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Sacred Heart still atop Kentucky high school basketball media poll after pair of losses

Sacred Heart's ZaKiyah Johnson (11) shoots against Owensboro Catholic during their game at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 5, 2023.

Sacred Heart Academy kept its No. 1 spot in the Kentucky High School Girls Basketball Media Poll despite a pair of losses over the weekend.

The Valkyries (11-6) competed in the St. James Martin Luther King Classic in Springfield, Virginia, and lost to Maryland’s Bishop McNamara 66-60 on Saturday and to Sidwell Friends of Washington, D.C., 53-48 on Monday.

Sacred Heart is 9-0 against Kentucky competition this season and 2-6 against out-of-state opponents.

Sacred Heart received 15 of 16 first-place votes in the poll and is followed by George Rogers Clark (18-1), Cooper (16-3), Pikeville (12-1) and Anderson County (15-1) in the top five.

North Laurel (11-3) joined the top 15 at No. 13 after blitzing Manual 71-43 on Saturday. Franklin County dropped out of the top 15.

The Kentucky High School Basketball Media Poll is conducted by 16 sports journalists — one from each of the state’s 16 basketball regions. The poll will be released each week throughout the regular season.

Along with the statewide top 15, voters will provide top-five rankings for their respective regions.

Here are the rankings:

Girls statewide poll

First-place votes in parentheses; records through Monday’s games

Rank-school (FPV)               Record      Pts      LW

1. Sacred Heart (15)               11-6         239      1

2. George Rogers Clark (1)     18-1         224      2

3. Cooper                                16-3         205      3

4. Pikeville                               12-1         187      4

5. Anderson County                15-1         156      7

6. Owensboro Catholic            12-3         136      5

7. McCracken County               14-3        132      6

8. Boyd County                         14-4         103      13

9. Notre Dame                           14-3         88        8

10. Franklin-Simpson                 16-1         79        T9

11. Covington Holy Cross           12-5        63        11

12. Ryle                                       10-7        60        T9

13. North Laurel                          11-3        42        NR

14. Pulaski County                       14-5        36         12

15. Meade County                       11-5        35        15

Others receiving votes: Franklin County 29, Butler 26, Ashland Blazer 25, Corbin 10, Frederick Douglass 10, Johnson Central 9, Danville Christian 5, Rockcastle County 5, Russell 5, Bardstown 4, Christian Academy 2, Manual 2, Owensboro 2, Bethlehem 1.

Vote now: Nominees for the Louisville-area high school girls athlete of the week

First Region

Chelsea Ladd, The Paducah Sun

1. McCracken County

2. Calloway County

3. Marshall County

4. Graves County

5. Mayfield

Second Region

Edward Marlowe, WKDZ-FM

1. Henderson County

2. Madisonville-North Hopkins

3. Union County

4. Christian County

5. Crittenden County

Third Region

Mark Mathis, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer

1. Owensboro Catholic

2. Owensboro

3. Meade County

4. Daviess County

5. Breckinridge County

Fourth Region

Micheal Compton, Bowling Green Daily News

1. Franklin-Simpson

2. Bowling Green

3. Warren East

4. Barren County

5. Logan County

Fifth Region

Josh Claywell, Bardstown Kentucky Standard/LaRue County Herald News

1. Bethlehem

2. North Hardin

3. Taylor County

4. Elizabethtown

5. Bardstown

Sixth Region

Dominique Yates, WLKY-TV

1. Butler

2. Whitefield Academy

3. Bullitt East

4. Pleasure Ridge Park

5. North Bullitt

Seventh Region

Jason Frakes, The Courier Journal

1. Sacred Heart

2. Assumption

3. Manual

4. Central

5. Christian Academy

Eighth Region

James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer

1. Anderson County

2. South Oldham

3. Grant County

4. Simon Kenton

5. Spencer County

Ninth Region

Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer

1. Cooper

2. Ryle

3. Covington Holy Cross

4. Notre Dame

5. Highlands

10th Region

Evan Dennison, LinkNKY.com

1. George Rogers Clark

2. Montgomery County

3. Campbell County

4. Nicholas County

5. Bishop Brossart

11th Region

Jared Peck, Lexington Herald-Leader

1. Frederick Douglass

2. Franklin County

3. Madison Central

4. Madison Southern

5. Henry Clay

12th Region

Mike Marsee, Danville freelancer

1. Danville Christian

2. Southwestern

3. Rockcastle County

4. Pulaski County

5. Boyle County

13th Region

Les Dixon, 13thRegionMediaNetwork.com

1. North Laurel

2. South Laurel

3. Corbin

4. Bell County

5. Knox Central

14th Region

Nate Johnson, WYMT-TV

1. Perry County Central

2. Owsley County

3. Leslie County

4. Hazard

5. Letcher County Central

15th Region

Randy White, Appalachian News-Express

1. Pikeville

2. Johnson Central

3. Martin County

4. Shelby Valley

5. Paintsville

16th Region

James Collier, WLGC-FM

1. Boyd County

2. Ashland Blazer

3. Russell

4. Rowan County

5. Fleming County

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky high school basketball rankings: Courier Journal KHSAA poll