Sacred Heart team chemistry is coming together and the Valkyries look like they are working towards peaking at the right time of the year. The LIT had to instill confidence in this group that they now know they can play with anyone. I think they believe they can be a player in the 7th region. Should be a fun next four weeks of basketball!

 

Sacred Heart should have Male on it's schedule. How can you not have a region contender on your schedule, any reason? If I'm a coach, I want to know what I'm up against, no surprises. I do like their overall schedule, it is solid.

Sacred Heart, Butler and Manual all return their core team next year so the 6th and 7th region will be well represented in the Sweet 16. The 5th. 6th and 7th regions have dominated the girls Sweet 16 the last 20 years outside of Lexington Catholic. My 5th region girls have made a statement being a major player 4-6 past years.

Sacred Heart should have Male on it's schedule. How can you not have a region contender on your schedule, any reason? If I'm a coach, I want to know what I'm up against, no surprises. I do like their overall schedule, it is solid.

Sacred Heart, Butler and Manual all return their core team next year so the 6th and 7th region will be well represented in the Sweet 16. The 5th. 6th and 7th regions have dominated the girls Sweet 16 the last 20 years outside of Lexington Catholic. My 5th region girls have made a statement being a major player 4-6 past years.

 

SHA used to play Male every year until Male opted not to play based on master scheduling. Can do more boy/girl options versus all girl scheduling (less revenue). I am sure the two teams will be playing each other again. They did play over the summer.

SHA used to play Male every year until Male opted not to play based on master scheduling. Can do more boy/girl options versus all girl scheduling (less revenue). I am sure the two teams will be playing each other again. They did play over the summer.

Male is the best team in the 7th region at present, but now is not when the districts and regions are played. Anything can and will happen between now and tourney time.

Male is the best team in the 7th region at present, but now is not when the districts and regions are played. Anything can and will happen between now and tourney time.

 

I agree with you, but I like Sacred Heart's chances. They are really coming together at the right time.

I thought Male was way ahead of everyone in the 7th until I watched part of the LIT. But I thought Butler was way ahead of the 6th until I saw a scrappy North Bullitt team take them to the wire? So what the heck do I know???

Male getting thumped by Henderson was a shocker to me. I thought that was going to be a good tune up for state, but the only effort they displayed was getting off the bus. Then tonite, Sacred Heart beating PRP by just 8, jet lag maybe?

Male getting thumped by Henderson was a shocker to me. I thought that was going to be a good tune up for state, but the only effort they displayed was getting off the bus. Then tonite, Sacred Heart beating PRP by just 8, jet lag maybe?

 

All players on roster played tonight. Might be saving energy for Franklin County Thursday and Covington Holy Cross on Sunday.

Nice article in the Louisville Catholic Sports on the young Valkyries.

 

Catholic Sports Network Advertising

 

Conor Revell

 

Staff Writer

 

Fab freshmen have refreshed Valkyries

 

 

Rarely does a good high school basketball team have three freshmen who see significant playing time, but Sacred Heart does.

 

And the Valkyries usually win with guard Kiki Samsel and forwards Grace Berger and Kia Sivils playing significant minutes — and a lot of times that group of freshmen starts.

 

The trio helped defending Seventh Region champion Sacred Heart improve its record to 16-6 with a 45-37 victory over visiting Pleasure Ridge Park Monday night.

 

Berger, Samsel and Sivils combined for 16 points and 21 of SHA’s 38 rebounds against PRP.

 

“I thought they would be good,” Sacred Heart head coach Donna Moir said. “We were fortunate to watch them a little bit over the summer. Then when the preseason came around, we were able to see how talented they were. We just needed them to jell with everybody and learn the speed of the varsity level. I think that took them a little bit of time, but they adjusted.”

 

Throw in freshman forward Cierra Scott, who sees sporadic minutes on the varsity and is a starter on the junior varsity, and you have a special bunch.

 

Senior guards Gretchen Samsel, Kiki’s older sister, and Ashley Johnson have watched the freshmen flourish.

