Cooper Jaguars lose to Sacred Heart, 78-61, in quarterfinals of 2025 KHSAA Sweet 16
LEXINGTON — For the third time in the last four state tournament, the Cooper Jaguars' season ended at the hands of the No. 1 team in the state, the Sacred Heart Valkyries.
The Valkyries attacked on defense and swarmed the backboards on their way to a 78-61 victory on Friday in a quarterfinal of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got the win," Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said. "I thought we did some really good things offensively once we got them in foul trouble a little bit. We started getting some drives to the basket.”
Sacred Heart (33-3) advanced to the state semifinals for the fifth straight year and will face No. 10 Danville Christian (27-7) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. A win would move the Valkyries to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. championship, where they would seek a fifth straight state title.
On Friday, Sacred Heart was led by its "Big Three" of ZaKiyah Johnson (20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists), Bri Wilkins (16 points) and Tootie Jordan (10 points, five rebounds, four steals).
Morgan Frey added 9 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and Riley Gilvin pitched in 9 points and three assists.
Two statistical categories told the story of the game:
* Cooper committed 22 turnovers, and Sacred Heart scored 27 points off them.
* Sacred Heart won the rebounding battle 37-25 and turned 18 offensive boards into 25 second-chance points.
“Two big keys we talked about, we had to take care of the ball and we had to rebound," Cooper coach Justin Holthaus said. "They got on the glass a lot. … They look like volleyball players, just keep bouncing it off the glass and they go and get it.”
Sophomore Haylee Noel scored 34 points to lead No. 3 Cooper (25-6), which was in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year and was eliminated by Sacred Heart for the third time during that span.
Holthaus, who has just one senior on his roster, was asked about the prospect of returning to the Sweet 16 in 2026 and not having to face Johnson, who has signed with LSU.
“I’m glad she’s graduating," he said with a laugh. "She doesn’t have a COVID year, does she?”
The Valkyries built a 31-20 halftime lead and maintained a double-digit advantage the entire second half.
Johnson said focusing on defense allowed Sacred Heart to get the game at a more advantageous pace in the second half, when the Valkyries outscored the Jaguars 47-41.
“That’s where we look when the offense isn’t really going the way that we want it to," Johnson said. "Picking the pace up on defense and speeding them up, that’s our pace. We know they’re kind of a slower team, so just speeding them up motivated us on the offensive end.”
Cooper's lone senior, Zene Thompson, was often tasked with guarding the opposition's tallest players this season. She did so admirably, shutting down the likes of Jayden McClain, Sophia Gibson and Marissa Green.
Returning four starters and the entirety of their bench, the Jaguars should be favorites to win the Ninth Region for a fifth straight season. Sophomore Haylee Noel will be the best player in the region. She was named to the Sweet 16 all-tournament team after averaging 29 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
Sacred Heart 78, Cooper 61
COOPER 9 11 21 20 – 61
SHA 17 14 24 23 – 78
Cooper (26-6) – Addyson Brissey 3, Haylee Noel 34, Brinkli Rankin 3, Alivia Scott 2, Zene Thompson 12, Lyric Hooper 7.
Sacred Heart (33-3) – Tootie Jordan 10, ZaKiyah Johnson 20, Bri Wilkins 16, Caroline Osting 5, Morgan Frey 9, Becca Carson 5, Tahri Ralston 2, Gabby DeCamillis 2, Riley Gilvin 9.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Girls Sweet 16: Cooper falls against Sacred Heart
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