Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs collect easy wins

The district 5-3A season continued in full force Tuesday night for both the Ville Platte Bulldogs and the Lady Bulldogs, as they hosted Church Point High School. The Lady Bulldogs used a suffocating defense and an opportunistic offense to overpower the Lady Bears 74-28. The Bulldogs jumped out early against the Bears and never trailed in taking the 83-71 win.
Girls’ Game
It seems that the theme for the Lady Bulldogs this season has been to start slow and finish fast. Once again, Ville Platte had trouble gaining any momentum in the opening quarter. Even though the Lady Bulldogs led 8-0 at the 5:08 mark of the first period, Ville Platte allowed the Lady Bears to work their way back into the game. Church Point reeled off 10 of the next 12 points scored; including a three-point basket with three seconds left to take the 12-10 lead.
As the second quarter began, the Lady Bears stayed on track and led 15-14 with only two minutes gone in the second stanza. The Lady Bulldogs did what they usually do when they have trailed throughout the season, turn up the defensive pressure. Ville Platte switched to a press and forced a number of turnovers that led to some easy baskets. In the final five minutes of the period, the Lady Bulldogs collected 15 points while holding Church Point to only three points. As the horn sounded at the end of the half, Ville Platte held a 30-18 advantage.
The third quarter belonged to the Lady Bulldogs and Deja McKinney. McKinney poured in 11 points in the period to drive Ville Platte’s offense. The Lady Bears were held to a meager six points in the quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs had extended their lead to 50-24.
In, the final stanza, Ville Platte was able to get the reserves some important playing time. With the clock now on running time, the Lady Bulldogs continued to dominate both offensively and defensively. Ville Platte concluded the game by roasting the nets for 24 points. The Lady Bulldogs once again held Church Point to under double digits in the stanza and closed out the win.
Leading scorer for Ville Platte was Deja McKinney, who torched the nets for 29 points. Brianna Pete collected 16 points and Miya McKinney added six points.
With the win, the Lady Bulldogs move to 22-4 on the year. Most importantly, Ville Platte remains perfect in district play with a 6-0 record. The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Northwest on Friday to take on the Lady Raiders in a district contest.
Boys’ Game
Going into the contest against Church Point, the Ville Platte Bulldogs knew that a win was a must in order to keep pace with league leading Pine Prairie. Ville Platte wasted no time in making sure they were not going to be denied a victory. The Bulldogs ran off the first nine points of the game before the Bears could muster a basket at the 5:23 mark. Ville Platte put tremendous pressure on Church Point the rest of the quarter and jumped out to a 20-6 lead as the period came to a close.
Opening the second period, Ville Platte’s Shanicole Holland put on a shooting clinic knocking down eight straight points. The Bulldogs had now expanded their lead to 28-8 only two minutes into the second stanza. The teams traded baskets until the 3:00 mark of the quarter, when Ville Platte went on a mini run, taking the 44-17 lead.
As the half came to a close, the Bulldogs held a 48-24 lead.
The third quarter was mostly a mirror image of the previous period. The Bulldogs continued to control the game from both sides of the floor. Every time Church Point would add to their score, Ville Platte would knock down several baskets. A 24 point outburst in the period gave the Bulldogs the 73-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Closing out the game, Ville Platte utilized a number of reserve players. With the clock now on running time and Church Point keeping their starters in the game, the Bears made a last ditch effort to crawl back into the game. However, the Bulldog point spread was way too much to overcome. To no avail, Church Point did manage to gain a 31-10 advantage in the period. Ville Platte closed out the game on a two point basket by Breshonski Jones.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Martin Jason, who netted 13 points. Ernest Ardoin and JaQualen Doucet added 12 points apiece and Holland chipped in 11 points. Keilan Semien scored 10 points in the win.
The Bulldogs move their record to 12-11 on the season with the victory. Even more crucial for Ville Platte is the fact that they are now 3-1 in district play and still only one game out of first place. The Bulldogs will travel to Northwest on Friday to take on the Raiders in a key district matchup.