By T. Scott Boatright
PONCHATOULA — Sometimes it falls. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Early on for the Ruston girls basketball, it didn’t Thursday night as the Lady Bearcats fell 64-46 at Ponchatoula in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A girls basketball playoffs.
A cold-shooting first half was too much for the Lady Bearcats (27-7) to overcome. They maintained pace in the second half, but the hole was already too deep to dig out of. Ruston trailed 20-7 at the end of the first quarter and 39-17 at the half.
“We came out and they hit their shots and we didn’t,” said RHS coach Meredith Graf. “That’s what it boiled down to. We were OK in the second half. We were just too far behind.”
Ruston outscored the Lady Greenies 14-7 in the third quarter before realization set in and Ponchatoula pulled away for good from the Lady Bearcats.
“We just didn’t hit the basket,” Graf said. “It was one of the nights where it just didn’t happen.”
Zaccheya Jackson was Ruston’s leading scorer with 18 points, with 10 coming in the first half.
Alexis Foster and Jaliya McWain added eight points each for the Lady Bearcats, while Kiona McCallister and Kemiah Spencer added five points each.
It wasn’t the high goal the Lady Bearcats had set for themselves, but Graf said they should still hold their heads high.
“I love this team,” Graf said. “They have accomplished so much this year and have so much to be proud of. I can’t express how proud I am of how hard they have worked, how they have competed, and how they have represented Ruston all year.
“It’s hard to put into words how special this team is and what they have done for the program as a whole. I can’t say enough about the senior class (Cassandra Evans, Kemiah Spencer, Mariah Hintze, Alexis Foster and Kinona McAllister). They were so influential and gave great leadership. They have set the new bar for girls basketball, especially at Ruston.”
