Blue Jays fall to PCC in district clash

The road to the playoffs became more difficult for both St. Edmund teams after Tuesday night’s sweep by Pointe Coupee Central.
The Lady Cougars (16-6, 3-0 in District 5-1A) held a 29-12 advantage at the break and rolled to a 59-38 win over the Lady Jays (3-15, 1-2).
PCC jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Lady Jay Sydney Thibodeaux scored in the lane at the 4:51 mark.
Kierra Williams converted a three-point play for the Lady Cougars, but Jami LeBouef responded with four straight points for the Lady Jays.
PCC closed the opening period with a 5-0 run, aided by a trey from Makaya Cotton as the Lady Cougars took a 17-6 advantage into the second quarter.
PCC continued their surge with a 8-0 run before Victoria McGee scored from the baseline and LeBouef added a free throw for the Lady Jays.
LeBouef scored three points in the final two minutes to help close the gap to 29-12 at the break.
The Lady Jay offense regrouped in the third period and fought to keep the game close as PCC had a 19-13 advantage in the quarter.
Maddie Andrus and Constance Fontenot scored in the lane to close the margin to 36-16.
Payton Crowell, Andrus and Allison LaFleur all pushed in points midway through the quarter for the Lady Jays before PCC closed the period with a 6-0 run.
LeBouef drove the baseline and later hit a jumper and two free throws to help the Lady Jays mount a 13-11 fourth quarter run.
Andrus finished the game with a pair of buckets as the Lady Jays closed the final gap to 21 points.
LeBouef led St. Edmund with 14 points, while Andrus added 10 points.
Erin Russell led PCC with 18 points, while Cotton scored 13 points and Asia Manchester chipped in 10 points.
St. Edmund travels to False River Academy (6-10, 0-2) on Friday before visiting Sacred Heart of Ville Platte (7-10, 1-1) on Tuesday.

PCC 70, SEH 40
Pointe Coupee Central (7-13, 3-0) exploded for a 23-4 first quarter lead and cruised to a 70-40 win over the Blue Jays (4-13, 0-3).
“They are a good transition team and we could not adjust,” St. Edmund head coach Hunter Dawkins said after the game. “But I did see some potential in our team.”
The Cougars opened with a 8-0 run before St. Edmund’s John Ross Guillory drilled a trey at the 5:48 mark.
PCC then went on a 12-0 surge aided by a strong inside game by Steven Guidry and Bryce Jones.
William Chachere hit a free throw with 1:21 left for the only other Blue Jay point in the period.
Jonathan Fabre hit a trey as the Cougars increased their lead to 28-4 before Cullen Brown hit a free throw for the Jays.
A Cougar run was slowed by a two drives in the lane and a trey by Stone LeJeuene as the Jays trailed, 35-12 midway through the second period.
Christian McFarlain hit a three-pointer and Kyle Verdugo scored from the baseline for the Jays late in the half, but the Cougars drained two treys to push ahead, 45-20 at the break.
PCC began the third quarter with a 7-0 run, aided by a trey from Fabre before McFarlain scored for the Jays.
A drive in the lane by Brown and a trey from Verdugo helped the Jays close the gap to 54-27.
LeJeune scored twice in the lane and Alex Hunt later pushed in a second-chance bucket as St. Edmund closed the margin to 64-36 as the game moved to the final period.
The two defenses took over in the fourth quarter as Drew Brown scored in the lane and McFarlain hit two free throws for the only Blue Jay points in final eight minutes.
PCC closed the game with a 6-0 run to cap the 70-40 win.
LeJeune led St. Edmund with 11 points, while McFarlain added nine points.
Verdugo and Cullen Brown each chipped in six points.
Jones led PCC with 16 points, while Guidry followed with 14 points and Fabre contributed 12 points.
St. Edmund travels to False River Academy (2-10, 0-2) on Friday before visiting Sacred Heart of Ville Platte (7-13, 1-1) on Tuesday.
“We have a chance to win the next three games that will help us get toward 10 wins and fight for a place in the playoffs,” Dawkins said.