By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON — Their time as teammates didn’t end the way they dreamed it would, but five seniors on the Cooper girls basketball roster will cherish what they accomplished together once the bitter disappointment of a season-ending loss in the state tournament wears away.
In a semifinal showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the final state media poll, Louisville Sacred Heart defeated Cooper, 58-50, Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena. It was the 72nd consecutive victory against in-state opponents over the last three seasons for the top-ranked Valkyries, but it didn’t come easily.
Cooper senior Logan Palmer is closely guarded by Claire Russell of Sacred Heart during the state semifinal game. (Photo by Ted Jackson)
Cooper pulled to within five points, 47-42, with 1:54 left in the game. To manage the clock, the Jaguars had to foul and Sacred Heart players made 11 of 12 free throws to secure their third victory over the Jaguars this season.
“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to come out here and fight to the end,” said Cooper senior guard Liz Freihofer. “In the fourth quarter, we knew we had to make a push and we were going to be physical with them and give them everything we had.”
During the post-game press conference, Cooper coach Justin Holthaus praised the five seniors who played on three 9th Region championship teams, reached the state semifinals twice and set a team record for most wins by going 31-5 this season.
“It’s going to be really tough (without them), but I know what they have left behind for the rest of the group,” the coach said. “That fire and that hungriness and just that determination resonates with a lot of the (returning) girls in that locker room right now.”
Sacred Heart went on to defeat McCracken County, 60-49, in the title game Saturday night to become the first team to win four consecutive Kentucky state championships in girls or boys basketball. The Valkyries (31-7) had double-digit victory margins against all of their post-season playoff opponents, except Cooper.
“I just want to start out and say how much respect I have for the Cooper program,” Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said after the semifinal game. “We played them three times this year and it’s been a battle every time we played them.”
After opening the game with a 5-0 spurt, Cooper didn’t score on its next seven possessions and the first quarter ended with Sacred Heart holding a 9-5 lead. In the second quarter, the Valkyries went on an 11-0 run, with the last six points coming on transition baskets, that put them ahead 20-8.
Cooper senior Liz Friehofer tries to dribble past ZaKiyah Johnson of Sacred Heart. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
In the final seconds of that quarter, junior guard ZaKiyah Johnson scored another fast-break basket that gave Sacred Heart a 26-17 halftime advantage.
At the break, Cooper was shooting just 19.2 percent (5 of 26) from the field, but four of the five field goals were 3-pointers and that kept the score close.
The Jaguars scored nine of their 13 points in the third quarter off treys and freshman guard Haylee Noel hit another one at the start of the fourth quarter that trimmed Sacred Heart’s lead to 38-33.
But the Valkyries responded with a 9-2 spurt that put them ahead, 47-35, on a basket by Jackson after a missed free throw with 3:14 remaining on the clock.
Freihofer revived Cooper’s hopes of an upset by scoring seven straight points to make it 47-42 at the 1:54 mark. That’s when the Jaguars started fouling when they couldn’t force a turnover and Sacred Heart won the game at the free throw line.
“It was a battle,” coach Holthaus said. “It was back-and-forth and we just couldn’t get over that hump. We had some nice looks (on shots) and just missed them. But, you know, at the end of the day we were right in that game. And I knew we were going to be right in that game, fighting until the very ending buzzer.”
Liz Freihofer tries to hold back her tears as she leaves the game and gets a hug from Cooper coach Justin Holthaus. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
Cooper’s leading scorers were Friehofer and senior guard Logan Palmer with 15 points each. The two state all-tournament team selections provided five of 11 3-point goals and 11 of 25 rebounds for the Jaguars. Senior forward Bella Deere made three 3-point goals for nine points to go along with three assists.
The Jaguars ended up shooting 35.4 percent from the field, going 11-of-25 from beyond the 3-point line and 6-of-23 closer to the basket.
“We knew we had to stretch them out a little bit,” coach Holthaus said of the Sacred Heart defense. “They’re so good at being physical with our ball-handlers and walling us off around the rim. There was a lot of times where we weren’t finishing through contact and weren’t shooting with a lot of confidence around the rim.”
Sacred Heart shot 41.9 percent (18 of 43) with 26 of its 58 points coming in the paint. They also had a 20-5 scoring advantage at the free throw line. The Valkyries’ scoring leader was sophomore guard Tootie Jordan with 17 points. Johnson finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Johnson was named the state tournament’s most valuable player for the third straight year after getting 21 points, six rebounds and four assists in Saturday night’s championship game.
COOPER 5 12 13 20 — 50
SACRED HEART 9 17 12 20 — 58
COOPER (31-5): Deere 3 0 9, Palmer 5 3 15. Noel 1 2 5, Freihofer 6 0 15, Brissey 1 0 3, Rankin 1 0 3. Totals: 17 5 50.
SACRED HEART (30-7): Russell 4 0 8, Bender 1 4 5, Pelayo 3 2 8, Johnson 5 4 15, Jordan 5 6 17, Howe 0 2 2. Totals: 18 20 58.
Three-point goals: C — Deere 3, Freihofer 3, Palmer 2, Noel, Brissey, Rankin. HC — Johnson, Jordan.
