The LHSAA girls’ playoffs kicked off with the first two rounds and moved one step closer to Marsh Madness in Hammond, LA. Four local teams are still around for a chance.
Class A First & Second Round
First Round
No. 16 Plain Dealing 47, No. 17 Haynesville 36
Plain Dealing started with an early first quarter 13-10 lead led by a balanced scoring by Za’Kiyah Williams, Bri Newton, and Jakayla Douglas. The Lady Tors fired back in the second quarter behind Za’Niaya Kingsby 6 points and took a 27-22 halftime lead. Haynesville struggled to score in the third as Layla Tell was the only field goal. The game was tied at 30 heading into the final quarter. Za’Kiyah Williams stormed back in the fourth quarter with 12 points including two 3-pointers to push the Lady Lions into the second round. Williams had 24 points for Plain Dealing. Bri Newton scored 13 for the Lady Lions. Layla Tell scored 11 for Haynesville.
No. 13 East Beauregard 63, No. 20 Lincoln Prep 38
Lincoln Prep kept the first-quarter close only down 9-6. Second-quarter was a different story as EBHS outscored the Lady Panthers 22-6. East Beauregard led halftime 31-12. Tamara Owens dropped 6 points in the third for LP but was still outscored 17-11 as East Beauregard had a commanding 48-23 lead heading into the final quarter. Owens dumped another 10 points in the final quarter but little too late as the Lady Panthers were eliminated.
No. 9 Homer 55, No. Block 33
Second Round
No. 5 Arcadia 60, No. 12 LaSalle 30
Arcadia took a slight 9-5 first-quarter lead. DeAsia Alexander pulled the Lady Hornets into a more comfortable 19-10 halftime lead. The Lady Hornets let loose in the second half. Jay Haulcy netted 11 in their 21 points third quarter. Arcadia Les 40-23 after three. Alexander scored 7 in the fourth. Jae Haulcy scored 20 in the win. DeAsia Alexander bucketed 17 points in the regional playoff game.
No. 1 Northwood-Lena 75, No. 16 Plain Dealing 35
No. 9 Homer 54, No. 8 Oberlin 41
The Pels road trip to Allen Parish started a high-scoring first quarter with Homer edging out Oberlin 19-18. Z’riah Buggs bucketed 8 in the first quarter. The Pelican defense shut down Oberlin to 5 points in the second quarter. Bugs added another 6 points. Kerston Webb nailed a three and added another basket for 5 in the second. Homer led 33-23 at halftime. The Lady Pels expanded their lead by three to 45-32 in the third quarter. They rolled through the fourth quarter to head to the quarterfinals.
CLASS B First & Second Round
No. 15 Castor 51, No. 18 Doyline 49
It was round three for the two district rivals and despite a late fourth quarter come back by the Lady Panthers the district champs prevailed. Castor took the early 14-13 lead in the first backed by threes from Ambree Collinsworth and Jalexia Caldwell. The Lady Panthers stayed close as Castor only had a 27-24 lead at halftime. The Lady Tigers had added three more from beyond the arc from Kalena Smith, Kaylyn Long, and Miracle Slack. Neither team generated much offense in the third as Castor outscored Doyline 8-6 and a 35-30 lead heading into the final quarter. Castor had expanded the lead to over ten points in the first four minutes of the fourth, Keily Sumlin got hot for the Lady Panthers and reached within two points with seven seconds left. Sumlin had scored 16 in the final quarter but wasn’t enough as Castor moved to the second round. Kalena Smith was the Lady Tigers’ top scorer with 14. Kaylyn Long scored 11 for Castor. Doyline was led by Keily Sumlin with 28 points.
Second Round
No. 2 Fairview 95, No. 15 Castor 63
CLASS C
First Round (Round of 16)
No. 2 Gibsland-Coleman 56, No. 15 Pleasant Hill 52
The Lady Bulldogs had their hands full with the upstart Lady Eagles at home. Samoa Sampson led the Lady Bulldogs with 9 points in the first quarter as GCHS led 16-12 after one period. Ke’Honesty Williams took over in the second period with 9 of her own as the Lady Bulldogs took a 32-27 lead at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs were hitting from the charity stripe as they made 14 of 21. The Bulldogs couldn’t shake the Eagles although they expanded their lead to 47-39. The Bulldog defense had to kick into gear to fend off a fourth-quarter surge by Pleasant Hill and hold on for the first-round win. Ke’Honesty Williams led the Lady Bulldogs with 18 points. Samora Sampson netted 15. Baleigh Haulcy pocketed 13 points.
No. 3 Summerfield 39, No. 14 Epps 28
The two teams had trouble scoring when the end of the first quarter 7-4. Malaysia Tate scored 5 of the 7 points. The Lady Rebels ramped up the score in the second quarter as they pushed to a ten-point lead at 24-14. Tate had another big quarter with 11 points in the second. The Lady Rebels maintained the pace in the second half as they advanced to the quarterfinals with the win. Malaysia Tate led the Lady Rebels with 20 points.
QUARTERFINALS PREVIEW
CLASS A
No. 9 Homer (14-10) at No. 1 Northwood-Lena (31-1); Thursday @ 6:30 pm
The Lady Pelicans will be the second consecutive District 1-A opponent for the Lady Gators. Northwood-Lena has only one loss for the season and has won 24 consecutive games. The young Pels may have their hands full with this one. They will have to put points on the board as Northwood-Lena averages over 60 points a game.
No. 5 Arcadia (19-9) at No. 4 Merryville (25-6) ; Thursday @ 6 pm
The Lady Hornets have been one of the hottest teams to come out of North Louisiana winning 13 straight. Can they continue the sting and pull off another road win in Beauregard Parish. Merryville has won 12 of their last 13 games. Arcadia has been averaging 58.1 points in the streak. They will need every bit of that and possibly more to knock off the Lady Panthers. They will need a big game from the trio of Haulcy, Alexander, and Newton.
CLASS C
No. 7 Atlanta (21-10) at No. 2 Gibsland-Coleman (24-5) ; Thursday @ 6 pm
This could be the most intriguing matchup in the quarterfinals. You have two teams that are very closely matched. The Lady Bulldogs let Pleasant Hill get a little too close. This can’t happen with Atlanta. GCHS will have to contain Princis Goff. They will also have to fire on all pistons and get points from Sampson, Williams, and Haulcy to get to Hammond. This will be a test for the Lady Bulldogs.
No. 6 Reeves (18-13) at No. 3 Summerfield (26-11) ; Thursday @ 6:00 pm
The Reeves Lady Raiders struggled towards the end of the season as they had a 4-8 record in 2022. Summerfield has had a good run and won 7 of 8 games. The only hiccup in 2022 is to the district foe Gibsland-Coleman. The Lady Bulldogs could be their next opponent and the Lady Rebels need to focus on this game so nothing can slip and allow an upset.
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