Lady Bulldogs end season with big win; await playoffs

VILLE PLATTE -- The Ville Platte High Lady Bulldogs ended their regular season with a huge 62-54 win over the Welsh Lady Greyhounds Friday night.
Ville Platte finishes the season with an overall record of 11-14 and a District 6-2A record of 5-3. The Lady Bulldogs await the announcement of the LHSAA Class 2A playoff brackets to find out who they will play in the first round of the playoffs. The brackets are scheduled to be released today.
The contest between Ville Platte and Welsh was a close one throughout most of the entire game. The Lady Bulldogs began the game with back-to-back baskets from Tahjalyn Jack and Alyssa Soileau to take a 4-0 lead.
Welsh responded with a three-point basket 10 seconds later. The two teams exchanged points for the next five minutes, leaving Ville Platte with a 14-10 lead and 1:44 showing on the clock.
However, Welsh’s Aryion Artis buried two three-point shots over the last two possessions of the period to give the Lady Greyhounds a 16-14 lead when the buzzer sounded to end the quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs dominated the first 1:24 seconds of the second period, going on a 5-0 run. Welsh answered turning up the defensive pressure, allowing the Lady Greyhounds to pick up eight of the next 10 points scored, opening up a 24-21 lead.
Ville Platte regained the lead on two Jack free throws and a transition basket from Markaija Lemelle. Following a Welsh free throw that tied the game up at 25-25 with 36 seconds left before half, Ville Platte’s Alyssa Fontenot knocked down two buckets, including a three-pointer with two seconds on the clock, to put the Lady Bulldogs up 30-25 as the teams headed to the locker room.
The game tightened back up to start the third quarter, as Welsh scored five of the first six points in the period. Ville Platte burst through offensively over the next 2:20, outscoring the Lady Greyhounds 11-4 to take their biggest lead of the night, 42-34.
Instead of folding, Welsh countered back with some defensive hustle and great shooting in the final minutes of the quarter. As the Lady