VILLE PLATTE – A historical afternoon for the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers turned routine for the Ville Platte Bulldogs as the two teams went undefeated to take home the title of Evangeline Parish Tournament champions here this past Saturday.
For the Lady Panthers, the win in the championship game represented the first time Pine Prairie has laid claim to the title in 30 years. Head coach Renotta Edwards was excited for her team and the community that the trophy would reside in the trophy case for the next year.
“This win means a lot to this team,” stated Edwards. “These young ladies work so hard. We went through a little slump, but were able to self-evaluate and make the changes necessary. That says a lot about where they are right now. They play with a ton of confidence and just refuse to lose.”
For the Bulldogs, the title represents the sixth time in the last seven years that Ville Platte has toted the trophy home. Head coach Tommy Jones hopes that the momentum garnered here is carried forward throughout the season.
“Winning the tournament is huge for our momentum going forward,” said Jones. “After we lost in the finals last year, we went on a three game losing streak. So hopefully this win will springboard us to a run of wins that can get us great playoff positioning.”
Here is a rundown of the championship games played on Saturday and the semi-finals held on Friday.
Girls’ Championship
Mamou vs. Pine Prairie
Much like the previous meeting between the two clubs on Tuesday, Pine Prairie jumped out to an early seven point lead, 7-0, in the opening quarter to take a 36-20 win. But unlike the earlier clash, Mamou found a way to battle back in the second quarter.
The Lady Demons scored their first points of the contest on a bucket from Ungel Lazard with just 1:34 gone in the second period. The Lady Panthers answered with three straight points of their own, but Mamou fought their way through to cut the Pine Prairie advantage down to five, 12-7, before the teams headed into the locker room.
As the third quarter opened, the teams exchanged baskets with the Lady Panther lead not getting beyond double digits. However, Pine Prairie began opening up their advantage late in the quarter, going on a 6-0 run in the last 1:12 to take a 27-11 lead as the horn sounded.
Opportunities for the Lady Demons to crawl back into the game fell by the wayside, as they missed on several open baskets and failed to hit free throws throughout the fourth quarter. In the end, the Lady Panthers did just what they needed to maintain their lead and come away with the win and the title.
Pine Prairie was led by Asia George with 14 points, while Brianna Wall picked up 10 points for the Lady Panthers. Markaysha Johnson picked up five points to lead Mamou.
Boys’ Championship
Mamou vs. Ville Platte
The boy’s title game began eerily similar to the way the girl’s game began, with Ville Platte jumping out to an early 6-2 lead and using that to blow past Mamou 68-31. And just like the girl’s game, Mamou fought their way back to make it a five point deficit, 12-7, when the first quarter ended.
But, unlike the girl’s game, the Bulldogs’ quickness and fast break game began to subdue any momentum the Demons had built up from the first period. Ville Platte opened the second quarter on a 9-3 run and was never really threatened the rest of the game. With just three seconds left before half, the Bulldogs’ Terrian Roy hit a three-point bucket to give Ville Platte a 36-15 lead heading into the locker room.
That 21 point lead stayed pretty steady throughout the third quarter, as the Bulldogs were able to match point for point with Mamou. By the time the buzzer sounded to end the period, Ville Platte held a 43-21 lead.
It seemed as though every time the Demons hit a shot in the final quarter, the Bulldogs were able to respond with two buckets of their own. As the game wound down, each team cleared the bench, allowing several underclassmen to get time on the floor.
Jahmal Byers led all Ville Platte players with 18 points, while Terrian Roy contributed 17 points and Tyler Jones chipped in 12 points for the Bulldogs. Leandre Harrison collected 12 points for Mamou.
Semi-Finals
(Friday)
Mamou (G) vs.
Sacred Heart
In the first semi-final game Friday night, things did not start well for the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans as the offense could not produce many opening quarter points in a 33-30 loss to the Mamou Lady Demons.
That non-productiveness in the offense affected both teams in the first five minutes of the game, as Sacred Heart only held a 3-2 lead at the three minute mark. However, Mamou found a rhythm down the stretch, hitting three straight buckets, including two three-pointers, to pull away from the Lady Trojans and take a 12-3 lead at the close of the period.
That nine point Lady Demon lead became a 13 point advantage, 18-5, with 3:03 left to go in the second quarter. By the time the period was completed, Mamou held a 19-7 lead over Sacred Heart.
A little more offensive production in the third quarter allowed the two teams to get some momentum going. But, it was the Lady Demons that still controlled the game, as they put up an 11-7 scoring advantage in the period to own a 30- 14 lead as the horn sounded.
Sensing their chances to get to the title game slipping away, the Lady Trojans found an extra gear in the final quarter. While Sacred Heart held Mamou to only three points in the fourth period, the Lady Trojans began to come up big on the offensive side of the floor, picking up 16 points of their own.
In the end, it boiled down to free throws and Sacred Heart could not produce from the charity stripe, hitting on only 13 of 24 free throws the entire game, thus quelling any chances of a shot at the championship.
Brianna Thibodeaux and Jakenzie Wilson each had six points to lead Mamou. Lauren Shipp led Sacred Heart with 12 points.
Mamou (B) vs.
Sacred Heart
Game two of the semi-finals saw the Sacred Heart Trojans lose their way offensively in the third quarter, as they fell to the Mamou Demons 46-36.
Throughout the opening period, things seemed really even between the two clubs. Despite allowing Mamou to jump out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:30 of the contest, Sacred Heart was able to gather themselves and cut the lead down to four, 15-11, as the quarter ended.
The two teams tried to find a kink in their opponent’s armor the entire second quarter, with neither able to penetrate the