Lady Devils tied for first in 6-4A

Plaquemine Lady Green Devils and head coach Brannon Dillon are off to a great start in district play and are tied atop the 6-4A leaderboard along with rival Belaire Lady Bengals.

PHS opened district play last week on the road against Belaire and came away with a blowout victory, 65-41.  

Carleisha Stevens was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points, followed by Tyrielle Watkins at 15, Kiffani Young at 12, Shakira Wicks at eight and Breanna Dillon with seven.  Dillon was the lead rebounder with seven and Young followed with five.

Tyrielle Wakins lead in both assists and steals with four each.

Plaquemine Lady Devils were hopeful to repeat their first win over St. Michael back in early January when the PHS club handed St. Michael their first district loss since 2011.  PHS hosted St. Michael last Friday, but came up just short 46-50.

“We got off to a sluggish start and it cost us in the end,” head coach Brannon Dillon said.  “We continue stressing to them that you should play each of your opponents with the same level of intensity no matter who they are.  Those are some of the characteristics expected from a young team.

“A team like St. Michael has a lot of pride and a rich tradition.  I knew despite their preseason record that they weren’t going to lie down and just let us win.

“They played much harder than we did in the first three quarters.  I felt like we settled down and played much better in the fourth, but the odds were too much to overcome.

“It was a learning experience for the girls and that experience was to make your opponent match your intensity.”

Stevens was the lead scorer for the Lady Devils for the second time in a row last week with 13 points, followed by Breanna Dillon and Kiffani Young each with eight, Watkins with seven and Wicks with six.

Dillon was the lead rebounder with 13 and Young with seven.  Young lead in steals with four while Watkins and Dillon each had three.

The Lady Devils are ranked 23rd overall in the 4A power rankings, but this number is expected to rise.  They will hit the road to take on Livonia this week and host Woodlawn B.R. February 4.