Extol Sports January 2018 | Page 20

HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT Grace Berger Sacred Heart starter excelling early, excited about IU W By Daniel Karell With Jaelynn Penn and Lindsey Duvall graduated, the baton for the best Louisville Metro- area girls basketball player has been passed to Grace Berger. of the team’s annual Christmas basketball road trip. Once again, Sacred Heart is heading to Phoenix, Arizona, for the Nike Tournament of Champions. A four-year starter for Sacred Heart, Berger has raised her game to new levels in 2017. After leading the Valkyries to the Kentucky Sweet 16 in 2016, the 6 foot senior guard signed her Letter of Intent to play for Indiana University next fall (where she’ll team up with Penn) and has begun dominating the local circuit. Ahead of the trip to Arizona, Daniel Karell of Extol Sports had a chance to talk to Berger about her career, how her season is going and what she’s looking forward to at Indiana. (Editor’s Note: The following has been edited solely for length and clarity.) Through six games this season, Berger is averaging 16.3 points and eight rebounds per game, leading the Valkyries to a 5-1 record ahead Extol Sports: Grace, thanks so much for speaking with us. What are your thoughts on the 18 EXTOL SPORTS / JANUARY 2018 way Sacred Heart’s season is going so far? Grace Berger: I think it’s going pretty well for being pretty early in the season. Obviously, we have stuff to work on as a team, but we can be beating teams pretty well. I think we’ve started off strong. ES: How long have you been playing basketball? GB: I’ve pretty much been around basketball all my life. Some of my earliest memories are playing basketball, just watching my older siblings (Abby and Jack) and my dad (Todd) outside shooting hoops, so I was always out there with them