ASHes to ASHes

VILLE PLATTE -- Both the Ville Platte High Bulldogs and the Lady Bulldogs turned up the heat in the second half and burned down any momentum Alexandria Senior High (ASH) may have had, as they each pulled off upset wins over their top-ranked Class 5A opponents here Tuesday night.
In the girl’s game, Ville Platte trailed by nine at the break, but found a way to overcome the Lady Trojan pressure to secure a 68-59 win.
“This was a big win for us,” stated Lady Bulldog head coach Dot Doulet. “It allows us to get a big boost to the team morale and it showed us what can happen if we pull together.”
The Ville Platte Bulldogs trailed in every quarter, but managed to take control of the game in the last two minutes to take care of the Trojans in a 75-68 victory.
“What a huge victory for us tonight over a top-ranked 5A school,” said Bulldog head coach Tommy Jones. “This is going to really help us with power points. Our younger guys really stepped up tonight when we needed it most.”
Here is a recap of both games played.

Alexandria (G)
vs. Ville Platte
From the start it looked as if the man-to-man full court pressure put on by Alexandria was going to be too much for Ville Platte to handle, as the Lady Trojans opened the game on a 8-0 run.
The Lady Bulldogs tried to crawl back into the game, outscoring ASH 6-4 over a two minute span mid-way through the period.
But, the continued pressure by the Lady Trojans allowed them to finish the quarter on a 10-2 run to make the score 22-10 as the buzzer sounded.
Things did not turn around very quickly for Ville Platte in the second quarter, as ASH continued to maintain a double digit lead until the 4:42 mark.
The two squads traded baskets throughout the rest of the period, until the Lady Bulldogs were able to score seven of the last nine points to pull within nine, 37-28, as the half came to a close.
“We turned the ball over way too much in the first half,” commented Doulet. “I think we were just nervous to start the game. At halftime we told the girls to slow down and not to rush too much. After we settled down we were able to beat the pressure and score on some easy buckets.”
The third quarter opened with Ville Platte taking a 6-0 run and getting within three points of ASH.
After a Lady Trojan bucket, the Lady Bulldog’s Keolagah Calvin, who had been out for a number of games, made her presence felt by draining a three-pointer to pull Ville Platte within two points.
The Lady Bulldogs got within one point, 42-41, at the 4:16 mark, but the Lady Trojans had an answer and retook the lead 44-41 with two free-throws only 23 seconds later.
Ville Platte took over the lead, 48-44, on a two-point basket by Miya McKinney with 1:58 left in the period. After ASH regained the lead with 1:21 remaining, Lady Bulldog center Tyreonna Doucet hit a lay-up to give Ville Platte the 50-49 lead as the third period came to an end.
It was a back and forth affair to begin the final quarter of play, as the teams exchanged buckets the first 1:30 seconds of the fourth period.
The Lady Bulldogs switched defenses from a diamond set to man-to-man, confusing the Lady Trojans and creating several turnovers. With the added pressure, Ville Platte was able to reel off 14 of the last 22 points scored to seal the win.
Doucet led all scorers with 21 points, while McKinney pitched in 19 points and Calvin chipped in 18 points.
Ville Platte is now 10-5 on the year and will play Lakeview on Monday in the Northwest Holiday Tournament.

Alexandria (B)
vs. Ville Platte
The boy’s game was almost a mirror image of the girl’s contest. The Ville Platte Bulldogs started off very sluggish on the offensive end of the floor and allowed Alexandria to take a 12-5 lead half way through the opening period.
The Bulldogs, however, remained tough and fought off the defensive pressure of the Trojans enough to keep pace.
With the two teams matching basket for basket, ASH was able to maintain their seven point advantage to lead 22-15 as the first quarter closed out.
The Trojans gained a double digit lead at the 4:52 mark of the second quarter when Jordan Hunt completed a three-point play with a made free throw attempt.
On Ville Platte’s very next trip down the court, Shanicole Holland ripped a three-point basket to bring the ASH advantage back down to seven, 27-20.
But that lead climbed to 14 within the next 3:20, as ASH picked up a two-point basket at the 1:39 mark.
Ville Platte was able to cut into that lead in the last 50 seconds of the half, thanks to some much needed defense that created several Trojan turnovers. As the second quarter buzzer sounded, the ASH lead was down to eight, 38-30.
“We had not played in a while,” said Jones. “I think we just had to get back into the flow of a game. I knew at halftime that our second group had been playing really good man-to-man defense, so that’s what we did in the second half and it paid off.”
“If we would have come out in a zone, they would have pulled it out and killed time off of the clock.”
The third quarter was a stalemate for the most part, as neither team would yield any ground.
Anytime one team would make a run, the other team was there to answer. The third period ended the same way that the second period ended, with the Trojans holding an eight point lead, 60-52.
How Ville Platte wold respond in the final quarter was anyone’s guess. But, the Bulldogs answered the bell and began working their way back into the thick of things.
The Bulldogs opened the first 2:40 seconds of the quarter on a 10-4 run, which included two three-point baskets from Brandon Thomas and one from Tyran Jones.
An exchange of buckets over the next 2:29 seconds made the score 68-65 in favor of the Trojans.
However, the Bulldogs would not concede, especially with time remaining on the clock. Ville Platte reached deep into the proverbial well and reeled off 10 points in a row over the last minutes of the game, utilizing their defensive quickness to created multiple turnovers.
With that run, the Bulldogs sealed the win and picked up huge momentum going forward.
Thomas led Ville Platte with 17 points, while Earnest Roberts netted 14 points.
Ville Platte is now 11-4 on the year and will participate in the Northwest Holiday Tournament which begins on Monday.