Lady Rebels upset by Silliman in district opener

By Patrick Jones | The Natchez Democrat

Published Saturday, December 12, 2009

CLINTON, La. — The Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels took a 13-4 record and a No. 7 ranking in the Southern Sports & Travel Girls AA Poll into their MAIS District 5-AA opener with the Silliman Lady Wildcats Friday night.

Apparently, Silliman was not impressed with either ACCS’s record or where it was ranked. With the exception of the second quarter, the Lady Wildcats took it to the Lady Rebels on both ends of the court en route to a stunning 33-26 win.

“They just played better than we did tonight,” Lady Rebels head coach Melanie Hall said. “Our shots weren’t falling. When your shots aren’t falling, it just makes it look worse.”

Even though ACCS (13-5, 0-1) outscored Silliman 14-7 in the second quarter to take an 18-16 halftime lead, the Lady Wildcats never panicked. The Lady Rebels, on the other hand, could not get much going offensive throughout much of the other three quarters.

In fact, in the second half, ACCS was held to a total of eight points. Silliman retook the lead with an 11-3 advantage in the third quarter and even outscored the Lady Rebels 6-5 in the fourth quarter.

“I didn’t think our defensive intensity wasn’t there and we made too many mistakes,” Hall said. “They didn’t do anything defensively that caught us off guard.”

Taylor Welch led the Lady Rebels with a game-high 13 points. Sam Williams had 11 points and Sydney Sones chipped in with nine points to lead the Lady Wildcats.

Franklin County 45, South Pike 43

SUMMIT — For much of the first three quarters of Friday night’s game between Franklin County and South Pike, the Lady Eagles were the better team and at one time had a double-digit lead.

But the Lady Bulldogs showed a lot of heart and resolve to bounce back from that kind of a deficit, especially in the fourth quarter as they somehow rallied for a dramatic two-point win.

“I was satisfied with their effort in the fourth quarter. But we need it for four quarters,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Charles Moore said.

South Pike dominated the fifth-ranked team in the Clarion-Ledger’s Class 3A poll throughout the first half en route to a stunning 29-18 halftime lead. But just when it appeared that the Lady Eagles were on their way to an upset win, the Lady Bulldogs had other ideas.

“We didn’t play well as a team (in the first half),” Moore said. “In the third quarter we picked up the intensity and the fourth quarter it paid off for us. We played hard in the fourth quarter.”

Franklin County (6-1) outscored South Pike 11-10 in the third quarter and 16-4 in the fourth quarter.

Vintrice Briggs led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points while CeeCee Miller and Leondra Shaw each finished with nine points. S. Clark and R. Ashley scored 14 points each for the Lady Eagles.

Cathedral 33, Harrisonburg 32

HARRISONBURG, La. — Ginny Daggett scored 10 points and made the game-winning free throw with 0:00.9 seconds left as the Cathedral Lady Green Wave defeated the Harrisonburg Lady Bulldogs Friday night in the semifinals of the Harrisonburg Tournament.

With the win, Cathedral (4-4) will take on Buckeye in the girls’ championship game today at 2 p.m.

However, it appeared that Harrisonburg was at least on its way to forcing overtime and perhaps advancing to the finals itself as regulation was winding down. The Lady Bulldogs rallied from a 17-12 halftime deficit and tied the game at 32-32 before Daggett won the game with by making one of two free throws.

Ana Perry led the Lady Green Wave with 11 points. Brandy Bordelon scored nine points and Erica Carter added eight points for Harrisonburg.

Huntington 44, Central School 41

GRAND CANE, La. — Kristen Havard scored a game-high 14 points and Abi Brown had 12 points as the Huntington Lady Hounds held on for a three-point win over the Central School Lady Pioneers Friday night.

This was a close game from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Huntington (3-6) took a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Central School chipped away at the lead over the next two quarters.

However, the Lady Hounds managed to outscore the Lady Pioneers 11-10 in the fourth quarter.

C. Yarbrough led Central School with 13 points and T. Cowdin chipped in with 12 points.

WCCA 42, Tensas Academy 35

ST. JOSEPH, La. — The WCCA Lady Rams dominated much of the first three quarters and appeared on their way to a blowout win over Tensas Academy Friday night.

However, the Lady Chiefs got back in the game in the fourth. Unfortunately for the, time ran out and their comeback attempt fell a bit short as WCCA held on for the seven-point win.

Led by Caroline Walker and Terri Fisher, the Lady Rams (3-8) jumped out to an 11-5 lead after one quarter of play and by halftime they led the Lady Chiefs 20-13. WCCA’s lead at the end of the third quarter was 13 points. Walker led all scorers with 15 points and Fisher had 13 points.

But the Lady Chiefs wouldn’t go away quietly as they outscored the Lady Rams 15-9 in the fourth quarter. Kelsey Doyle led Tensas Academy with 11 points and Lauchlyn Emfinger had 10 points.