Picture courtesy of Tanner Colvin

Nobody had to tell Sacred Heart senior Skylar Douglas what was at stake Tuesday night when the Knights played host to rival Southeast of Saline in a battle between two of the state’s hottest teams.

The winner would have the inside track for a North Central Activities Association championship, not to mention county bragging rights. That was especially true for Sacred Heart, which was going for its first season sweep of Southeast since the 2019-20 season.

“Going into it, we knew it was going to be a tough game, because this was kind of big for the league,” said Douglas, who not only led all scorers with 26 points but knocked down four straight free throws in the final 15 seconds to preserve a 51-44 Sacred Heart victory. “It was going to be a super-tough game, so we just started off super motivated.”

“We really wanted this game.”

The Knights were fresh off an impressive 47-41 victory Saturday over Moundridge, the top-ranked team in Class 2A, for the Hillsboro Trojan Classic championship. They came in ranked No 6 in 2A and on a five-game winning streak.

But Southeast of Saline had won nine straight since dropping a 47-45 heartbreaker to Sacred Heart on Jan. 6, and won their first-ever Sterling Invitational Tournament title.

“We knew they had gone on a 9-0 run and we were their last loss, so we knew they would come into it wanting it just as badly as we did,” said Sacred Heart junior guard Addie Lee, who scored 10 of her 11 points in the second half, including two big free throws that gave the Knights a 47-44 lead with 31.4 seconds left. “It’s been a really long time (since Sacred Heart swept Southeast), so we really wanted this win. We had lots of motivation.”

Sacred Heart led most of the way, opening a nine-point lead early in the second quarter, only to see Southeast storm back to tie it. The Knights held a 22-21 halftime advantage only to lose it on Kyiah Samuelson’s basket to open the third quarter.

But back-to-back 3-pointers by Lee put Sacred Heart back in front, and two 3-pointers and a free throw by Douglas staked the Knights to a 39-34 lead heading into the fourth period. It was also a Douglas three that broke a 41-41 tie with 2:23 left and gave them the lead for good.

“Skylar played really, really well,” said Sacred Heart coach Carl Hines, whose Knights improved to 14-3 overall and 6-1 in the NCAA. “She made some free throws down the stretch, and every time we needed a three-ball or a bucket, Skylar was hitting it.”

Douglas was determined to end on a high note in her final meeting with Southeast. She knocked down 6 of 11 shots from the floor, including 5 of 7 3-pointers, and made five free throws in the fourth quarter to finish 9-for-12 from the line.

“I had a lot of confidence going into it, knowing it was going to be my last game that I play against Southeast,” Douglas said.

The Knights were 9-for-30 from 3-point range while limiting Southeast to two makes and forcing 18 turnovers and while only turning it over six times themselves. The Trojans stayed close by dominating in the paint, shooting 52.9% from the floor and outrebounding Sacred Heart, 33-19.

Southeast, which fell to 13-4 with a 5-3 league record, got 15 points from Samuelson and 10 from Suttyn Douglas and nine from Abigail Pearson, while Regan Duran grabbed seven rebounds.

Sacred Heart travels to Minneapolis on Friday, while Southeast of Saline has a week to prepare for Beloit at home next Tuesday.