Hoop playoff pairings set, Iberville boy-girl trios notch berths
State prep basketball playoff pairings were set Friday by the La. High School Athletic Assn. and a trio of Iberville Parish boy and girl cager teams notched postseason berths.
White Castle High’s boys notched the highest seeding of all the parish clubs with a number four spot in Class 1-A. Meanwhile, the WCHS girls were the lowest seed at 28th.
First-round bi-district boys’ games were to be played no later than Tuesday of this week, girls no later than Monday of this week. Reports can be found in this section of the POST SOUTH.
Here are the breakdowns:
BOYS:
Plaquemine Highreceived a number 20th seed and was paired with number 13-seeded Ellender High as host team. PHS finished the regular season with a 25-8 record and tied for runner-up in District 6-4A. Ellender, coached by former St. John High graduate and hoop standout Scott Gauthreaux, Ellender finished 22-8 overall and second in the 8-4A with a 6-2 mark. Vandebilt CHS won the crown with an 8-0 record and also had 22 victories on the season.
Comparing season foes, White Castle beat Ellender in the EHS tournament 75-67. Ellender also played in the White Castle tournament, falling to both Istrouma 55-52 (PHS’ district champ) and Port Allen 76-56.
White Castle High, though ranked number two in the La. Sportswriters Assn. poll, received a number four-seed in 1-A. They were slated to host number 29th-seeded St. Martin High at WCHS. The Bulldogs finished the 9-1A district as the unbeaten champs and posted a 22-7 overall mark. St. Martin traveled to WC with an 8-18 record and a 4-6 showing in district. They slipped by 4-6 Ecole Classique for a postseason bid out of the District 10-1A. Country Day, a state power, won the 10-1A crown with a 10-0 mark and an 18-13 season showing. Houma Christian was runner-up in the 10-1A with a 7-3 record. Four teams from the 10-1A slipped into the playoffs, joining local District 9-1A’s WCHS, East Iberville, and West St. John.
East Iberville Highnotched a number 12-seed spot with runner-up honors in the 9-1A district and an 8-2 record, the Tigers;’ only two league losses coming at the hands of champ WCHS. Overall, the Tigers finished 14-11. EIHS was set to host number 21-seeded Cedar Creek High in the first round. CC posted a 13-15 overall record and placed third in the 2-1A district with a 4-4 mark. Acadia (16-11) and Grambling Lab (14-14) tied with top 2-1A marks of 7-1 in league play and were seeded 13th and 14th in the pairings.
GIRLS:
Plaquemine High: The Lady Green Devils were among five teams in the solid 6-4 league to earn a state playoff berth. PHS earned a number 16-seed and was set to host number 17th-seed Wossman High. The visitors posted a 7-1 mark in the District 2-4A and a 13-8 overall mark. Wossman fought off 6-2 Bastrop (26th-seed) and 5-3, 16-9 Neville (15th-seed) in the league race and went to PHS as a possible “darkhorse”. Joining PHS out of the solid 6-4A in the playoffs were league champ St. Michael (6th-seed), runner-up Broadmoor (11th-seed), and Belaire (27th-seed) and Tara (31st-seed).
East Iberville High: The Lady Tigers finished runner-up in the local 9-1A with an 8-2 league mark and a 17-11 overall showing. They were set to host 20th-seed St. Edmund High (second in the 6-1A with an 11-3 mark and a 15-9 overall record). The visiting SEHS girls finished second to 14-0 North Central (24-7, three-seed), and edged out Opelousas CHS (10-4, 22-seed) for runner-up in the 6-1A. The EIHS joined 9-1A champ West St. John (10-0, 23-4, 8th-seed), WCHS (5-5, 8-14, 28-seed), and Ascension CHS (4-6, 30th-seed) in the playoffs.
White Castle High: As noted above, the Lady Bulldogs claimed the third-best mark in the local 9-1A and earned a number 28th-seed in the playoffs. That put them on the road against number 5-seed Tensas. The hosting Tensas club turned in a stellar 28-1 record with their only loss coming against 6th-seeded Oak Grove (15-7) in a head-to-head battle in the District 3-1A. Both highly-regarded 3-1A teams finished 7-1 in league play and they dominated their district.
As noted above, WCHS joined 9-1A opponents East Iberville, West St. John, and ACHS with a playoff berth.