Lady Bulldogs finish 1-2 in last three games
The Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs are now 12-3 on the season after dropping two of their last three contests. The Lady Bulldogs finished the Sam Houston Tournament, going 1-1 on Saturday. Ville Platte then traveled to Walker to battle the Lady Wildcats. The last two games for the Lady Bulldogs have been against opponents from class 5A. Here is a recap those three games.
Ville Platte
vs. South Beauregard
The second foe for the Lady Bulldogs in the Sam Houston Tournament was a perennial playoff contender in class 3A, the South Beauregard Lady Knights. The Lady Bulldogs, without starting center Tyreonna Doucet, used a 29-point second quarter to roll past South Beauregard 68-51.
Ville Platte started slow in the first quarter, only netting seven points. The Lady Knights scored 11 points in the opening period to take the early lead. The Lady Bulldogs exploded in the second quarter behind Deja McKinney’s 10 points, to overtake South Beauregard 36-26 as the quarter ended.
Ville Platte used the second quarter as a springboard into the third period. A 16 point effort by the Lady Bulldogs masked the 12 points scored by South Beauregard, as Ville Platte extended their lead to 52-38. Another 16 points in the final stanza closed the game out for the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Knights were limited to 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Deja McKinney led all Ville Platte scorers, as she poured in 31 points. Miya McKinney added 15 points for the Lady Bulldogs in the winning effort.
Ville Platte
vs. Sam Houston
In the final game of the Sam Houston Tournament, the Lady Bulldogs faced off against the host Lady Broncos. Sam Houston used a suffocating defense in a 51-24 defeat of Ville Platte. The 24 points scored by the Lady Bulldogs was their lowest point total since they scored 52 in a win against North Central. Ironically, the Lady Broncos is coached by former Ville Platte High graduate Jason Jagneaux.
The first quarter indicated how the game would go for Ville Platte. Sam Houston held the Lady Bulldogs to only four points and led 17-4 at the end of one period. Ville Platte could not manage very much offense in the second quarter either, only netting seven points and trailed 29-11 at halftime.
The Lady Broncos and Lady Bulldogs matched their second quarter totals in the third period, as Sam Houston continued to extend their lead. A 12-7 advantage gave the Lady Broncos the 41-18 lead as the period came to a close. Sam Houston finished the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring Ville Platte 10-6.
No Lady Bulldog scored in double digits in the contest. Brianna Pete knocked down seven points and Deja McKinney added six points for Ville Platte.
Ville Platte
vs. Walker
A trip to Walker High School gave the Lady Bulldogs a chance to shake off the loss to Sam Houston. Ville Platte gave a valiant effort in a 77-75 double overtime loss to the Lady Wildcats. Only two free throws at the end of the second overtime could push Walker past Ville Platte in a wild non-district contest.
The game started with the Lady Wildcats taking a 16-9 advantage at the end of the first period. The Lady Bulldogs would not go away, scoring 16 points in the second quarter to cut the Walker lead to 26-25 as the first half ended. Deja McKinney netted seven points in the quarter to lead the Ville Platte surge.
Walker extended their lead to 50-45 in the third period, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 24-20. However, Ville Platte put together a gritty fourth quarter to tie the game at 62 and send the contest into overtime. In the first overtime, each team managed to net six points. The Lady Bulldogs led by one, but committed a foul with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
Walker made one of two free throws to create a tie and send the game to a second overtime. The Lady Wildcats were able to hit two big free throws toward the end of the second overtime to pull out the victory.
Leading the way for Ville Platte was McKinney who knocked down 31 points. Kabreonna Stevens and Keologah Calvin each tacked on 10 points for the Lady Bulldogs.