Sacred Heart Turkey Tourney crowns champions

The Sacred Heart Turkey Tournament concluded on Wednesday after three days of non-stop action. The Mamou Lady Demons were crowned champions of the girl’s bracket, while the Crowley Gents were able to secure first place in the boy’s bracket. Here are Wednesday’s game capsules.

Girl’s Bracket

Sacred Heart
vs. Oakdale
In the loser’s bracket finals, the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans defeated the Oakdale Lady Warriors by a score of 48-39. The win put the Lady Trojans in the championship game, where they would have to defeat Mamou twice to be crowned tournament champions. Sacred Heart outscored Oakdale 18-9 in the first quarter and never looked back. The Lady Warriors were able to cut the lead down to two in the second period, adding nine points to their total, while holding Sacred Heart to only two points for a 20-18 halftime score.
The third quarter saw the Lady Trojans outscore Oakdale 13-10 and lead 33-28 at the end of the period. The fourth stanza was all Sacred Heart, as they outpaced the Lady Warriors 15-11 to preserve the win. Leading the Lady Trojans was Catherine Poche who netted 16 points. Kara Aguillard chipped in eight for Sacred Heart.

Championship Game

Sacred Heart
vs. Mamou
The championship game was a rematch of an earlier tournament game between the Lady Trojans and the Lady Demons in which Mamou won 54-28. The Lady Demons came into the game undefeated in the tournament, which meant that Sacred Heart would have to beat Mamou twice to garner first place. The Lady Demons did not allow that to happen, taking care of the Lady Trojans 52-28.
The first quarter was the closest of the game as Mamou took a 13-12 lead at the end of the period. The Lady Demons would turn up the heat on defense and hold the Lady Trojans to two points in the second quarter. Mamou scored seven in the stanza and lead 20-14 at halftime.
In the third period, Mamou would extend their lead over Sacred Heart, outscoring the Lady Trojans 16-10 to take the 36-24 lead going into the final quarter. The Lady Demons sealed the victory in the final period, outpacing the Lady Trojans 16-4. The win gave Mamou the title of Turkey Tournament champions for 2014.
Leading scorer for the Lady Demons was Arkie Thomas, who netted 14 points. Amber Jack added 11 points for the Lady Demons. Sacred Heart was lead by Catherine Poche who chipped 11 points in the losing effort.

Boy’s Bracket

Pine Prairie
vs. Notre Dame
The first game on Wednesday in boy’s bracket play pitted the Pine Prairie Panthers against the Notre Dame Pioneers in a loser’s bracket game. The Panthers knew they had a tall task at hand, having to win four games on Wednesday to garner first place in the tournament. Pine Prairie took care of the first opponent, defeating Notre Dame 59-48.
The first quarter saw the Panthers jump out to a 20-7 lead over the Pioneers. Pine Prairie carried that momentum into the second quarter, outscoring Notre Dame 11-8. The Panthers led 31-15 at the end of the first half.
The third and fourth quarters were no different for the Panthers. Pine Prairie controlled the second half, despite being outpaced by Notre Dame 33-28. The push was not enough for the Pioneers, as the Panthers advanced to the next game.
Leading scorers for Pine Prairie were Douglas Fontenot and Josh Freeman who netted 22 and 18 points respectively.

Pine Prairie vs. Iota
The second loser’s bracket game matched the Pine Prairie Panthers against the Iota Bulldogs. This was the second contest of the day for the Panthers. It did not matter, as Pine Prairie gutted out another victory, defeating Iota 58-39.
The Panthers came out hot again in the first quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 20-6. Pine Prairie added to their lead in the second period, outscoring the Bulldogs 16-7 to take the 36-13 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Panthers duplicated the second quarter in outscoring Iota 16-7 yet again. The lead was now 52-20. Pine Prairie could only manage six points in the fourth period, but it was all that they needed to seal the win and move on to the championship game. Leading the way for the Panthers was Vontrevis Thomas with 12 points.

Championship Game

Pine Prairie
vs. Crowley
The championship contest was the third game of the day for the gritty Pine Prairie Panthers, and it showed. The Crowley Gents took advantage of a weary Panther team and garnered the 78-72 win and first place. The Panthers battled every quarter, but just could not overcome some key injuries and a good Crowley basketball team.
The first quarter saw both clubs come out in strong fashion. Crowley took the early 19-17 lead at the end of the first period. Each team managed 18 points in the second quarter. The Gents held the 37-35 halftime lead.
The second half proved to be the difference maker for Crowley. The Gents outscored the Panthers 41-37 in the half to seal the win and the championship. Pine Prairie was led by Douglas Fontenot, who poured in 15 points. Josh Freeman added 14 points in the losing cause. Crowley’s leading scorer, with 30 points, was Grant Trahan.