Her rebounding numbers down the past few weeks, Sacred Heart Academy senior DaiJia Ruffin got the message from Donna Moir.
“Coach Moir has been like, ‘Rebound, rebound, free throws, rebound, layups,’ ” Ruffin said. “I’ve been trying to improve on that each game.”
She was solid all around Saturday, posting 21 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead the Valkyries to a 55-39 victory over Bullitt East in the Raatz Fence/O’Shea’s Classic at Mercy.
Ruffin, a 5-foot-9 senior who has signed with Tennessee-Martin, hit 9 of 12 shots and scored several points after offensive rebounds. Sacred Heart dominated the rebounding battle 49-32.
“It’s just boxing out,” Ruffin said. “They didn’t come out boxing out as hard as I thought they would, so I attacked the boards really hard and it worked out well.”
Bellarmine signee Raven Merriweather added 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists as Sacred Heart (15-4), No. 9 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, ran its winning streak to four.
The Valkyries had been scheduled to face No. 2 Anderson County instead of Bullitt East, but the Lady Bearcats could not make the trip because of ice and snow.
“I thought my coaches did a great job getting a scouting report together really quick on Bullitt East,” Moir said. “But we came here and really wanted to play (Anderson County). … That was one game we were really pointed to on our schedule, but you can’t control the weather.”
Freshman Lindsey Duvall scored 12 points to lead No. 4 Bullitt East (15-4), but she hit only 4 of 27 shots. The Lady Chargers shot just 25 percent from the field (14 of 56) and 38.5 percent from the foul line (10 of 26).
“I thought we got good looks and we had the people taking them that we wanted to,” coach Chris Stallings said. “We don’t normally shoot it like that. … That hasn’t been us all year.”
Sacred Heart shot just 32.1 percent in the first half but still led 24-19 at the break. The Valkyries scored the first seven points of the third quarter, taking a 31-19 lead on Ruffin’s 3-point play at the 3:46 mark.
Duvall’s basket pulled the Lady Chargers within 37-29 to start the fourth quarter, but they never got closer.
Stallings was impressed with Ruffin’s work on the boards.
“She’s experienced, and she understands angles,” he said. “She moves well without the ball to put herself in position to get offensive rebounds. She’s a load on the boards.”
Sacred Heart played its third straight game without junior guard Ashley Johnson, who suffered a concussion against Assumption last Sunday. Moir said she hopes to have Johnson back for Wednesday’s game in the Louisville Invitational Tournament.
In other Raatz Fence/O’Shea’s Classic games:
* Griffin Dempsey, a Charlotte signee, scored 19 points and Rachel Lee added 17 as the Lady Irish (14-3) beat the No. 20 Jaguars (9-9).Huntington (W.Va.) St. Joseph Central Catholic 54, Mercy 47:
St. Joseph was 10 of 37 from 3-point range, with Dempsey hitting 5 of 12 and Lee 4 of 14.
Elizabeth Anderson and Malerie Martin both scored 12 points to lead the Jaguars. Hannah Bewley added 11.
* Emma Wesley and Brittany Mumford scored 20 points each to lead the Lady Centurions (9-10) over the Lady Eagles (12-3).Christian Academy 61, North Bullitt 51:
Katie Downey had 21 to lead North Bullitt. Her basket with 2:22 left pulled the Lady Eagles within 48-44, but CAL answered with a 10-2 run.
* Meme Jackson had 17 points to lead the Lady Blaze (21-1) — ranked No. 5 in the nation by USA Today — over the No. 1 Red Knights (15-1).Murfeesboro (Tenn.) Blackman 58, St. Louis Incarnate Word 49:
Napheesa Collier, one of the nation’s top-rated juniors, had 16 points and 22 rebounds to lead Incarnate Word, which saw its 46-game winning streak end.
* The Pandas (12-6) scored the final seven points of overtime to beat the Tigers (8-9). Carlee Clemons (11 points, seven rebounds) and Elly Ogle (10 points, 10 rebounds) led Notre Dame.Notre Dame 46, Twinsburg (Ohio) 41:
| North Bullitt | 7 | 17 | 10 | 17 | – | 51 |
| Christian Academy | 14 | 14 | 11 | 22 | – | 61 |
– Badgett 3, Tompkins 5, Jeorge 5, Dolan 4, Downey 21, Goeing 8, Morrison 5.North Bullitt (12-3)
– Blackburn 4, Dunn 1, Wesley 20, Conti 5, Mumford 20, Campbell 11Christian Academy (10-9)
– Downey, Morrison, Wesley 2, Mumford.3-point goals
| Bullitt East | 7 | 12 | 8 | 12 | – | 39 |
| Sacred Heart | 9 | 15 | 13 | 18 | – | 55 |
– Fryman 3, Duvall 12, Sharpe 4, Peak 1, Henn 2, Blain 1, Bass 8, Williams 8.Bullitt East (15-4)
– Baisas 2, Singer 1, Samsel 10, Ma. Colley 2, Randal 1, Merriweather 16, Me. Colley 2, Ruffin 21.Sacred Heart (15-4)
– Sharpe, Samsel 2.3-point goals
| St Joseph Central Catholic | 15 | 18 | 9 | 12 | – | 54 |
| Mercy | 12 | 14 | 10 | 11 | – | 47 |
– Taylor 7, Dempsey 19, Johnson 4, Johnson 3, Gale 4, Lee 17.St. Joseph (14-3)
– Schmitz 4, Stovall 5, Bewley 11, Anderson 12, Muthler 3, Martin 12.Mercy (9-9)
– Taylor, Dempsey 5, Lee 4, Bewley, Muthler, Martin.3-point goals
| Blackman | 15 | 8 | 14 | 21 | – | 58 |
| Incarnate Word | 9 | 10 | 10 | 20 | – | 49 |
– Norris 3, Allen 8, Jackson 17, Bond 7, Dangerfielf 13, Johnson 10.Blackman(21-1)
– Bell 16, Lacefield 5, Collier 16, Treece 6, Hoff 5, Adams 1.Incarnate Word(15-1)
– Norris, Jackson 2, Bell 4, Lacefield.3-point goals
| Notre Dame | 8 | 11 | 12 | 6 | – | 46 |
| Twinsburg | 5 | 12 | 9 | 11 | – | 41 |
– Stallman 7, Ogle 10, Hellmann 5, Kellam 6, Clemons 11, Smith 7..Notre Dame(12-6)
– Durden 13, Sanborn 4, Reid 19, Howard 5.Twinsburg(8-9)
– Clemons, Durden 2, Howard.3-point goals
