By Kyle Roberts
Ruston High School’s Lady Bearcats (14-7) won two of three at the Sidney Smith Memorial Tournament last week in the final games of 2023 as district play approaches in the new year.
The Lady Bearcats lost first to Zachary on Thursday, Dec. 28, by a final score of 62-49 following a close first half, where Ruston trailed 30-26 at the half.
“The West Monroe tournament always has high quality teams, and this year was no different,” Ruston head coach Meredith Graf said. “Our first game against Zachary was a tough match up for us. We battled pretty hard the first half and in the second half they started to pull away off of offensive rebounds and free throws.”
Senior Jordan Tate led Ruston scorers with 11 points in the first of two games of the day.
The Lady Bearcats would turn around and play Summerfield on the same day and get a 66-49 win.
“Summerfield has a great combo of athletic guards that can get to the rim and knock down threes,” Graf added. “We played hard and were able to get the win.”
The Lady Bearcats took a 35-24 lead into the halftime lockerroom and cruised to the win, thanks to four players scoring double-digits.
Junior Ella Kate Jones led Ruston with 13 points and six rebounds, while both senior Jaliyah McWain and freshman Gioia Tatum finished with 12 points. McWain added seven rebounds and three assists.
Junior Kiersynce McNeal finisedh with 11 points and six rebounds. Senior Zaccheya Jackson finished with eight points and an impressive seven assists.
Ruston wrapped up the tournament with a 54-49 win over Franklin Parish.
“We played hard for three quarters and we were up 25,” Graf said. “In the last quarter, the Patriots got hot from three and got the game back within 10 with two minutes to go. We won by five, but hopefully it’s a learning lesson for us in how to finish a game under control.”
McWain led all scorers with 18 points and three assists.
Ruston returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 3, to play at Franklin Parish for the second game in a row. Tip off for the girls will be at 5 p.m.
