By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor
VILLE PLATTE — When it comes down to it, the playoffs and the seedings can be deceiving.
A record doesn’t always tell the whole story, and that’s exactly what the No. 9-seeded Sacred Heart Lady Trojans saw on tape in preparing for the No. 24-seed Lincoln Prep Lady Panthers in the opening round of the Division IV Select division playoffs.
While a three-win team on paper, the Lady Panthers had a common opponent with Sacred Heart that they’d both lost to in a similar fashion.
Schedules say more than records. But ultimately, the Lady Trojans played at the top of their game on the way to a 58-21 opening round blowout to advance to the Regional round.
The Lady Trojans will now travel two hours to Ferriday to play No. 8-seeded Delta Charter.
As of press time, the game hasn’t been officially scheduled.
Sacred Heart, behind three double-digit scorers, showd their superiority from the opening tip off in jumping out to a quick 10-0 advantage.
Early on, it looked to be one of those special nights for junior guard Kali Shiver. She scored eight of the Lady Trojans’ first 10 in the early burst before Lincoln Prep closed the gap with signs of life late in the frame, closing the gap to 13-5 by the end of the opening quarter.
When the second quarter fired up, so did Rose Ardoin.
A starter to begin the season, Ardoin has since settled into a bench role.
But, she was arguably the most valuable player on the floor for the Lady Trojans Thursday night. She scored 13 points coming off the bench, including the Lady Trojans’ opening two baskets of the second quarter.
Ardoin dropped six in the second quarter on the way to leading the Lady Trojans to a 27-9 halftime lead, punctuated by an Ava Johnson layup at the buzzer.
Sacred Heart’s consistent play in the game could perhaps only be dampered by its foul line performance, where the Lady Trojans missed nine of its 19 foul shots, including 4-of-8 in the opening half.
Out of the locker room, the Lady Trojans didn’t let their feet off the gas.
Six more Ardoin points in the third quarter was a big part of the 19-point frame that allowed the Lady Trojans to stretch their lead ot 29 points, 46-17, heading into the final frame.
The other big part of the quarter was how Sacred Heart used turnovers to score points in bunches. Twin 6-0 runs saw Sacred Heart put a big gap between them and the Lady Panthers.
It was more of the same in the final frame, with Sacred Heart finishing off the job in impressive fashion.
Senior guard Ava Johnson was the Lady Trojans’ other double-digit scorer, capping the contest with 12 points.
June 19, 2026
