The pairings are set for the 2026 girls basketball LIT; final rounds will be played at Atherton after being held at Valley since 2020.
The field is set for the 2026 girls basketball Shirley’s Way Louisville Invitational Tournament, which will be played at a new site later this month.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and final will be hosted by Atherton High School after being played at Valley from 2020-25.
The last final not played at Valley was in 2019, when Ryle beat George Rogers Clark at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall.
“Most of our fan base was telling us they’d like to see us move more in town,” LIT director Joyce Seymour said. “We’re just trying to see if we can expand our fan base more since so many of our metro schools are in town.”
Atherton installed a new 94-foot, college-length court during the fall and has added shot clocks, which will be used in the LIT for the first time this year. Atherton’s gym seats 2,500.
Sacred Heart has won three straight LIT titles and received the No. 1 seed among the 12 Louisville-area teams that were invited. Assumption is the No. 2 seed and will be joined by Butler, Manual, Mercy, Central, Bullitt East, North Bullitt, Ballard, Pleasure Ridge Park, Valley and Moore.
The 12 local teams were determined by the SETH Ratings, a formula invented by Jerry Wyman, former director of athletics for Jefferson County Public Schools.
Seeds were determined by the Massey Ratings, a nationwide computer ranking.
The four out-of-town teams — George Rogers Clark, Cooper, Frederick Douglass and Taylor County — were invited during the summer and, as is tradition, were placed in the quarterfinals of the bracket.
Higher seeds will host first- and second-round games on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27. Atherton will host quarterfinals on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, and the semifinals and championship game will be played Jan. 31.
Here is the tournament schedule:
Shirley’s Way Girls Louisville Invitational Tournament
Seeds in parentheses
Monday, Jan. 26
Ballard (9) at North Bullitt (8), 7 p.m.; Valley (11) at Central (6), 7 p.m.; Pleasure Ridge Park (10) at Bullitt East (7), 7 p.m.; Moore (12) at Mercy (5), 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Ballard-North Bullitt winner at Sacred Heart (1), 7 p.m.; Valley-Central winner at Butler (3), 7 p.m.; Pleasure Ridge Park-Bullitt East winner at Assumption (2), 7 p.m.; Moore-Mercy winner at Manual (4), 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 29 (at Atherton)
Valley-Central-Butler survivor vs. Cooper (State 2), 6 p.m.; Ballard-North Bullitt-Sacred Heart survivor vs. Taylor County (State 4), 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 30 (at Atherton)
Moore-Mercy-Manual survivor vs. George Rogers Clark (State 1), 6 p.m.; Pleasure Ridge Park-Bullitt East-Assumption survivor vs. Frederick Douglass (State 3), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31 (at Atherton)
Semifinals, 10 and 11:30 a.m.
Championship, 6 p.m.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; [email protected]; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LIT girls basketball pairings set; new site on tap this year
Category: General Sports
