Blue Jays split in district opener

The Lady Jays put their 2-13 start behind them Friday night as the St. Edmund girls opened District 5-1A play with a 44-37 win over Catholic High of Pointe Coupee (5-6, 0-1).
The Lady Hornets jumped out to a 7-3 lead as Katelyn Bellelo scored the first points for CHPC.
St. Edmund then went on a 5-0 run to grab a slim one-point advantage.
Haily Coutee hit a trey for the Lady Hornets but Margaret Vidrine scored in the lane to force a 10-10 tie late in the first period.
Jami LeBouef hit a jumper early in the second period for the Lady Jays, but Julie Thibodeaux responded with a trey to give CHPC a 13-12 lead.
Kelli Richard’s put-back bucket gave the Lady Jays a 14-13 advantage but the Lady Hornets went on a 8-2 run to grab a 21-17 halftime lead.
The two teams continued to battle in the third period as the Lady Jays went on a 10-4 run to take a 27-25 lead midway through the quarter.
Sam Bertrand, Payton Crowell, LeBouef and Richard all scored in the Lady Jay surge.
LeBouef scored in the lane and Crowell hit a pair of free throws to push the Lady Jays ahead, 32-27.
Coutee hit a trey with a second left to close the gap to 32-30 as the game moved to the final quarter.
Richard scored in back-to-back buckets,LeBouef hit a jumper and Crowell made a three-point play as the Lady Jays forged ahead, 41-32.
A jumper from Bellelo and a trey by Coutee helped the Lady Hornets close the gap to 43-37 in the closing minute.
Sydney Thibodeaux hit a free throw with 36 seconds remaining to seal the 44-37 win.
Crowell led the Lady Jays with 10 points, while Coutee had 11 points for Catholic-PC.
The Lady Jays are off Tuesday before a road trip to North Central (13-2) on Friday.

CHPC 73, SEH 62
Catholic High of Pointe Coupee broke a 14-14 first quarter tie to earn a 73-62 win over the Blue Jays in the District 5-1A opener.
St. Edmund (6-12, 0-1)began the game with a 8-1 run, sparked by a pair of buckets by Kyle Verdugo.
A trey from Boogie Nelson and a shot off the glass by Darius Munson helped the Hornets (5-5, 1-0) close the gap to 8-6 midway through the period.
A drive in the lane by Christian McFarlain and a lay-up by Verdugo pushed the Jays ahead, 12-6 before CHPC battled back to force a 14-14 tie.
The fight for the upperhand continued in the second quarter as St. Stone LeJeune’s jumper forced a 16-16 tie before Jonas Guichet and Nelson drained back-to-back treys for the Hornets.
Nelson would hit another three-pointer before LeJeune drove the lane to pull the Jays closer, 28-20 midway through the period.
The Hornets added to their lead with a 8-0 run, aided by a pair of second-chance shots by Troy Pichou and another one by Nelson.
The Blue Jays responded with a 7-0 surge, sparked by four points from Cullen Brown and a lay-up by John Ross Guillory.
Nelson drilled a trey and added a free throw in the closing minute to give the Hornets a 37-27 advantage.
McFarlain drained a three pointer with 20 seconds left to close the gap to 37-30 at the break.
St. Edmund opened the third period with a 7-4 run, sparked by a five points from McFarlain and a put-back by Kyle Dupre.
McFarlain added two free throws for the Jays before CHPC went on a 10-4 run to pull ahead, 53-43.
McFarlain, who finished with 27 points, hit a jumper and a buzzer-beater to close the gap to 57-47 as the game moved to the final quarter.
St. Edmund fought to stay in the contest with a put-back by Dylan Bieber, a drive in the lane by Brown and two free throws by McFarlain to close the margin to 59-53.
The Hornets then went on a 6-0 run, aided by four points by Munson (24 points on the night) as Catholic led 65-53 with 3:24 left.
Brown and LeJeune scored on back-to-back lay-ups and McFarlain added five straight points as the Jays closed the gap to five points before CHPC ended the game with a 6-0 run and grabbed the 73-62 win.
St. Edmund steps out of district with a home game Tuesday night against Westminster Christian Academy before visiting North Central next Friday.