How 'overlooked’ Alex Wolff anchored Sacred Heart early to advance to 7th Region championship

Alex Wolff stood her ground under the basket as a Male Lady Bulldog tried to shoot.

Swat.

After the Lady Bulldogs got the rebound, they tried their luck again against Sacred Heart’s senior forward.

Swat.

The moment early in the Valkyries’ 65-46 dismantling of Male in the girls' Seventh Region semifinals Wednesday evening at Valley counted for two of Wolff’s five blocked shots. It also served as an example of a player who coach Donna Moir said has been steady all season for Sacred Heart.

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Coach Donna Moir praises senior

“She’s got great hands,” Moir said of Wolff. “Protected the paint in there, finished in transition early because she runs really well. She was the one who kept us going in the first half for sure.”

Moir heaped praise on Wolff, who finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds. The senior was a solid presence on defense for the Valkyries, who were dealing with a Male team that never quit trying.

For her part, Wolff said she was just doing her job. Her coach said that’s one of her main contributions to a Sacred Heart team that is coming off a state title.

“She gets overlooked,” Moir said, touting the forward’s leadership skills. “Both our post players players do, Angelina (Pelayo) and Alex. They kind of get overshadowed by ZaKiyah (Johnson), or Triniti (Ralston0 or Josie (Gilvin), but they just come in every day, they work hard, they do their job. They stay working.”

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Wolff said the preparation she does behind the scenes is a major catalyst for her performance on the court.

“Mindset is a lot of it,” Wolff said. “When I’m in the gym, it’s just basketball. Just getting that mindset before the tournament really helped, that I need to be in the gym as much as possible."

First half made the difference

Wolff’s biggest contribution came in the first half of Wednesday’s game, as Sacred Heart took time to heat up. In the second half, the cavalry arrived, led by freshman guard/ forward ZaKiyah Johnson.

Johnson did not score a basket in the first half, facing off against a scrappy Male defense, which sent the Valkyries to the line 18 times in the first half, and 39 overall. In the second, Sacred Heart’s young star came alive, finishing the game leading the game with a team-leading 15 points and 14 rebounds.

“It’s more mental than physical right now,” Johnson said. “We’ve got all the physicality we need, we’ve got every player we need, all the talent we need, it’s really just in our head now, the only thing that can beat us is ourselves.”

It's Sacred Heart vs. Manual in the finals

With Johnson’s emergence, the Valkyries finished the job, winning by 19 and moving on to the region finals on Saturday against Manual, who beat CAL in the early game on Wednesday at Valley. Sacred Heart beat the Lady Crimsons 66-45 early in the season.

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Wolff said the Valkyries were not taking another win for granted.

“They’re a good team,” Wolff said. “They’ve gotten a lot better this season so we’re going to have to work really hard against them, it’s going to be a challenge.”

With the win, Sacred Heart moved to 31-3 on the season. Male dropped to 21-6.

MALE 11 13 12 10

SACRED HEART 18 15 19 13