The Gibsland-Coleman Lady Bulldogs reached the state championship for the first time since 2003, but the young Lady Bulldog team came up short against the four-time Class C State Champions, Hicks Lady Pirates. The Lady Bulldogs seemed to run into an invisible lid on their goal while everything was falling for Hicks. The result was a deep first-quarter hole they constantly battled through the game.
Avery Coffman for Hicks opened fast as she scored the first 12 points. Hicks had opened on a quick 10-0 run. GCHS attempted multiple shots that just wouldn’t fall. Shamaria Durham finally put the first Lady Bulldog points on the scoreboard with 3:22 left in the first quarter. Hicks went on another 12-0 run. Samoa Sampson ended the run with a shot with 12 seconds left but Hicks had built a 22-4 first-quarter lead.
Sampson went to work to get the Lady Bulldogs out of the hole. Sampson’s drive to the goal was one was good and a 3-pointer. Hoffman countered with a three. Sampson kept rolling through the lane and drawing the foul. Baleigh Haulcy grabbed rebounds and saw her opportunity to drive the lane for points. Gibsland-Coleman had cut the lead in half on their 12-3 run spurred by Sampson and Haulcy. Lauren Quinn broke the run with a pair of free throws. Back-to-back charity stripe visits by Sampson and Haulcy saw the Lady Bulldogs had closed the gap to 27-20. The Lady Pirated had seen too much of their lead erode. Reese Stephens’s basket followed by a three from Maci Charrier pushed the lead back into double-digits. Lauren Quinn scored back-to-back goals to end a 7-0 run and Hicks was back up 17. Haulcy added another basket, but Shyanne Phillips’s free throws maintained the 17 points lead for Hicks at 40-23 at halftime.
Third-quarter opened hot for the Lady Pirates. Quinn opened with fur quick points followed by Coffman. Charrier closed the drive with a three. The Lady Pirates had built another 11-0 run and a 51-23 lead in the third. Gibsland-Coleman called timeout. Haulcy scored the first point of the second half at 3:44 left in the third. Ke’Honesty Williams three finally hit followed by a Durham gave the Bulldogs a small 7-0 run. Reese Stephens stopped it with a couple of baskets. K. Williams hit another three followed by a Haulcy basket and Gibsland’s bad start in the third was only widened by three points at 55-35.
Hicks opened again with a three from Coffman followed by a drive to the basket from Quinn. Hicks had pushed back to a 25 point lead. Haulcy broke the run with a jump shot from the top of the lane. Stephens punched another basket and drew the foul. Seventh-grader Arianna Williams nailed a three to close the gap to 63-40. Hicks went on another small run with free throws and a Quinn basket. Hicks had their biggest lead of the game at 69-40. The Lady Bulldogs went on a 10-1 run. Hicks’s gap was too much to overcome so late as the Lady Pirates won 72-52.
Hicks’s leading scorer was Lauren Quinn with 25 points. Avery Coffman added 23. Reese Stephens 14. Maci Charrier finished with 6. Shyanne Phillips contributed 4.
Gibsland-Coleman’s leading scorer was Samora Sampson with 18 points. Baleigh Haulcy bucketed 14. Shamaria Durham netted 9. Ke’Honesty Williams scored 8. Arianna Williams popped 3.
The Lady Bulldogs’ run to the finals was an impressive run for the season. They will have to say goodbye to five seniors this season, but this is a team of the future and more than likely be back to not only Marsh Madness but hopefully will be bringing a title back to Bienville Parish. To prove my point, those players that are sophomores or below comprised 44 of the 52 points in the state championship game. The Lady Bulldogs will have no seniors next year on the current roster.
Hold your heads high Lady Bulldogs. Last year you made March Madness. This year you made the championship but came up short. Look at the progression and you will see the next step.
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