The championship dreams of the top-seeded Lakeview girls basketball teams are within reach after the Lady Gators romped by visiting Homer in a state quarterfinal playoff game Thursday night and advanced to next week’s Marsh Madness semifinals in Hammond, two wins from a Non-Select Division IV state title.
On the road in Zachary, Natchitoches Central carried a two-point lead to the fourth quarter but the home team overwhelmed the visitors from there, going on a 24-6 run to move on to the Non-Select Division I semifinals next week in Hammond. The third-seeded Broncos (23-4) prevailed over the No. 6 Lady Chiefs (29-5), whose district rivals Parkway and Haughton won quarterfinal games Thursday night and will meet in the other semifinal in Hammond.
Jordan McDaniel scored 17 and Annalise Newton added 10 for NCHS, which made its fourth quarterfinal appearance in five seasons.
Lakeview (28-4) advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive season as 2,000-career points scorer Timberlyn Washington led the Lady Gators to their 20th consecutive victory. This was the fifth straight state quarterfinal berth for Lakeview, which ended ninth-seeded Homer’s season with a 19-10 record..
Semifinals will be played Monday-Thursday next week at the University Center in Hammond. Championship games are next Friday and Saturday. The LHSAA will announce the game schedules perhaps as early as today. Small classification teams typically play their semifinal games on Monday or Tuesday, and the championship games are usually on Friday, based on previous years’ schedules.
Scores of our local teams Thursday night in the Non-Select state quarterfinals:
Division I
Zachary 59, Natchitoches Central 45
Division IV
Lakeview 50, Homer 13
Marsh Madness matchup (date, time in Hammond TBA)
Lakeview (No. 1 seed, Division IV) vs. Midland