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FERRIDAY — Even playing on the road in front of a raucous crowd at the Ferriday Junior High School Gym had no effect on the Vidalia High School Lady Vikings last Wednesday night against LHSAA District 2-2A and Concordia Parish rival Ferriday High School.

Lyric Warner led Vidalia with a game-high 16 points while Kiara Washington added 15 points and Makeznie Watson contributed with 10 points as the Lady Vikings cruised to a 52-25 victory over the Ferriday Lady Trojans to remain undefeated in district play.

Lady Vikings head coach Flora McKnight said that her team’s style of defense for much of the game was the key to her team’s win. She added that the game was “a team effort, offensively and defensively.”

Vidalia’s relentless defense from the get-go frustrated Ferriday. And there was little a young Lady Trojans team could do about it. The Lady Vikings jumped out to a 13-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and then outscored the Lady Trojans 17-5 in the second quarter for a 30-9 halftime lead.

“The girls played well. They started off playing intense, aggressive defense. That set the tone for the night,” McKnight said. “As soon as they tipped off, they were ready.”

The third quarter was more of the same on both ends of the court as Vidalia put up 16 points while Ferriday managed just four points to make it a 46-13 game. Before McKnight arrived to take over as Lady Vikings head coach for the 2022-2023 season, the Lady Trojans had dominated this “rivalry” — whether the two teams were in the same district or not. That may not be the case anymore.

“Lyric’s a sophomore and she’s playing well. She’s our point guard for the team. She knows when to pass it and she knows when to shoot it. She knows when to keep it. Her IQ on the court is very high. She sets her teammates up very well,” McKnight said. “Kiara, she’s (also) playing well. Rebounding, she’s on the boards. She’s working hard. She’s not playing the way I want her to play, but she’s playing well at this time.”

Ferriday was led by Z. Pryor with 10 points and Z. Boxley with seven points.

The Lady Vikings improved to 14-6 overall and 2-0 in district play. They played host to district opponent Beekman Charter School at 6 p.m. Friday for their Sweetheart Game. 

The Lady Trojans fell to 6-9 overall and 1-1 in district play. They played host to district foe Rayville High School at 6 p.m. Friday.

In the varsity boys’ game, the Vidalia Vikings came away with a 62-53 win over the Ferriday Trojans at the Ferriday Junior High Gym. No other information on that game was available.

The Vikings improved to 13-12 overall and 2-0 in district play. They hosted district foe Beekman Charter School for their Sweetheart Game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Trojans dropped to 10-11 overall and 1-1 in district play. They hosted district rival Rayville High School at 7:30 p.m. Friday.