Un“charitable”

VILLE PLATTE -- When it came down to it, the free throw line was just downright uncharitable for the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs, as they dropped a hard-fought 53-43 contest to the Madison Prep Lady Chargers in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs Monday night.
Ville Platte finishes off the season with an overall record of 15-16.
The Lady Bulldogs, who did not allow a poor free throw shooting night in their first round playoff win hurt them, shot nine for 25 against Madison Prep.
“I told the girls at half time that we can beat this team, but if we don’t hit our free throws, we won’t come out of this game alive,” stated Ville Platte head coach Dot Doulet after the game. “Besides that, I am proud of the way we played. We fought all the way to the end and gave them a heck of a game.”
With three players right at six foot tall, Madison Prep definitely had the size advantage coming into the game. But, that did not stop Ville Platte from taking it to the Lady Chargers.
After an opening basket from Madison Prep, Tahjalyn Jack hit a three-point shot to give notice to the Lady Chargers that Ville Platte was here to play ball. The Lady Bulldogs scratched and clawed their way to a 10-10 tie as the horn sounded to end the first quarter of play.
The second quarter opened almost exactly as the first quarter did, with Madison Prep getting the first basket and Jack sinking another shot from beyond the arc to give Ville Platte a one-point advantage, 13-12.
The Lady Chargers collected the next two buckets to go up 16-13 with 5:26 remaining in the period. A lone free throw cut the lead back down to one, however, Madison Prep reeled off 12 of the next 17 points to take a 28 to 19 lead into the locker room.
The halftime speech in the locker room by Coach Doulet seemed to fire up the Lady Bulldogs. After surrendering an initial basket to begin the third quarter, Ville Platte once again scrapped their way back into the game.
Behind junior guard Trinity Leday’s eight points, the Lady Bulldogs were able to tie the game at 32-32 with 2:10 remaining in the period. Sensing a momentum shift, Madison Prep stepped up their game long enough to take over the lead by five, 39-34, as the quarter came to a close.
The beginning of the fourth quarter saw a battle between the two teams. With 3:40 to go, the scoreboard showed the Lady Chargers up by only two, 42-40. Unfortunately, Ville Platte was unable to sustain their momentum in the waning minutes of the game, as Madison Prep went on an 11-3 run down the stretch to seal the win and move on.