Next team up

VILLE PLATTE – What started as a slow start for the Ville Platte High in their bi-district playoff contest, turned into a 23 point win here Thursday night, as the Lady Bulldogs sprinted past the Franklin Lady Hornets 56-33.
That slow start can be attributed a couple of self-inflicted wounds. First and foremost were the turnovers. Ville Platte committed double digits turnovers in the first half alone.
Secondly were the missed opportunities in the paint when the Lady Bulldogs were able to get the ball inside.
Head coach Dot Doulet addressed those issues after the game.
“We started slow at the beginning mainly because we were trying to get in rhythm with our play calling,” stated Doulet. “But once I saw that the game was still too close, we went into our faster pace offense.”
“Turnovers were crucial for us tonight. I believe our passes were too soft on the inside and we got caught daydreaming in the middle of the game. Those are the things we will need to clean up before our next game.”
After winning the opening tip, Ville Platte jumped ahead 4-0 within the first minute and a half of play. However, Franklin answered back quickly to tie things back up at 4-4.
The Lady Bulldogs scored the next five points to take a five-point advantage at the 1:38 mark of the first quarter. Each team would only score another basket before the period came to an end.
Ville Platte found some life in the second quarter. The Lady Bulldogs opened up a 23-10 lead with 2:56 left in the period, with Tyreonna Doucet, Miya McKinney and Kealogah Calvin all contributing to the 12-4 run.
Franklin hit a basket 50 seconds later to make the score 23-12, but Ville Platte continued to use their advantage in quickness to turn steals into easy baskets. By the time the dust settled in the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs would own a 30-15 lead.
Going into the locker room, Doulet took the time to remind her team to turn it up another notch.
“We have a pretty strong running game, but if you don’t tell them to run, they won’t run,” said Doulet.
That extra prodding paid dividends for Ville Platte in the second half.
The Lady Bulldogs began to turn up the defensive pressure a few more notches and started to pull away further and further from the Lady Hornets.
What was a 15-point advantage at halfitme turned into a 23-point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
With Doucet on the bench to rest, Calvin took over at the end of the period and into the fourth period, scoring seven points in a row.
The final quarter saw more of the same, even with Doulet emptying her bench to get some playing time for the younger squad members.
Doucet led Ville Platte with 15 points, while McKinney netted 13 points. Calvin added 11 points and Jasmine Landry knocked down 10 points of her own.
With the win, Ville Platte will host the No. 13 seed Wossman on Monday night in the regional round of the playoffs.