By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Everybody knew the Natchitoches Central girls basketball team could make it this far In the state playoffs, and on script, the Lady Chiefs have recovered from a midseason swoon to reach the state quarterfinals on a roll.
Nobody thought the St. Mary’s Lady Tigers would be still playing basketball, one step away from Marsh Madness next week in Hammond.
But here they are.
Both local teams face tough hurdles tonight on the road in the LHSAA postseason.
Ninth-seeded NCHS (21-8), coming off a 50-33 demolition of No. 8 Destrehan on the road Monday night in Non-Select Division I second-round game, heads to the Baton Rouge metro area to meet top-seeded Zachary (28-3), the defending state champions.
NCHS won 12 of its first 13 games but hit the skids, going 3-6 for a month-long stretch. The Lady Chiefs have won six of their last seven, beating Airline at home 52-49 in a late comeback before using a 16-0 run after halftime to take command at Destrehan.
They are aiming for the fifth state semifinal appearance in 12 seasons under coach Nikki Jones.
St. Mary’s, the lowest seed remaining in any of the 10 girls playoff brackets, hopes to defy the odds once again. Seeded 21st in Select Division IV, the Lady Tigers have won six straight, their last four in district and two road playoff games, to earn a quarterfinal trip to Ruston, where they will encounter the fourth-seeded Cedar Creek Lady Cougars.
St. Mary’s is the lowest seeded girls team to reach the state quarters in any classification in five years. Ironically, that was the year the Lady Tigers won the state championship by beating Cedar Creek’s district rival, Ouachita Christian, for all the marbles.
SMHS opened the playoffs going to Morgan City and scoring a 48-35 first-round surprise over 12th-seeded Central Catholic.
Monday night in Eunice, the Lady Tigers pulled a shocker, toppling fifth-seeded St. Edmund in overtime 65-60.
“They have really stepped up. They have a lot of fight, a lot of grit, and they’re paying attention to every game plan, every detail,” said first-year St. Mary’s coach Layne Huckabay.
“They have bought into each other more in the last six, seven or eight games and this is the result. They are ready to go in and fight Cedar Creek,” he said.
The Lady Tigers fell behind 10-0 Monday night in Eunice to a team with four senior starters.
St. Mary’s seniors Ava Hebert and Amelia Hanes provided steady leadership. Hebert, the team’s leading scorer, poured in 25 while Ava Holland added 18 points and 18 rebounds. Freshman Corbin Gandy made some crucial plays while contributing 9 points and 9 rebounds, as every player made impact during the back-and forth battle.
“I’m not speechless very often, but what they’ve done these last two games has left me speechless,” said Huckaby. “I’m so proud of them. They are playing confident, fearless, smart and tough basketball. Now we’re in the elite eight, where nobody expected us to be. We’re still dancing.”
Cedar Creek is 21-8 and has won 10 of its last 11 while reaching the state quarterfinals for the 10th consecutive year.
Cedar Creek head coach Katie Hall is a former All-State MVP for championship teams at Byrd High School, and starred at Louisiana Tech for Leon Barmore.
St. Mary’s assistant coach Ronnie Howell coached Hall in eighth grade in Shreveport, and coached Cedar Creek associate coach Tony Martinez at LSUS, and later had Martinez on his staff.
“We all know each other really well,” said Huckabay, who was a graduate assistant for coach James Smith at Northwestern more than 20 years ago.
“This is going to be full circle for the coaches. Katie called me Tuesday morning and said, ‘what’s going on, heartbreak kid?’ We talked for 25 minutes,” he said. “We’ve known each other since she played at Tech. She’s an excellent coach with a very very good team.”
Both games tip off at 6. The Lady Chiefs will be broadcast on 100.7 FM KZBL. The Lady Tigers’ broadcast will be at 97.5 KDBH FM.
