Who might the Lady Purples face on their way to a championship?
By Perry Swack
Opening Round – Bishop Brossart (21-5)
We already know who the Lady Purples will face in the opening round of the state tournament – Bishop Brossart. The 10th Region champions out of Alexandria are making their first trip to the state tournament since 2001. The Lady Mustangs, or ‘Stangs as they are affectionately called, knocked out the four-time defending region champion George Rogers Clark in the region semifinals en route to their first title in 20 years.
The Lady ‘Stangs feature one of the state’s premier players in Marie Kiefer. The Ball State commit was recently named the Northern Kentucky Girls Basketball Coaches Association’s player of the year in Division II for a second-straight season after averaging 20.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. The 6’3 forward will be hard for any opposing team to handle; however, the Lady Purples boast a talented frontline that would seemingly be able to counter a talented player like Kiefer. Senior guard Jordan Rowe was also named to the Division II all-season team and provides leadership on the court for Brossart.
Quarterfinals – Sacred Heart (21-7)
Sacred Heart – the 7th Region champion – faces off against the 14th Region champion Knott County Central Lady Patriots. The Valkyries will be favored in this game and projected to meet the winner of Bowling Green-Brossart. If the Lady Purples face off against Sacred Heart, it will have to contend with a roster as balanced as theirs. It all begins with guard Triniti Ralston. The sophomore is averaging 12.8 points per game to lead the Valkyries, while getting to the line a whopping 175 times where she is a 70% shooter. Junior Josie Gilvin is the team’s leading rebounder at 7.2 per game and is averaging 9.6 points per contest. Freshman center Angelina Pelayo is ranked ninth statewide in field goal percentage at 61%. The Valkyries are twelfth in the state in scoring at 64 points per game, while also top 30 in defense at only 43 points per game. Their scoring margin of 21.0 is seventh statewide. Should the Lady Purples meet the Valkyries in the quarterfinals, there would be some really fun individual matchups between the two clubs.
Semifinals – Anderson County (26-2)
It would be a major upset if the winner of the opening round matchup between Anderson County and Southwestern did not advance to the semifinals. Anderson County is ranked #1 in the state in the MaxPreps rankings, while slotting in at #3 in the KHSAA RPI. Southwestern is #6 in the RPI and #7 in the MaxPreps rankings. I predict that the Lady Bearcats of Anderson County will advance to the semifinals where it could await the Lady Purples should they also advance. Their only two losses of the season are to the #1 and #2 teams in the RPI – Ryle and Boyd County. Neither of those schools advanced out of their region tournament though, making Anderson County a favorite to take home the state crown.
It all starts with Amiya Jenkins for coach Clay Birdwhistell’s team. The junior guard is averaging 17.2 points per game. She is shooting better than 54% from the field and nearly 72% from the free throw line with 100 made attempts. Although Jenkins is the only Lady Bearcat to average in double figures, four players average between 7.6 and 9.2 points per game. Senior guard Tiffani Riley is the team’s second-leading scorer at 9.2 points, while hitting 43% of her three-point attempts. Sophie Smith is at 8.8 points per game and leads the Lady Bearcats with 44 three-point goals.
Championship Game – Bethlehem (25-4)
Should the Lady Purples reach the state championship game, they would be the first 4th Region school to do so since Allen County-Scottsville in 2015. The bottom side of the bracket has six of the top eight teams per KHSAA RPI, led by Marshall County who slots in just behind Anderson County for the highest-rated team in the field. Bethlehem, Bullitt East, Dixie Heights, Russell, and Henderson County all have high hopes to reach the finale as well. However, I think the favorite to make it out of the bottom-half of the bracket is Bethlehem. The Banshees only four losses are all against top-15 teams, including a loss against each of the top three teams in the state. They also hold wins over some of the top teams in the state – Elizabethtown, Bardstown, Marshall County, Apollo, and Bowling Green.
Coach Jason Clark’s club has four players who average in double figures, led by Ella Thompson at 17.6 points per game. The senior led the Banshees with 13 points in a 53-41 win over Bowling Green in late February. Senior point guard Amelia Hodges is the team’s second-leading scorer at 15.4 While Thompson also leads the team at 9.7 rebounds per game, sophomore Emma Filiatreau is not far behind at 8.7 per contest and grabbed 12 in the victory over the Lady Purples. The Banshees are incredibly talented and well-balanced. It would be an exciting matchup with both teams buzzing should the Lady Purples meet up with them in the finale.
