Lady Bulldogs knock out Brusly

After a slow start, the Lady Bulldogs of Ville Platte High opened up a world of pain and suffering on the Lady Panthers of No. 16 Brusly High Monday night. The Lady Bulldogs handed the Lady Panthers a 66-49 defeat and sent them back home.
The second round victory moves the top ranked Lady Bulldogs into a situation where they will face a very tough opponent on the road. VPHS heads to No. 9 Rayville in north Louisiana. Rayville slipped past Iota 66-62 in front of a packed IHS crowd.
Ville Platte fired first in the game. Tyreonna Doucet used her 6’1” frame to show that she is tough under the basket. She forced back-to-back turnovers and that led to points. Ville Platte went up 7-2 almost instantly. Brusly battled back and answered with points of their own. Their defense created their own turnovers.
Deja McKinney put a big blow to Brusly’s surge by hitting a three-point that looked like it came from the parking lot. Her long distance shot was just one of four on the night. She led the team with 25 points overall, while Doucet had 23 points. Brusly answered back and even managed to tie the game at 12-12 with only seconds left to play. Doucet hit a jumper and a free throw just as the buzzer sounded. That gave the home team a 14-12 lead going into the second period.
In the second period, the see-saw battle continued as the game became more and more competitive. Shalinda Thomas led a charge that featured back to back steals and McKinney got in with a steal of her own. The defensive surge slowed the game down a little. As the game did slow down, VPHS pulled a way. They were up 21-12 with less than two minutes left to play. The Lady Bulldogs held the Lady Panthers to no points for the first six minutes of the period. VPHS was strong and led by Thomas, Doucet, McKinney and Breanna Pete.
VPHS saw Brusly fire off a series of three-point shots just as the period came to an end. The long distance shooting allowed BHS to come a bit closer, but nevertheless, the home team was up 28-20 as the intermission began. The Ville Platte crowd did not seem worried in the least.
At the halfway point, VPHS had dictated the game with their defense and Doucet seemed to be leading the way.
“She really stepped up tonight and helped to carry the team,” said VPHS Head Coach Dot Doulet. “She had six rebounds on offense and eight on defense. She also blocked four shots and had four steals. She is only a freshman, but is really displaying upper classmen talent.”
In the third period, Thomas, the team’s senior leader, created a series of turnovers and she hit a three point bomb. McKinney added one as well and the VPHS faithful exploded. Ville Platte went up 39-27 just mid way through the period. Doucet was red hot under the basket. She pulled down rebound after rebound and helped the Lady Bulldogs to a 46-30 lead.
The tempo of the period had increased and the Lady Panthers were not prepared for the speed of the Lady Bulldogs. Pete and Thomas were up and down the court and really quick.
It was 49-32 going into the final block. Thomas and company got going quick on defense.
“Shalinda is our hard worker and capable leader,” Doulet said. “She brings strength and power to the game and she has the power to dominate as well. She is so well rounded. She can do it and even hit a deep shot here and there.”
As the defense got stiff around basket, Brusly began finding a way to score more points. The visiting team hit three straight three-point shots. BHS was quickly within eight points of the lead. Ville Platte’s McKinney answered right back. She hit a pair of three-point shots, to include a steal and score.
“Deja (McKinney) plays very well,” Doulet said. “She is gifted and talented. She plays with a lot of poise and she is a very confident player.”
The junior was impressive all game long and really in the final period. She combined with Doucet for 17 points in the period.
Pete finished the night with 10 points as the Lady Bulldogs improved to 29-2 on the year.
They will take on Rayville tonight at 6 p.m. in Rayville. The Lady Hornets are 21-10 on the year. They defeated Iota in the second round and Northwest in the opening round of the playoffs. They won District 2-3A with an undefeated record of 8-0.
“They have probably the best guard in the nation,” Doulet explained. “They are big and have a lot of height. They have the ability to shoot the three-point shot and they are disciplined. I expect them to be good and I expect us to be ready to play.”
Rayville will be hard to beat and they have seen some good competition. The Lady Hornets are going to give VPHS a good game to say the least. Trying to win at the quarter-finals is always tough and it can be even tougher if you are on the road in north Louisiana.