Allen Marie Sr.
February 16, 2018
Thibodaux High student held on threats involving gun
February 21, 2018
Last year, Northside went to Galliano and beat the South Lafourche girls’ basketball team – ending its season.
A few weeks later, Ellender won the Class 4A State Title, defeating Salmen.
Last night in Round 2 of the Class 4A State Playoffs, all four teams faced off again.
It was clear that revenge was heavily on the minds of those scorned in 2017.
The Lady Tarpons crushed Northside 70-42 last night, scoring revenge for last year’s defeat, while punching a ticket to the Elite 8 for the second-straight year.
While South Lafourche used revenge, Ellender was bitten by it. Salmen trumped the Lady Patriots 76-69 on Monday, ending Ellender’s season short of the team’s goal of the State Title.
Lady Tarpons soar past Northside
After losing to Northside last year, South Lafourche left no doubt in 2018, beating their playoff rivals by 28 points.
The Lady Tarpons dominated from start-to-finish, using balanced offense to roar out to a 22-4 lead that they’d never relent.
South Lafourche dominated the glass throughout Monday’s game, earning second and third opportunities offensively, while limiting the Lady Vikings to just one shot at the rim.
Senior post Victorianna Nelson had six early points (12 points total), including a highlight reel left-handed spinning baby hook shot in the lane, which helped spark the early rally. Nelson missed last year’s game with Northside because of an injury. She said she wanted to set the tone early and let the Lady Vikings know that this year’s game would be different.
“We wanted to start early and let them know that last year was just a memory,” Nelson said. “I think we did a good job of playing our game and setting the pace early.”
Northside showed signs of life, cutting the Lady Tarpons’ lead to 11 at one point in the second quarter. But every time they’d make a run, either Traya Bruce (25 points) or Kyzha Jackson (18 points) would throw a bucket of water on it, allowing South Lafourche to stay in control for good.
In the second half, the lead ballooned out past 20 points and even touched 30-plus points at time before settling into the final margin.
South Lafourche Rainie Terrebonne said after the win that she’s proud of her team for battling and climbing over the top of what she called a quality opponent.
Terrebonne made a point to say just how much her team has grown and changed over the past year after Northside coach Amy DesOrmeaux told The Daily Advertiser after the team’s first-round win that she didn’t “expect to see too many different things from what they saw a year ago” when facing the Lady Tarpons.
“The girls came out and they knew they wanted to take care of business and get this revenge after what happened last year because we are not the same team that we were last year,” Terrebonne said. “It might be the same faces, different uniforms and it’s different kids in them. We just came out here and they had that revenge factor that they were ready to get back at them and obviously, we did it.”
With the win, the Lady Tarpons advance to the Round of 8 where they will host No. 7 Minden.
They beat Huntington 57-37 on Monday night.
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Lady Pats fall to Salmen
Ric Flair once said famously ‘To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.’
Salmen beat ‘the man’ last night – in their own gym.
The Lady Spartans went to a hostile environment and beat the defending Class 4A State Champions 76-69 – ending their season short of the Class 4A State Title.
Salmen shot the daylights out of the ball in the win, making several long shots to push past the team that beat them exactly one year ago.
The start was ugly for the home team with Salmen jumping out 23-9 on Ellender – much to the dismay of a large, sizable home crown which turned out to support the home team.
The Lady Patriots did give them opportunities to cheer, cutting a 19-point Salmen lead to seven at halftime.
The Lady Patriots also got within one possession several times in the second half, but every time they’d get close, Salmen would take it away on the shooting arm of Ashanti Eden, who scored 30 points in the win.
“Our ladies wanted this game,” Salmen coach Panos Bountovinas said after the win. “I think it proved to us that we can compete with these types of teams and after last year, they wanted to get back and go beyond that level.”
Terris McKay led Ellender with 21 points. Marghan Frierson and Orieon James both had 15.
The loss ends the high school careers for four Ellender seniors, but the team does return McKay, Trastasia Hester Frierson and several other key pieces.
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Elsewhere in the Houma-Thibodaux area
The Lady Tarpons were not the only victorious team on Monday night.
In Division II, Vandebilt beat Ben Franklin 43-41 to advance to the State Quarterfinals.
The Lady Terriers will now take on No. 1 University Lab on Thursday.
Also victorious was Houma Christian, which crushed St. Edmund 74-40 in the Division IV State Playoffs.
The Christian Warriors will host No. 7 St. Mary’s on Thursday.
While the Lady Tarpons, Lady Terriers and Lady Warriors celebrated their wins, others fell on the other end of the spectrum.
In Class 5A, Thibodaux fell 58-46 to No. 1 Barbe, ending the Lady Tigers’ season.
In Class 4A, South Terrebonne battled No. 5 Bossier to the end, but fell 34-28 in a nail biter.
In Division II, E.D. White fell to Loyola Prep 56-30.
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