White Castle pulls away from Lady Eagles
PLAQUEMINE – White Castle used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to put away St. John in a District 9-1A 52-28 victory after their lead had been cut to 10 in the third on Friday night at SJHS' gym.
The Lady Bulldogs (11-10, 2-0) also defeated Ascension Christian 47-31 on Tuesday. White Castle travels to East Iberville on Tuesday after hosting Ascension Catholic and West St. John on Tuesday and Friday.
"We knew we had to come out and take advantage of these two games to give our girls confidence before we even think about anybody else," White Castle coach Tammy Washington-Pierce said. "We tell them to go into every game with the belief we can win it and this is really giving them confidence that they can play with anyone.
"We kind of played lazy defense coming out in the second half and our big girl got into foul trouble but we told them they have to be disciplined and work through those fouls."
Shylar O'Bear had a game-high 16 points for White Castle. Erica Jones added 14, Alaina Williams 10, Skylar O'Bear seven and Blessing Franklin five.
"We are trying to build a program to be successful in the future so getting them to buy into this is the challenge," St. John coach Chase Mancuso said. "They are playing hard but we just have to get better fundamentally because all of those little things add up.
"They are up and down the floor and we just gave up too many second-chance points in the first half."
The Lady Eagles (7-12, 0-2) also fell to Ascension Catholic 69-48 in the district opener on Tuesday. St. John travels to East Iberville Friday before hosting Ascension Christian Tuesday after going to West St. John on Tuesday.
Jessie Brown led St. John with 13 points. Shelbi Strickland added six, Kamryn Theriot four, Payton Passantino three and Keri Yarbrough two.
Jones provided six points in the first quarter as White Castle jumped out to a 12-4 lead. Williams' inside basket made it 26-12 at the half after Strickland's putback and jumper.
Brown's floater in the lane and 3-pointer from the right corner cut it to 30-19 but Shylar O'Bear followed with treys from the top of the key to make it 37-22 going into the fourth quarter.
Strickland's lane drive and Theriot's layup off a steal cut it to 39-26 after Skylar O'Bear fed Jones inside. The Lady Bulldogs' final run came with Jones on the bench after fouling out with 6:10 left to play.
It included Shylar O'Bear's transition baskets and dishes to Franklin for a 3-point play and off a steal. Yarbrough's putback reflected the final tally.
White Castle led 12-6 going into the second quarter and 22-18 at the half against Ascension Christian before taking a 31-24 lead into the fourth.
Shylar O'Bear led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points including two 3-pointers. Jones added 12, Skylar O'Bear eight, Williams five and Franklin and Ashanti Knight each two.
Sydney Sehon led the Lady Lions (8-6, 0-2) with a game-high 18 points. Ally Cambre, Maddie Gautreau and Kennan Johnson each added four.
Ascension Catholic led 25-7 going into the second quarter and 43-21 at the half before taking a 55-35 lead into the fourth.
Brown led St. John with 14 points. Strickland added 12, including two 3-pointers, Theriot eight, Passantino six, Carlee Smith five and Samantha Rivet four.
Kyra Jones led Ascension Catholic (10-10, 1-1) with a game-high 24 points. Jordynn Brown added 13, Megan Brooks 10 and Rae'Shaun Melancon eight.
