Sacred Heart still atop Kentucky high school basketball media poll after pair of losses
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
1. McCracken County
2. Calloway County
3. Marshall County
4. Graves County
5. Mayfield
Second Region
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
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
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
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
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
