Girls Basketball: Four champs crowned Thursday, four more to be crowned today

LHSAA Girls Basketball Final Four Playoff Report for Friday, March 5

Four state champions were crowned in Hammond Thursday at the LHSAA Girls Prep Basketball finals at University Center.

In Division V, top seed University Academy whipped No. 3 Claiborne Christian 58-28 for its second straight state championship.

It was 11-5 after one quarter but University Academy exploded in the second quarter, outscoring Claiborne Christian 19-2 to take a commanding 30-9 lead by the break. The Lady Lions led 39-14 after three quarters.

Jordan Semones led the Lady Lions with 26 points and seven rebounds and was named the Most Outstanding Player. Kaysha Hurd came up big with 14 points and 15 rebounds. AnnaBelle Russell led the Lady Crusaders with 12 points.

University Academy also won a pair of Mississippi Association of Independent School championships previously.

The Lady Crusaders end their season 15-9.

In Division IV, No. 1 Ouachita Christian captured the championship with a 61-40 win over No. 2 Highland Baptist.

OCS (29-2) led 15-10 after one quarter and 30-20 at halftime. It was 47-32 going to the fourth quarter.

Emery Wirtz scored 17 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had five steals and was named Most Outstanding Player for the Lady Eagles. Avery Hopkins added 15 points while Conleigh Laseter finished with 13 points and three steals. Ouachita Christian sank 21-of-28 free throw attempts.

Marin Barras led Highland Baptist (23-4) with 17 points and 14 rebounds while M’Kylah Olivier finished with 12 points for the Lady Bears.

In Class 1A, top seed East Iberville rallied past No. 3 Northwood-Lena for the title.

The Tigers rallied from a 16-point third quarter deficit to emerge victorious.

The Gators jumped out to an 18-5 lead after one quarter and led 29-17 at halftime. Northwood-Lena still led 39-32 going to the fourth quarter but the Tigers completed their comeback, outscoring the Gators 18-7 in the final frame for the win.

Dedreka Wilson led East Iberville (25-6) with 21 points and 12 rebounds and was named the Most Outstanding Player. Ty Mosby added 10 points for the Tigers. Rhianna Battles topped Northwood-Lena (21-4) with 16 points while Ayleyah Winn scored 15 points.

In Class B, traditional power and second-seeded Fairview returned to the throne after a 55-51 win over No. 1 Hathaway, winning state for the second straight year.

Fairview now has 13 state championships to its credit, the most in Louisiana girls prep basketball history.

In a close game throughout, Fairview led 17-16 after one quarter but Hathaway had a huge second quarter, outscoring the Lady Panthers 20-9 to take a 36-26 halftime lead. Fairview battled back, outscoring the Hornets 19-7 to take a 45-43 lead going to the fourth quarter and it was close the rest of the way.

Rylee Jenks scored 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, had eight assists and came up with four steals in a complete performance in earning Most Outstanding Player honors. Rylee Cloud had 17 points and six rebounds and Coco Williams scored 12 points for the Lady Panthers (29-3).

Lamiyah Sanchez topped Hathaway (23-4) with 18 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and two steals in an outstanding performance.

Four more state titles will be decided today, including No. 2 Hicks taking on No. 4 Reeves at noon in Class C, top seed St. Louis Catholic facing defending champion and third seed Liberty at 2:30 p.m. in Division II, top-seeded defending champion LaGrange squaring off with Huntington at 5 p.m. for the 4A championship and No. 1 Doyle defending it’s 2A state title against No. 3 Lake Arthur at 7:30 p.m.

Girls Basketball Marsh Madness Schedule
Semifinals
Monday
at University Center, Hammond
Division IV
(2) Highland Baptist 45, (3) Cedar Creek 39
(1) Ouachita Christian 64, (4) St. Martin’s Episcopal 32

Class 2A
(1) Doyle 65, (5) Avoyelles Public Charter 61
(3) Lake Arthur 71 (2) Amite 57

at Burton Coliseum, Lake Charles
Division V
(1) University Academy 65, (5) St. Joseph’s Plaucheville 28
(3) Claiborne Christian 42, (2) Family Community 31

Class B
(1) Hathaway 46, (13) Bell City 34
(2) Fairview 61, (3) Florien 45

Tuesday
at University Center, Hammond
Class 1A
(3) Northwood-Lena 46, (2) Merryville 39
(1) East Iberville 54, (4) North Central 40

Class 3A
(1) Madison Prep 61, (4) Brusly 41
(7) Northwest 64, (3) South Beauregard 48

at Burton Coliseum, Lake Charles
Class C
(4) Reeves 45, (1) Gibsland-Coleman 34
(2) Hicks 62, (3) Plainview 26

Division II
(3) Liberty 68, (2) Ursuline Academy 49
(1) St. Louis Catholic 48, (4) St. Thomas More 41

Wednesday
at University Center, Hammond
Division I
(2) John Curtis Christian 48, (3) Dominican 37
(1) Mt. Carmel Academy 55, (4) Scotlandville 44

Class 5A
(6) Captain Shreve 47, (10) West Monroe 32
(12) Benton 58, (1) Ponchatoula, 7:30 p.m.

at Burton Coliseum, Lake Charles
Division III
(1) Lafayette Christian 75, (4) St. Charles Catholic 31
(3) St. Thomas Aquinas 43, (2) Episcopal 36

Class 4A
(2) Huntington 45, (3) Neville 38
(1) LaGrange 55, (4) Warren Easton 40

Finals
at University Center, Hammond
Thursday
Division V: (1) University Academy 58, (3) Claiborne Christian 28
Division IV: (1) Ouachita Christian 61, (2) Highland Baptist 40
Class 1A: (1) East Iberville 50, (3) Northwood-Lena 46
Class B: (2) Fairview 55, (1) Hathaway 51

Friday
Class C: (2) Hicks vs. (4) Reeves, noon
Division II: (1) St. Louis Catholic vs. (3) Liberty, 2:30 p.m.
Class 4A: (1) LaGrange vs. 2) Huntington, 5 p.m.
Class 2A: (1) Doyle vs. (3) Lake Arthur, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 6
Division III: (1) Lafayette Christian vs. (4) St. Thomas Aquinas, noon
Division I: (1) Mount Carmel Academy vs. (2) John Curtis Christian, 2:30 p.m.
Class 3A: (1) Madison Prep vs. (7) Northwest, 5 p.m.
Class 5A: (12) Benton vs. (6) Captain Shreve, 7:30 p.m.