 

“I think they have a lot of talent, but I don’t think we have seen the best of them yet,” Gretchen Samsel said. “They’re obviously really good right now, but they have a whole lot more potential even this year. They have great things ahead of them.”

 

Meredith Moir, Meghan Randal, Addie Meiners and April Gahafer are also seniors who have helped along the way despite not getting as much playing time as Johnson and Gretchen Samsel.

 

“I’m really proud of my six seniors,” Donna Moir said. “They have really done a good job of paving the way to make this year’s freshman class feel comfortable. It’s hard to play with freshmen, but my seniors don’t look at them as freshmen anymore. They’re 22 games into their first year now. I think they showed them the ropes and hopefully they know what Sacred Heart basketball is about now.”

 

It’s hard to fathom that the Valkyries would still be a top team in the Seventh Region after losing stars DaiJia Ruffin (UT-Martin) and Raven Merriweather (Bellarmine) off last year’s state tournament team. But it is.

 

“I knew that we were going to have some freshmen come in and get a lot of playing time,” said Johnson, who had nine points and six steals against PRP. “They have really stepped up and I wasn’t expecting that. They have worked really hard and I’m proud of what they have done.”

 

Moir is cautious about comparing the trio to Carly Ormerod’s 2001 freshman class that lost only one game during their first three seasons and won three straight state titles.

 

Asked where she would rank this freshman class, Moir answered, “That’s a good question. Carly Ormerod’s group was pretty good with Taylor Koppel, Jackie Distler and Allison Denbow. That was a very talented group. I would say this group is right up there with them as far as a class as a whole.”

 

Ormerod was named the 2005 Kentucky Miss Basketball and played at the University of Kentucky.

 

Crystal Kelly was a sophomore during Ormerod’s freshman season and was named the 2004 Miss Basketball. She went on to play at Western Kentucky University and is now an assistant coach at Bellarmine University.

 

With Gretchen Samsel out for the season after suffering a torn ACL, Moir has asked the freshmen to step up even more.

 

“That was a tough blow,” Moir said about losing her senior guard. “Grace Berger, she can eventually be a Miss Basketball and set every freshman record that we have. She’s that talented and that good. And then you have Kiki, who is a real good ballplayer. She doesn’t care if she starts. She just wants to come in and contribute. I think Kiki has stepped up since Gretchen got hurt and it made her play harder. It means something to her a little bit more.”

 

Gretchen was averaging 5.8 point per game when she went down against Newport Central Catholic three weeks ago.

 

Kiki is similar to Gretchen, a dangerous three-point shooter who can go off at any time. The sharpshooter has hit 30 of 71 three-point shots and is averaging 7.4 points per game.

 

“It’s bittersweet watching her because I don’t get to play with her,” Gretchen said. “But it’s fun watching her play. She has stepped up to the plate. I used to be a starter and now she’s stepping into my shoes and hitting all the outside shots. I like it and I think it’s a good thing that I’m getting to watch her play.”

 

Berger is averaging a team-high 12.6 points and 5.7 rebounds.

 

“I think they’re so good because they had a lot of experience playing before this year,” Johnson said. “Grace plays with us on AAU. Kia and Kiki played up. They have a lot of experience.”

 

Sivils complements Berger and is a monster when it comes to going after rebounds. She grabbed 10 against PRP and is averaging 5.1 points and 5.1 boards.

 

“She’s beast mode,” Moir said. “Kia has done a really good job. Her scoring opportunities haven’t been there quite as much, but we’ve used her to be our lockdown defender. We’ve always given her the toughest assignment.”

 

Berger, Kiki and Sivils made a name for themselves in last week’s Louisville Invitational Tournament when SHA advanced to the quarterfinals and gave top-ranked Elizabethtown its toughest instate battle this season.

 

After winning 11 of its past 13 games, Sacred Heart is looking like a team that could contend for another Seventh Region championship.

 

If the Valkyries don’t make it back to the state tournament this year, they will have Berger, Kiki and Sivils around for three more seasons with hopes of winning the school’s first state title in 11 years.

 

“It’s funny because they were so timid coming into the program this summer,” Gretchen said. “But they have all opened up so much. They have improved so much and all of them contribute.”