KHSAA Sweet 16: Sacred Heart vs South Laurel Recap and Standouts

The 2020 Kentucky girls basketball season appears to have come to an unceremonious end, or at least an extended break, with the rest of the Sweet Sixteen being suspended indefinitely.  Before that announcement was officially made, there was one final game between two elite teams.  And if this is the end of the season, Sacred Heart and South Laurel made sure it ended on a high note. The South Laurel Lady Cardinals defeated the Sacred Heart Valkyries 58-57 in a great game.  Considered by many to be the favorites to cut down the nets, Sacred Heart fell to a hot shooting night from the Lady Cardinals.  While the trio of [player_tooltip player_id="80496" first="Erin" last="Toller"], [player_tooltip player_id="80506" first="Kristen" last="Clemons"], and Triniti Ralston did all they could to keep the Valkyries in it, leading a furious 4th quarter comeback while holding the Lady Cardinals without a field goal in the final 5:36, they could not do enough to come back from South Laurel’s 59% shooting from beyond the arc.  The Lady Cardinals played with enough composure to hold onto the lead and take home the victory.  Here are the players who most shown in what may be the final game of the season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80501" first="Amerah" last="Steele"], South Laurel- </strong>Any discussion of South Laurel’s offensive firepower today has to start with Steele.  She was on fire, scoring 20 points while making 3 of 4 deep balls.  The senior guard also took advantage of her teammates’ strong shooting to set them up with some nice passes, doing more to increase ball movement than her 2 assists suggest.  She was simply hot and could not be stopped, leading the Lady Cardinals to victory. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80506" first="Kristen" last="Clemons"], Sacred Heart- </strong>Even in defeat, Clemons put together one of the most complete performances possible from a low post player.  The senior center scored 15 points off her strong inside play, pulled down a game-high 12 boards, blocked an incredible 7 shots, came up with 3 steals, and showed off her passing ability with 5 assists.  Without Clemens inside domination, which was just as impressive as they sound from that statline, Sacred Heart would never have had a chance in this game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80495" first="Ally" last="Collett"], South Laurel- </strong>While South Laurel’s victory was primarily a result of their 10-17 shooting from beyond the arc, Collett served as the team’s most versatile offensive weapon.  While she only made a single 3 pointer as part of a 12 point effort, her true value came from setting up teammates for open shots, resulting in 6 assists for Collett.  She also did a nice job taking care of the ball against a Valkyrie defense that caused plenty of turnovers and contributed 3 steals on the other end as the Lady Cardinals’ top perimeter defender. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80496" first="Erin" last="Toller"], Sacred Heart- </strong>While the shooting numbers (5-17 overall, 3-11 from deep) are not particularly impressive for Toller, they don’t convey how crucial she was in creating offense for the Valkyries.  The senior forward was constantly on the attack, trying to get shots for herself and her teammates, not letting the Sacred Heart stagnate and keeping them in the game until the very end despite South Laurel’s ridiculous outside shooting.  The end result was a team-high 16 points in the Kentucky commit’s final high school game. <strong>Sydnie Hall, South Laurel- </strong>Another of South Laurel’s hot shooters, Hall showed off her excellent stroke.  The senior guard knocked down 3 shots from beyond the arc and was a perfect 2-2 from the foul line in a game where free throw shooting was critical.  She also pulled down 4 rebounds to help the Lady Cardinals’ effort on the boards. <strong>Triniti Ralston, Sacred Heart- </strong>The third part of Sacred Heart’s impressive trio, Ralston was on the attack much like Toller, trying to generate enough offense to keep the Valkyries going.  While her volume of contributions did not match Toller, she was slightly more efficient, resulting in 14 points.  The freshman guard also battled hard for an impressive 9 rebounds, showing her fire and toughness throughout. <strong>Rachel Pressley, South Laurel- </strong>While perimeter play was the key to South Laurel’s victory, they still needed a strong inside presence to avoid getting dominated around the basket.  Pressley played that role impressively, pulling down 9 rebounds and blocking 2 shots to go with 9 points.  Perhaps the biggest sign of Pressley’s importance was the way Sacred Heart’s Clemons dominated while Pressley was on the bench in foul trouble.  Had Pressley not been able to limit Clemons’ impact the rest of the game, things likely would have ended differently for the Lady Cardinals.