VILLE PLATTE -- The Ville Platte High Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs left their teeth marks all over the Pine Prairie Panthers and Lady Panthers as they swept a district doubleheader Friday night.
In the opening contest, the Lady Bulldogs trailed only twice the entire game in a hard-fought, physical 40-32 win over the Lady Panthers.
With the win, Ville Platte improves to 13-11 on the year and 4-2 in District 5-3A. With the loss, Pine Prairie falls to 19-9 overall and 2-4 in league play.
In the second game of the night, the Bulldogs turned an eight point halftime lead to cruise past the Panthers 95-42.
Ville Platte moves to 18-9 on the season and 4-0 in district competition. Pine Prairie falls to 1-24 in the regular season and 0-4 in the district.
Here is a re-cap of those games played.
Pine Prairie (G)
vs. Ville Platte
In what may have been an indication of things to come, Ville Platte jumped out to 4-0 lead behind a three-point basket from Kaydan Coward and a free throw from Trinity Leday. Pine Prairie inched their way back into the game, scoring the next three points.
Another shot from beyond the arc by Coward and another free throw from Leday gave Ville Platte an 8-3 led as the first quarter came to and end.
With star guard Kameron Allen held in check by Ville Platte’s box-and-one defense, the Lady Panthers turned to other players to step it up on offense.
On the heels of Asia George’s five points, Pine Prairie took a 12-8 lead with 5:19 to go in the second quarter. However, Ville Platte kicked into a higher gear and scored the remaining six points of the period to take a 14-12 lead into the locker room.
The teams exchanged baskets to open the third quarter, until Pine Prairie’s Brianna Wall knocked down two straight baskets to give the Lady Panthers a 21-19 lead with 3:30 to go in the period.
Pine Prairie built a 23-20 lead over the next minute, but the Lady Bulldogs once again found another gear and finished the quarter on a 6-0 run.
The final quarter was just a matter of Ville Platte trying to maintain their lead. Pine Prairie was able to get within three, 33-30, at the 2:24 mark, but the Lady Bulldogs found a way to finish off the game thanks in large part to Alyssa Soileau’s six points down the stretch.
Coward led Ville Platte with 12 points, while Allen also had 12 points to lead Pine Prairie.
Pine Prairie (B)
vs. Ville Platte
Despite the large margin of victory for the Bulldogs, the final game of the night actually started closer than the final score indicated. Ville Platte picked up the first four points of the game, but Pine Prairie fought back and tied it up at the 5:07 mark.
Over the course of the remainder of the quarter, the Bulldogs were able to keep the Panthers at arm’s distance and led 12-9 heading into the second quarter.
A three-point bucket from Pine Prairie’s Josiah Ortiz to start the ensuing period tied the game back up. Nevertheless, it was Ville Platte’s Terrian Roy that stole the show, scoring the next nine points in a row to open the Bulldog lead to 21-12 with 6:50 to go in the quarter.
The Panthers clawed their way back in, however, trailing by just five, 29-24, at the 2:59 mark. Ville Platte increased the heat on the defensive side of the ball and created a number of turnovers and missed shots, allowing themselves to go on a 9-2 run over the final minutes to take a 38-26 lead into the locker room.
With renewed energy, Ville Platte began the third quarter in dominating fashion, scoring the first 15 points. From that point on, it was all Bulldogs, as they finished the game with their bench players on the floor.
Tahj Roy led Ville Platte with 19 points, while three players scored 11 points for Pine Prairie.