appear on the KHSAA’s all-time wins list, where Moir ranks third behind retirees Randy Napier of Perry County Central and Jeff Haile of Henderson County.

6. Torch passed

Stephen Haile was hired last year to succeed his legendary father at Henderson County and has the Colonels back in the state tournament, where they’ve been a fixture from the 2nd Region for 10 of the last 11 years. Stephen Haile was an assistant for his father for 11 seasons before spending two years as head coach at Daviess County.

7. Trimmed down

George Rogers Clark coach Robbie Graham has slimmed down over the last year thanks to inspiration and motivation from his wife, he said.

“She started to diet and lost a bunch of weight,” said Graham, who’s noticeably more active on the sideline, too. “God has blessed us both, and I couldn’t let a young buck come in and take her away from me after 27 years, so I thought I’d better do something.”

8. The other champs here

Sacred Heart isn’t the only team with state championship experience in this year’s tournament. Bethlehem features eight players who were part of the Banshees’ 2023 girls state soccer champions.

Five of them started in Bethlehem’s stunning 4-3 win over Sacred Heart’s soccer team, including championship game MVP Carlie Thurmond and sisters Ashlyn and Tessa Miles, who each blasted clutch goals in the last five minutes to help deliver the school’s first soccer title. Those three each average double figures as starters on the basketball team.

Thurmond, Bethlehem’s point guard, scored two first-half goals in the title game and is going to continue her athletic career as a soccer player at Morehead State.

9. Repeat visitors

There are a number of teams here this week who are on a streak of region championships.

North Laurel has won back-to-back. McCracken County, Cooper and Clark are all here for the third straight time. Bowling Green, Bethlehem and Sacred Heart have made it five straight, while Henderson County has six in a row.

Pikeville, Anderson County and Franklin County have been Sweet 16 regulars for a number of seasons, but all were on the outside looking in last year.

10. Newcomers

Both Danville Christian (29-2) and Owsley County (26-9) are making their first state tournament appearances.

And while Owensboro (20-11) has been to state eight times, it’s been a while. The Red Devils last made the Girls’ Sweet 16 in 1992.

But that doesn’t hold true for Owensboro’s leading scorer, Shalyn Sprinkles, who is a Henderson County transfer. This makes her fourth straight Sweet 16.

11. Preseason expectations

Ahead of the season, 98 coaches statewide voted in the Herald-Leader’s preseason poll. How’d they do? Twelve of this week’s 16 teams made our preseason top 25.

They are H-L preseason No. 1 Sacred Heart, No. 2 George Rogers Clark, No. 3 Bethlehem, No. 4 Cooper, No. 5 McCracken County, No. 7 Pikeville, No. 10 Butler, No. 11 Franklin County, No. 14 Henderson County, No. 15 North Laurel, No. 22 Anderson County and No. 25 Russell.

12. Upset cities

A couple of this week’s participants knocked off their region’s favorites to get here. The biggest might be Owensboro’s 4th Region championship win over Cantrall No. 5 Owensboro Catholic. Meanwhile, Bowling Green (23-10) went unranked all year and knocked off No. 17 Franklin-Simpson in the 3rd Region semifinals, handing the Wildcats just their second loss.

13. Schedule strength

While the KHSAA’s quirky RPI standings don’t properly account for how tough out-of-state opponents are in any sport, they do offer a glimpse into how tough a team’s in-state opponents have been.

Going on that basis, Cooper has faced the toughest in-state schedule of this year’s Sweet 16 teams with an opponent’s winning percentage of 0.68113. Pikeville (0.65038) and North Laurel (0.64151) come next. The easiest schedule goes to Danville Christian, whose opponent’s winning percentage was 0.5189.

All seven of Sacred Heart’s losses have come to out-of-state opponents, many of them nationally ranked, so the Valkyries can claim the hardest schedule overall despite the RPI system’s inability to properly weigh it.

14. Sizing up the matchups

Here’s how this year’s first-round matchups look competitively, according to the Cantrall ratings for the Girls’ Sweet 16 field. Games are sorted from tightest ratings matchup to biggest disparity. Don’t be fooled, however. There are upsets every year. Sometimes big ones. This year, many games appear to be coin flips on paper.

▪ 5. Franklin County (29-6), 83.9 vs. 6. North Laurel (29-5), 83.2 (FC +0.7).

▪ 14. Owensboro (20-11), 77.0 vs. 13. Henderson County (25-7), 78.7 (HC +1.7)

▪ 10. McCracken County (29-5), 81.4 vs. 6. Russell (28-6), 83.2 (Russell +1.8).

▪ 3. George Rogers Clark (30-4), 87.1 vs. 1. Sacred Heart (27-7), 89.7 (SH +2.6).

▪ 4. Bethlehem (26-8), 85.1 vs. 8. Pikeville (27-5), 82.5 (Bethlehem +2.6).

▪ 12. Butler (26-8), 78.8 vs. 9. Anderson County (32-2), 81.5 (AC +2.7).

▪ 15. Bowling Green (23-10), 73.5 vs. 16. Owsley County (26-9), 66.4 (BG +7.1).

▪ 2. Cooper (29-4), 87.7 vs 11. Danville Christian (29-2), 79.3 (Cooper +8.4).

15. Top team stats

Scoring offense: Bethlehem, 72.7 points per game. Scoring defense: Anderson County, 33.3. Scoring margin: George Rogers Clark, 27.9. Field goal percentage: Bethlehem, 49.8%. Three-point field goal percentage: Bethlehem, 38%. Free-throw percentage: Anderson County, 75.7%.

16. Top individual stats

Scoring: Leah Macy, Bethlehem, 25.3. Rebounding: Grace Mbugua, Danville Christian, 15.1. Field goal percentage: Macy, Bethlehem, 69.3%. Three-point shooting: Trinity Rowe, Pikeville. 2.7 makes per game. Three-point percentage: Aaliyah Lynch, Owsley County, 45.2%. Free-throw percentage: Jenna Satterly, Anderson County, 86.6%.

2024 Girls’ Sweet 16

What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion.

When: Wednesday through Saturday

Where: Rupp Arena

Tickets: Tickets available for purchase at KHSAA.org/tickets.

Girls’ Sweet 16 schedule

WEDNESDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES

11 a.m.: Bowling Green (23-10) vs. Owsley County (26-9)

1:30 p.m.: McCracken County (29-5) vs. Russell (28-6)

6 p.m.: Butler (26-8) vs. Anderson County (32-2)

8:30 p.m.: Franklin County (29-6) vs. North Laurel (29-5)

THURSDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES

11 a.m.: Bethlehem (26-8) vs. Pikeville (27-5)

1:30 p.m.: Owensboro (20-11) vs. Henderson County (25-7)

6 p.m.: George Rogers Clark (30-4) vs. Sacred Heart (27-7)

8:30 p.m.: Cooper (29-4) vs. Danville Christian (29-2)

FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINALS

11 a.m.: Bowling Green-Owsley County winner vs. McCracken County-Russell winner

1:30 p.m.: Butler-Anderson County winner vs. Franklin County-North Laurel winner

6 p.m.: George Rogers Clark-Sacred Heart winner vs. Bethlehem-Pikeville winner

8:30 p.m.: Cooper-Danville Christian winner vs. Henderson County-Owensboro winner

SATURDAY’S GAMES

11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s afternoon session

1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session

7 p.m.: Championship

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2024 Girls’ Sweet 16: Rosters for every basketball team in the state tournament

High school basketball: Dave Cantrall’s ratings for the 2024 Girls’ Sweet 16 field

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