By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Cooper girls basketball team posted one of the biggest wins in program history Friday when the Jaguars defeated five-time defending state champion Sacred Heart Academy, 65-62, in Louisville.
Sacred Heart entered the game with a 97-1 record against in-state opponents over four seasons. The Valkyries’ only loss during that run was to Simon Kenton, 75-70, in a regular season game last February. They had won the previous eight games they played against Cooper with three coming in state tournament matchups.
Last year, Cooper’s season ended with a 78-61 loss to Sacred Heart in the state quarterfinals and the Jaguars lost a regular season home game, 60-49, to the Valkyries in January.
In Friday’s rematch, Sacred Heart led by eight points twice, 28-20 in the second quarter and 37-29 in the third quarter, but Cooper rallied both times. After the Valkyries went ahead, 60-55, with 2:04 left in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars responded with a 10-2 run to pull off the upset.
A 3-point goal by senior guard Lyrick Hooper started the game-winning run. Junior guard Alivia Scott scored six of Cooper’s last seven points with a 3-pointer, jumper in the lane and free throw.
Cooper’s leading scorer was senior guard Addyson Brissey, who got 15 of her 21 points in the first half. Junior guard Haylee Noel posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Scott finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Sacred Heart got most of its scoring from guards Tootie Jordan and Brianna Wilkins, who netted 24 points each. The Valkyries shot 41.4 percent (24 of 58) from the field on their home court compared to 43.6 percent (24 of 55) for the Jaguars.
Both teams will play in the Lady Flyers Classic at Franklin County on Saturday. Sacred Heart (6-3) will meet North Hardin (6-2) at 1:30 p.m. and Cooper (9-3) will take on Great Crossing (9-3) at 8:30 p.m.
COOPER 16 13 17 19 — 65
SACRED HEART 20 13 15 14 — 62
COOPER (9-3): Brissey 8 4 21, Hooper 1 2 5, Noel 8 2 18, Rankin 2 2 8, Scott 4 2 11. Allen 1 0 2. Totals: 24 11 65.
SACRED HEART (6-3): Jordan 9 4 24, Ralston 2 0 5, Wilkins 10 2 24, Gilvin 1 1 3, Zutterman 2 2 6. Totals: 24 9 62.
3-point goals: C — Rankin 2, Scott 2, Brissey, Hooper. SH — Jordan 2, Wilkins 2, Ralston.