Sacred Heart holds off Ouachita Christ; moves to Regionals

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MONROE -- Over the last three games of the regular season, the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans showed they had figured what was missing for most of the season; team chemistry.
Over those three contests, two of those were loses by five points or less and a win in their final regular season game, the Lady Trojans brought together some consistent team play.
So, when Sacred Heart hit the road to battle the Ouachita Christian Lady Eagles Thursday night, the Lady Trojans looked to carry that chemistry and consistency with them and come away with a huge upset.
When the final buzzer sounded, No. 20 Sacred Heart fulfilled their goal by holding off No. 13 Ouachita Christian in a 34-30 win.
With the victory, the Lady Trojans will take on Cedar Creek on the road in Ruston in the Regional round of the playoffs. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
“Throughout the season, we had some doubters on the team,” an elated Lady Trojan head coach Megan Granger said after the game. “The turning point came after the last time we played North Central. The team leaders called them out and after that we really began to play with some real team chemistry.”
“The girl’s started to become really excited to come to practice,” Granger continued. “From that point on we have played better and better and tonight showed that improvement.”
The game started with both teams struggling offensively. Sacred Heart was only able to collect two points in the first quarter on a basket by Lauren Shipp. However, the Lady Trojans were able to hold Ouachita Chrisitan to the same amount of points, making the score 2-2 at the end of one quarter of play.
The second quarter was just about as even as the opening period. Sacred Heart, behind four more points from Shipp, out scored the Lady Eagles 8-7 to take a 10-9 lead into the locker room.
Sacred Heart’s Shani Fontenot began to heat things up from the outside in the third quarter, knocking down a trio of three-pointers, as the Lady Trojans added 11 points to their total. But, Ouachita Christian was able to match that scoring total creating a 21-20 lead for Sacred Heart at the close of the period.
The Lady Trojans continued the lead throughout the final quarter and held a seven point advantage with only two minutes left in the game. Never-the-less, the Lady Eagles clawed their way back in the game, cutting the lead down to two points behind the shooting of Carley Laseter.
In the end, it was the free throw shooting of Dulce Miller and Blaire Lafleur along with the three-point accuracy of Emilyse Bergeron and Fontenot that sealed the four point win for Sacred Heart.
The Lady Trojans were led by Fontenot who put up 12 points. Lafleur added nine points for Sacred Heart.
“We played a good team tonight,” stated Granger. “They were well coached and gave a big effort. But, I am so proud of our team. They poured their heart out and deserved to win. It was like I told them this week at practice, it is all about preparation and desire and they showed both tonight.”