‘They could beat the Lakers tonight.’ Sacred Heart captures third straight Girls’ Sweet 16 title.

There’s no denying Sacred Heart.

The all-girls Catholic school out of Louisville proved that again this season, earning its third consecutive Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 state championship with a 68-53 victory over McCracken County on Saturday night in Rupp Arena.

The Valkyries (36-3) notched a championship game record 25 assists on 27 made field goals and shot a near-record 71.1 percent from the field, which left McCracken County coach Scott Sivills nothing to do but shake his head.

“They shot the lights out. I mean, we tried every defense that we possibly had in our playbook and they just made shots,” Sivills said. “They could beat the Lakers tonight, probably, shooting that percentage, but our kids still fought.”

Sacred Heart sophomore forward ZaKiyah Johnson, recently named Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year for the second year in a row, scored a game-high 30 points with eight rebounds and five assists to net her second consecutive Sweet 16 most valuable player award.

Johnson tied Franklin County’s Princess Stewart (2017) for second in both points scored and made field goals (12) in a state championship game, each one off the record of Warren Central’s Clemette Haskins (1983).

When a reporter jokingly asked if Johnson thought she could earn the Sweet 16 MVP award two more times, she didn’t scoff.

“I believe I can do it four times, but as long as we’re winning I don’t care what award I get,” Johnson said.

McCracken County (35-3) didn’t play poorly. The Mustangs made half their shots, including seven three-pointers. But after grabbing a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter, Sacred Heart’s lone senior decided that was enough.

“I usually just turn up on defense and I bring the energy,” point guard Triniti Ralston said. “And everything else comes.”

Ralston swiped five of her seven steals in the first quarter to spark a 17-2 run from which McCracken never recovered.

“We really started to play relaxed, and they started to play the way we thought we could,” Sacred Heart Coach Donna Moir said.

Once the Valkyries had the lead, they picked apart McCracken County’s defense inside and out. Reagan Bender scored 19 points, including three three-pointers. Center Angelina Pelayo made all seven of her field goal attempts for 17 points, topping 1,000 points for her career along the way.

“We watched some film of their zone, and we felt like we had some really good ways that we could attack it,” Moir said. “I had no idea we shot 71 percent. For the game? Wow.”

Mikee Buchanan led McCracken County with 13 points, with Caroline Sivills and Destiny Thomas adding 11 and nine points, respectively. The school founded a decade ago by the merger of Heath, Lone Oak and Reidland high schools finished state runner-up in its second Girls’ Sweet 16 appearance.

“We won our first game, and that was history made. We won on day number two: history made. We won (earlier) today: history made,” Coach Sivills said. “Thirty-five wins is most in school history, so I don’t know if that will ever be topped for a while. We’re a very proud program.”

Sacred Heart is making its history on another level. Its three losses this season all came to nationally ranked out-of-state teams. Its state championship three-peat is the second for the program (2002-2004). Only now-defunct Laurel County has also won three in a row. And Sacred Heart’s seven girls’ titles are the most of any other school by two.

With only one senior graduating from this year’s team, the question is: how many more titles can Moir win with this core of players around Johnson?

“You never know what tomorrow brings,” Moir said, dismissing the prospect. “I’ve had enough disappointment in all my coaching — where we’ve had really good teams and then something happens.

“It is special to win a championship. I’m not even thinking about next year. We’re just going to enjoy this one for a while.”

Girls’ Sweet 16: Final wrap-up from basketball state tournament in Rupp Arena

GRC keeps it close, but Sacred Heart’s hunt for another three-peat is still on track

‘We’re not gonna back down.’ McCracken County reaches finals showdown with Sacred Heart.