The Cooper girls’ basketball team has been able to beat pretty much anyone in their way over the last four years.
Except Sacred Heart.
The Valkyries ended the Lady Jaguars season once again for the third time in four years in the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop girls’ Sweet 16 quarterfinals Friday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, 78-61.
The prior two times came in the semifinals, this time in the quarterfinals as Cooper struggled to find much of an offensive rhythm in what was a physical contest that featured a combined 44 fouls and 59 free throws.
“They were very tough tonight, especially early on when we had a lot of turnovers,” Cooper coach Justin Holthaus said. “They try to take you out of your offense and make you take shots you don’t typically take and that was the start of it.”
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It ends a four-year run in which Cooper went 111-25, made two state semifinals and won four straight 9th Region titles, a feat that’s never been done in girls’ basketball history in the 9th.
The most promising thing out of all the success recently is they did it with just one senior on the roster this year. Zene Thompson exited in the fourth quarter as she fouled out with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Thompson was the glue this year, doing it all for the Jaguars whether it be bringing the ball up or guarding the opponents’ best offensive player.
“It’s been great with the family that I have here,” Thompson said. “The culture that J-Holt (Holthaus) has created, I just feel so loved with this team and it’s really hard to leave them knowing that I am a senior. This has been a great experience, especially being able to get here all four years.”
Haylee Noel finished with a game-high 34 points and was named to the All-Tournament team. She’ll headline a team that returns six of the top seven in the rotation with Addyson Brissey, Alivia Scott, Brinklii Rankin, Lyric Hooper and Gianna Cooper.
For the Lady Jaguars to be at this point could be seen as a surprising year considering they graduated four seniors last season that are all playing at the next level.
“We take one day at a time,” Holthaus said. “After last year and what we did and the group that graduated last year, there was a lot of work that we had to do. But these kids…they fought, they fought for the program, they fought for themselves, and they competed.”
Sacred Heart was just too much in Friday’s last quarterfinal of the day. They had seven different players score at least five points led by LSU signee ZaKiyah Johnson’s 20 points and 11 rebounds. Brianna Wilkins added 16 points, Tootie Jordan with 10 points, five rebounds and five steals.
“Very proud of the girls and how they were able to extend the lead when Z was in foul trouble early. They extended the lead without her in therer and that was really important,” Valkyries coach Donna Moir said.
Physicality was the name of the game for the Valkyries, outrebounding Cooper 37-25 in the contest with a 25-15 edge in second chance points. They put up 42 points in the paint to Cooper’s 28 and made 27-of-33 free throw attempts.
They advance to face Danville Christian in Saturday’s semifinals as they’re now two wins away from winning a fifth straight title. George Rogers Clark and Frederick Douglass will play in the other semifinal.
Cooper finishes their season at 26-6 and will not only be the preseason favorite in the 9th Region, but will once again be considered as one of the top teams in the state once the 2025-26 season hits. They also won’t have to see Johnson again.
“I’m glad ZaKiyah is graduating. She doesn’t have a COVID year does she?,” Holthaus joked.
VALKYRIES 78, LADY JAGS 61
COOPER — 9-11-21-20 — 61
SACRED HEART — 17-14-24-23 — 78
Scoring
Cooper (61) — Noel 34, Thompson 12, Hooper 7, Brissey 3, Rankin 3, Scott 2
Sacred Heart (78) — Johnson 20, Wilkins 16, Jordan 10, Frey 9, Gilvin 9, Osting 5, Carson 5, Ralston 2, DeCamillis 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: Cooper 19/48, Sacred Heart 24/53
3-Pointers: Cooper 3/12, Sacred Heart 3/10
Free Throws: Cooper 20/26, Sacred Heart 27/33
Rebounds: Cooper 25, Sacred Heart 37
Assists: Cooper 8, Sacred Heart 16
Steals: Cooper 11, Sacred Heart 14
Blocked Shots: Cooper 1, Sacred Heart 5
Turnovers: Cooper 22, Sacred Heart 22
Records: Cooper 26-6, Sacred Heart 33-3