Lady Cats fall in tiebreaker

PRAIRIE RONDE – The Eunice High Lady Bobcats trailed by just two points at the halfway point of Thursday night’s playoff to determine the District 5-3A champion for the LHSAA playoffs.
Lady Cats ended the district season tied with the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs with 9-1 records as the two teams split in their two games during the regular season.
But the Lady Bulldogs took control of the game as Ville Platte earned a 41-22 win.
The Lady Cats opened the game with 3-0 lead on a 3-point field goal by senior Shay Vigers. But the Lady Bulldogs responded with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes for an 11-3 lead.
A steal by Vigers turned into a driving bucket to cut the lead to 11-5 before another Ville Platte turnover was turned into a 3-point field goal by Eunice freshman Stacie White.
In the waning seconds of the quarter, Kealogah Calvin’s field goal gave the Lady Bulldogs a 13-10 lead.
Ville Platte extended its lead to 15-10 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but White drove for a basket, was fouled, and converted the free throw to pull the Lady Cats within two points.
A minute later, White drove for another basket to tie the game at 15-15 with 3:16 left in the half.
Calvin would score a basket as she drove into the lane to put the Lady Bulldogs back on top by a 17-15 margin at halftime.
The early part of the third quarter was dominated by the Lady Bulldogs. Ville Platte scored the first five points of the quarter to extend its lead to 23-15 at the 5:23 mark, White added a field goal to cut the lead to 23-17, but the Lady Bulldogs would add five more points from Zaria Fontenot to go ahead 28-17.
Vigers went inside for a bucket, but Calvin finished the quarter with a field goal to give Ville Platte a 30-19 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs put the game away in the fourth quarter as they went into a stall offense, spreading the floor and forcing the Lady Cats to chase.
The strategy worked as the Lady Cats managed just three points to 11 for the Lady Bulldogs.
“They confused us with their stall offense,” said head coach Wayne Fontenot. “They put us in a position we weren’t used to and that was the game.” Fontenot described the final quarter as a “nightmare” for his Lady Cats.
“There is still a chance of making to the playoffs,” said assistant coach John McLemore. “Hopefully it wasn’t our last game of the season.”
The LHSAA will release the playoff pairings on Momday.
Prior to Thursday’s game, The Lady Cats (16-11) were sitting at No. 32, while Ville Platte (20-8) was No. 15.