The Gibsland-Coleman Lady Bulldogs are heading to the Class C State Championship with a 45-35 win over district rival Summerfield on Monday afternoon in Hammond. This will be the first appearance in a state championship by the Lady Bulldogs since winning the Class B state title in 2003. Samora Sampson led the Lady Bulldogs with 27 points. Ke’Honesty Williams dropped 11 in the semifinal game. The Lady Rebels saw Malaysia Tate go down early in the third quarter and attempt to come back through the second half. Tate finished with 12 points. Alaysia Combs carried the Lady Rebels in the second half with 9 points.
Gibsland’s plan to start was to draw the shooting fouls on the Lady Rebels. They fouled Sampson who had been averaging 21 points a game. Sampson went 5 for 6 to start the 5-0 lead for the Lady Bulldogs. Summerfield’s Malaysia Tate hit the first field goal with 2 minutes left in the first quarter. Summerfield had a 7-0 run and took the slight 7-6 lead after the first quarter.
Tate continued to make the Lady Bulldogs tremble with another three to kick off the second and a 10-6 lead. Sampson and K. Williams stopped the run with a three and another layup to take back the lead at 11-10. Shaniyah Martin tied it up with a free throw at 11-11 with five minutes remaining in the half. The small runs kept the Bulldogs pulling away as Sampson and K. Williams hit another 4-0 run. Kearra Wilson popped a three to bring Summerfield back to within 15-14. K. Williams and Sampson continued to roll. Tate scored another goal to make the game 19-16. Destiny Hardy nailed the last shot three-pointer to give the Lady Bulldogs a 22-16 halftime lead.
Kearra Williams gave the Lady Rebels a spark with an opening three. The Lady Rebels had some bad luck. Tate went for a block against Shamaria Durham and went down wrong. Tate went out of the game. The young Lady Rebels helped to hold the team together. Besides Combs and Tate, Summerfield starts seventh and eighth-graders. After a Ke’Honesty Williams bucket, Akeirah Jones popped a three to bring the game within 24-22. Sampson made a run of back-to-back goals to push the Lady Bulldogs back up six points. Tate came back in the lineup but didn’t stay long. The Lady Bulldogs continued the small runs and eventually reached a 12-point lead to 37-25 at the end of the third quarter.
Combs pushed the Lady Rebels to not give in as the Lady Rebels went on an 8-1 run in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. The Lady Rebels had climbed back to 38-33. Gibsland-Coleman called timeout to stop the late drive. Sampson would have no more push by Summerfield as she scored the next five for the Lady Bulldogs and got back to a 10-point lead at 43-33. Gibsland-Coleman rolled back into a state championship game for the first time in 19 years.
The Lady Bulldogs will have their shot against the three-time, defending Class C champion Hicks Lady Pirates. Hick defeated Hornbeck 82-58 in the game after Summerfield-Gibsland-Coleman. Hicks has won the last two Class titles and one previous Class B title in 2019. The Lady Pirates come into the state championship with a 33-5. The two will meet on Friday at 1 pm at University Center in Hammond.
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