Dropping a pair

EUNICE – The battles between Eunice High and Ville Platte High came down to the wire in District 5-3A action Tuesday night at the Eunice High gym.
The Lady Cats grabbed a 38-36 win, while the Bobcats fought for a 54-50 victory.
The Eunice High Lady Bobcats trailed the Ville Platte High Lady Bulldogs by a 27-24 margin after three quarters, but managed to outscore the Lady Bulldogs in the fourth quarter to claim a 38-36 victory here Tuesday night at the Bobcat gym.
The Lady Cats improved their overall record to 14-10 and moved to 7-1 in District 5-3A to tie the Lady Bulldogs for the top spot with two games remaining.
The Lady Bulldogs are 18-8 overall.
Ville Platte controlled the early action, claiming a 9-6 advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter.
The Lady Bobcats came back to win the second quarter by an 8-6 margin, led by Aisha Ledet’s four points.
Ville Platte still led by a 15-14 margin at the half.
The Lady Bulldogs increased their lead to 21-15 with 4:42 left in the third quarter, but the Lady Bobcats pulled to within 26-24 by the end of the quarter thanks to field goals by Shay Vigers and Stacie White in the final minute of the quarter.
Ville Platte’s Miya McKinney gave her team a 27-24 lead by hitting one of two free throws in the early seconds of the fourth quarter, but Shania Malveaux’s field goal cut the Lady Bulldog lead to 27-26 at the 6:38 mark.
The Lady Bulldogs quickly regained the advantage with baskets by McKinney and Kealogal Calvin to extend the lead to 31-26 with 5:50 left in the game.
The Lady Cats responded to the challenge with a Malveaux field goal, a driving goal by Stacie White, which also resulted in a free throw, and a Malveaux steal and drive for a basket for a 33-31 lead for the Lady Cats with just over three minutes to play.
McKinney hit a three-point goal with 2:15 left, but Vigers answered McKinney with a three-point goal of her own to give the Lady Cats a 36-34 advantage.
The Lady Bulldogs managed to tie the game at 36-36, but Malveaux was fouled and sank both free throws to give the Lady Cats a 38-36 lead with less than a minute left in the game. The Lady Cats would earn the win by holding off the Lady Bulldogs over the final minutes to secure the 38-36 victory.
Vigers would lead the scoring for the Lady Cats with 12 points. White and Malveaux added ten points apiece, and Aisha Ledet rounded out the scoring with six points. McKinney topped the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points.
The Lady Bobcats continue district play Friday night on the road at Northwest High School.
EHS 54, VP 50 (B)
The Bobcats claimed the early lead with a 13-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter to set the tone for the exciting clash.
Mitchell Cormier would lead the scoring for the Cats in that quarter with five points. Cormier would later injure his ankle and saw limited action for the remainder of the game, finishing with seven points.
The Bobcats pulled away from the Bulldogs in the second quarter, building a 24-14 lead with 3:46 left in the half on a three-point goal by Malik Poullard and eventually would maintain a 30-22 lead heading into the halftime break.
Kevin Williams gave the Bobcats a big boost in the quarter with nine points.
The Bulldogs owned the early part of the third quarter, cutting the Bobcats lead to 30-29 thanks to Shawnede Holland’s three-point goal and a short jumper.
Tyron Jones added a field goal during the 7-0 Bulldog run.
Williams broke the Bulldog run by hitting two free throws after being fouled. Brandon Ndubueze made one of two from the line to give the Cats a 33-29 lead. Jones responded for the Bulldogs with a 3-point goal to cut it to a one-point lead.
The Bulldogs would end the quarter with a 40-38 lead and would extend their lead to 43-38 early in the fourth quarter.
It took the Bobcats until the 3:05 mark of the fourth quarter to regain the lead, with Travis Godfrey driving for a goal to make it a 46-45 lead.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 46-46 on a free throw by Jordan Thomas, but Ndubueze rebounded a missed shot and put it back in with 1:38 left to give the Cats a 48-46 lead.
Williams sank two free throws with 34 seconds left to give the Cats a 50-46 lead, but Thomas kept the Bulldogs alive with basket to cut it to 50-48.
Williams was fouled again and sent to the free throw line where he made both tries to extend the lead to 52-48.
Brandon Thomas drove for a basket to cut the Eunice lead to 52-50, but Williams again sent to the line where he converted both free throws for a 54-50 lead with only nine seconds left on the clock to secure the win.
Williams finished as the game’s leading scorer with 28 points, which included a 12 of 12 performance at the charity stripe. Ndubueze added eight and Godfrey had five for the Cats. Holland led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Jones added 11.
The Bulldogs fell to 9-10 overall and to 3-3 in district play.