No. 1 Sacred Heart outlasts No. 3 George Rogers Clark

In a clash of two state heavyweights, Sacred Heart defeated George Rogers Clark 61-49 Friday night.Sacred Heart entered the contest ranked No. 1 in the state, while GRC is No. 3.It was a tight battle all game. Sacred Heart led 25-24 at halftime, but never could get the knockout punch. Tied at 38 at the end of the third quarter, the Valkyries pulled away to prove they're still worthy of their ranking. "It was a physical game," Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said. "First half, we got some foul trouble, but we kind of weather that storm and you know, made plays when we had to.The Valkyries (18-7) have now won 60 straight games against in-state opponents.ZaKiyah Johnson had 19 points and Reagan Bender added 16 to lead the Valkyries to their seventh straight win."It's awesome to play in this kind of environment," Moir said. "Even when you go to Rupp Arena (for the Sweet 16), it's not like this where everybody's so close to the floor and just the atmosphere was great. To play under this kind of pressure is just going to do nothing but help us."Sacred Heart is at Mercy at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.