Fresh off its championship in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament, Sacred Heart is the unanimous No. 1 pick in this week’s Kentucky High School Girls Basketball Media Poll.
The Valkyries (15-7) received all 16 first-place votes in this week’s poll. They beat Butler, 55-24, in Saturday’s LIT final at Valley.
Cooper (18-4) and George Rogers Clark (20-2) — both of which lost in Saturday’s LIT semifinals — are tied for the No. 2 spot in the poll and are followed by Pikeville (16-3) and Anderson County (18-1).
Butler (16-6) jumped into the poll at No. 11. Pulaski County dropped out.
The Kentucky High School Girls 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 (16) 15-7 240 1
2. (tie) Cooper 18-4 212 3
2. (tie) George Rogers Clark 20-2 212 2
4. Pikeville 16-3 170 4
5. Anderson County 18-1 164 5
6. Covington Holy Cross 19-5 150 8
7. McCracken County 18-3 141 7
8. Owensboro Catholic 16-4 136 6
9. Franklin-Simpson 20-1 96 9
10. Ashland Blazer 14-4 79 12
11. Butler 16-6 59 NR
12. Notre Dame 15-4 56 11
13. Ryle 12-7 50 10
14. North Laurel 14-4 27 13
15. Boyd County 17-6 26 14
Others receiving votes: Pulaski County 23, Johnson Central 18, Franklin County 12, Meade County 8, Russell 8, Bethlehem 7, Danville Christian 6, Pineville 6, Corbin 5, Frederick Douglass 5, Simon Kenton 3, Grant County 1.
First Region
Chelsea Ladd, The Paducah Sun
1. McCracken County
2. Marshall County
3. Calloway County
4. Graves County
5. Mayfield
Second Region
Edward Marlowe, WKDZ-FM
1. Henderson County
2. Madisonville-North Hopkins
3. Crittenden County
4. Christian County
5. Lyon County
Third Region
Mark Mathis, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer
1. Owensboro Catholic
2. Daviess County
3. Breckinridge County
4. Meade County
5. Owensboro
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. Bardstown
5. Green County
Sixth Region
Dominique Yates, WLKY-TV
1. Butler
2. Whitefield Academy
3. Mercy
4. Bullitt East
5. Pleasure Ridge Park
Seventh Region
Jason Frakes, The Courier Journal
1. Sacred Heart
2. Central
3. Assumption
4. Manual
5. Christian Academy
Eighth Region
James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer
1. Anderson County
2. Grant County
3. Simon Kenton
4. Spencer County
5. South Oldham
Ninth Region
Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer
1. Cooper
2. Covington Holy Cross
3. Ryle
4. Notre Dame
5. Highlands
10th Region
Evan Dennison, LinkNKY.com
1. George Rogers Clark
2. Montgomery County
3. Scott
4. Campbell County
5. Bishop Brossart
11th Region
Jared Peck, Lexington Herald-Leader
1. Franklin County
2. Frederick Douglass
3. Madison Central
4. Madison Southern
5. Henry Clay
12th Region
Mike Marsee, Danville freelancer
1. Southwestern
2. Pulaski County
3. Danville Christian
4. Rockcastle County
5. Boyle County
13th Region
Les Dixon, 13thRegionMediaNetwork.com
1. North Laurel
2. Corbin
3. South Laurel
4. Knox Central
5. Pineville
14th Region
Brendon Miller, Bluegrass Sports Nation
1. Owsley County
2. Letcher County Central
3. Perry County Central
4. Knott County Central
5. Leslie County
15th Region
Randy White, Appalachian News-Express
1. Pikeville
2. Johnson Central
3. Martin County
4. Paintsville
5. Shelby Valley
16th Region
James Collier, WLGC-FM
1. Ashland Blazer
2. Russell
3. Boyd County
4. Bath County
5. Fleming County
Vote now:Who’s your pick for the Louisville-area high school girls athlete of the week?
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; [email protected]; Follow on X @kyhighs.