Basketball Game Preview: Sacred Heart Valkyries vs. Dr. Phillips Panthers

The Sacred Heart Valkyries will take on the Dr. Phillips Panthers in a holiday battle at at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sacred Heart has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Sacred Heart is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Waggener to the tune of 89-20 on Tuesday. With the Valkyries ahead 61-11 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.

ZaKiyah Johnson

Points

12/17/24 vs Waggener	17
12/12/24 vs Atherton	18
12/10/24 @ Owensboro Catholic	25

ZaKiyah Johnson was her usual excellent self, going 6 of 9 on her way to 17 points and five steals. The game was her third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tahri Ralston, who posted nine points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Dr. Phillips, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. In a tight contest that could have gone either way, they made off with a 74-73 victory over Cardinal Mooney.

Dr. Phillips' win was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-4. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.4 points per game. As for Sacred Heart, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.