Northwest Louisiana teams took it on the chin and the heart in the semifinals of Marsh Madness at the University Center on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University. Arcadia’s heart was crushed by a last-second shot to send Oakdale to the finals in the Division IV Nonselect semifinal matchup. Florien was eliminated by Hathaway in the Division V Nonselect semifinals.
Winnfield came up short against Amite on Wednesday afternoon. The bright spot in the semifinals was the Lakeview Lady Gators as they advanced to the state championship. Lakeview advanced with a 36-30 win over Oak Grove.
Division IV Nonselect
Lakeview 36, Oak Grove 30
The Lady Gator came out in the first quarter with Timberlyn Washington scoring 8 of the 10 points in the first quarter. Lakeview took a 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. A low-scoring second quarter still had the Lady Gator outscoring Oak Grove 6-5 and taking a 16-10 lead into halftime. Janiya Armstrong, Sa’Niya Marshall along with Washington all scored in the second quarter. Oak Grove struggled in the first half shooting 3 for 19. Third quarter, the Lady Tigers closed the gap slightly to 24-20 after three quarters. Oak Grove only took 7 shots but made 3 of them count. Washington hit the only three of the game for the Lady Gators in the third and was the top scorer in the third with four points. Trinity Browder and Armstrong added a bucket a piece. Lakeview finished out strong and held on for the ticket to the state championship in the final quarter for the 36-30 win. Timberlyn Washington was the top Lady Gator scorer with 19 points. Trinity Browder finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
“I thank God for blessing us to make it this far,” Head Coach Dewaskie Fuller said. “I’m very proud of this team and how much they have grown this year but the job is not done yet. Our goal this year is to win the state championship and I’m praying and trusting God to bless us to do so.”
Lakeview will face Oakdale in the state championship on Friday at noon.
Division IV Nonselect
Oakdale 47, Arcadia 46
The Arcadia Lady Hornets fell victim to a last-second desperation shot that would end their season in Hammond. The two squads stayed close throughout the game. Arcadia had the lead after the first quarter with a 14-10 lead. Free throw shooting would keep Oakdale in the game. In the second quarter, Oakdale shot 3 for 14 from the field but a halftime 9 for 11 from the charity stripe kept them close to Arcadia and a tie at 22 for halftime. The Lady Warriors took the lead in the third quarter outscoring Arcadia 16-12. Once again, the free throw was key shooting 5 for 7 in the third. Arcadia had only shot 7 free throws in the entire game at that point. Three-pointers by DeAsia Alexander and Ja’Kyria Cockerham closed the gap for Arcadia. Oakdale had a 38-34 lead after three quarters. Arcadia closed the gap and took the lead at 46-44 as a last-second shot about ten feet behind the three-point line swished the net to end the 23-8 season for the Lady Hornets. De’Asia Alexander led the Lady Hornets with 16 points and 7 blocks. Justice Young finished with a double-double with 14 rebounds and 12 points.
Division V Nonselect
Hathaway 47, Florien 41
The Florien Lady Blackcats scrapped to the end to close in on the Hathaway Lady Hornets but didn’t have enough time to finish. The Lady Blackcats end the season 29-3 and the end of a historic career for head basketball coach Dewain Strother who has put in nearly a 40-year career coaching. Hathaway struggled in the first quarter shooting 2 for 22 and Florien took the early 8-4 lead. Hathaway came back in the second nailing three 3-pointers and taking a 17-16 halftime lead. Hathaway got hot in the third quarter shooting 55% and pushed the lead to 34-27 at the end of three quarters. Florien stayed close with a couple of threes but Hathaway countered the two threes. The Lady Hornets shot 10 for 12 from the free throw line in the second half to push the Lady Hornets into the state championship. J’Nasura Richardson scored a double-double with 22 rebounds and 15 points. Richardson also had 5 steals. Latoya Holmes was close to a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds
Division III Nonselect
Amite 59, Winnfield 37
The Winnfield Tigerettes ended their 2023 season with an 18-10 record in the semifinals at Marsh Madness in Hammond against defending state champion Amite Lady Warriors. Amite scored two three-pointers and took an 18-8 lead after the first quarter. Winnfield clawed back into the second quarter slightly outscoring Amite 13-11. Amite had 41 shots in the first half to Winnfield’s 30 shots. The Lady Warrior had a 29-21 halftime lead. The second half saw Winnfield get cold shooting as Amite got hot. Winnfield shot 2 for 16 (12.5%) in the third quarter and Amite had its best quarter shooting 8 for 18 (44.4%). Amite outscored Winnfield 16-7 in the third and expanded their lead to 45-28. A large gap to overcome could not be achieved as the Tigerettes struggled to score again in the fourth quarter. Winnfield finished the second half shooting 5 for 33 (15.2%) as Amite shot 15 for 34 (44.1%). Amite held on for back-to-back trips to the state championship. Off the bench, Helen Sapp had a double-double for the Tigerettes with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sapp also had 5 steals. Kamarie Brown scored 10 for Winnfield.
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Learn more on my Private Policy page.