VILLE PLATTE -- It was clear from the jump ball that the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs came ready to play against the Crowley Ladies, as they rolled to a 55-34 win Tuesday night.
The win over Crowley pushes Ville Platte’s overall record to 4-1. The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play Welsh today at 4 p.m. in the Lake Arthur Tournament.
Ville Platte is set to continue play in that same tournament on Friday, as they are expected to tangle with Lake Arthur. That game is slated for a 4 p.m. start as well.
After the game, Ville Platte head coach Rhonda Thomas spoke about her team’s big win.
“We have been lacking the aggressiveness and the confidence since the start of the season, but tonight I saw our team flip the switch,” stated Thomas. “Now that they have those two things, it is a matter of continuing to believe in themselves, the team and the system.”
Ville Platte showed their new found aggressiveness in the first quarter of play. Taking the ball to the rim, the Lady Bulldog were able to secure much needed points that matched Crowley.
The two teams took turns grabbing the lead in the first period, with the Ladies breaking a 3-3 tie to go up 7-5 with 55 seconds to go in the period.
However, Ville Platte knocked down two buckets in the final 39 seconds to own a 9-7 lead as the quarter came to a close.
If any quarter personified the hawkish play of the Lady Bulldogs, it was the second period.
Taking it right to the Ladies, Ville Platte ran off the first nine points of the period to swell their lead to 11 points. Crowley picked up a basket at the 2:50 mark of the quarter, but it was the Lady Bulldogs’ attacking style that led them to a 6-2 run over the final minutes of the half.
“We changed out defensive strategy in the second quarter and tried to create more turnovers,” said Thomas. “That and the fact that we struck more decisively in our transition game, allowed us to pull away from them.”
Ville Platte continued to stay with the same game plan in the third quarter, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 33-23 advantage as the third period ended.
Once the dominance was established in the previous three periods, it was just a matter of wearing Crowley down in the fourth and final quarter of play.
Trinity Leday led the way for Ville Platte with 18 points, while Vandryua Wilson tacked on 11 points
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Tracey Jagneaux
Sports Editor