Thrilling win advances Lady Bulldogs to quarters

Just like your favorite ride at an amusement park, the regional playoff game between Ville Platte and Iota came with all of the thrills one could expect. The battle between the two Lady Bulldog teams was a back and forth, up and down, gut wrenching contest. In the end, the last bite came from the hometown canine clan, as Ville Platte held off Iota for the 53-51 victory and the right to advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
The Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs took control of the game early. After garnering the opening tip, Ville Platte jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes. Iota was shaken but not stirred. The Acadia Parish squad shook off the early nerves and went on a 10-2 run in the next three and a half minutes.
The next 2:30 of the first quarter saw the two opponents trade buckets. Iota scored the last two points of the period and held a 14-12 lead as the quarter came to a close.
Iota opened the second quarter with a three-point basket. Ville Platte answered with four straight points to bring the game to within one point, 17-16, at the 6:00 mark. The hometown Lady Bulldogs continued to attack both offensively and defensively, eventually taking the 23-21 lead with 52 seconds left in the period.
With 39 seconds left, Iota’s Mallory Faul went to the line to shoot two free throws. Faul knocked down one of the two foul shots to bring the score to 23-22 in favor of Ville Platte. With 30 seconds left, Miya McKinney sank a two-point basket to bring the score to 25-22. That same score remained as the first half horn sounded.
As the third quarter began, Ville Platte’s Lady Bulldogs came out of the locker room with a renewed aggressiveness. Taking the fight to Iota, Ville Platte was able to gain their biggest advantage of the night. With 2:36 left in the period, Deja McKinney nailed a three-point basket to give Ville Platte a 35-25 lead.
Iota did not flinch, knocking down two buckets from beyond the arc to cut the lead to 35-31. As the third stanza ended, Ville Platte held onto the same four-point margin.
The final period gave the fans little relief from the nervous anxiety accumulated in the previous three quarters. Ville Platte, behind the play of Brianna Pete and Deja McKinney, was able to extend their lead to 42-35 with 5:09 remaining on the clock.
However, Iota would not go away easily. The visiting Lady Bulldogs scored eight straight points, including two three-pointers, to take the lead 43-42 with 3:43 left in the contest.
Ville Platte took the lead for good, 47-45 at the 2:30 mark, when Pete sank two free throws. Key free throws and relentless rebounding off of missed free throws prevented the Iota Lady Bulldogs from overtaking Ville Platte in the final minutes of the game.
Deja McKinney poured in 25 points on the night to lead all scorers. Pete added 17 points for the Lady Bulldogs.
The only weak spot for Ville Platte in the game was the overall free throw percentage. Ville Platte went 12 for 31 at the charity stripe, shooting a paltry 39 percent.
With the win, Ville Platte advances to the quarterfinal game on Saturday night. The Lady Bulldogs will host a familiar foe, the Albany High Lady Hornets. The two teams tangled in the semi-finals last year, which Ville Platte won 73-64.
It should be another thriller, as the Lady Hornets come to town with revenge on their minds.
Game time is set for 6 p.m.