The Road to State: SHA wins Seventh Region Title

Sacred Heart Academy defeated Manual High School 59-52 in the Regional Championship this Saturday at Valley High School. The teams split the series 1-1 in the regular season.

Sacred Heart dominated the first quarter, with sophomore Ashley Harris and junior Kiki Samsel hitting a combined five three pointers. The Valkyries ended the first quarter with a strong lead: 26-14.

Samsel was the team’s lead scorer with 16 points. Junior Grace Berger, freshman Kristen Clemons, and Harris followed with 11 points each.

“I think our team played very unselfishly and we all worked together,” Samsel said. “We played awesome defense and rebounded well, which was our two main goals going into the game. We could still improve on our defense and communicating on the court.”

The Valkyries went 20 for 23 from the foul line. Kristen Clemons went 5-6, Berger 4-4, Samsel 3-4, and Harris 2-2.

“We are playing some of the best basketball we have played,” Coach Donna Moir said. “Since Christmas, we are 24-1 against some of the top competition in the country. I think the leadership and the chemistry with this team has really developed over the year. Our motto is 14 strong and I think that they have really come together as a team and have played for each other, which is something you want to see as a coach.”

Manual followed closely behind to make the game 50-47 with 1:50 left in the game. The Valkyries fought in the last two minutes to defeat the Crimsons 59-52.

Berger, Harris, and Samsel were named 7th Region All Tournament Team.

Sacred Heart will move on the the Sweet 16 Basketball Tournament to face defending state champion Butler. The game will be at Northern Kentucky University at noon on March 8.