by Malcolm Butler
Make that five wins over Class 4A or Class 5A teams for Cedar Creek’s girls hoops team.
Avery Ryan scored 15 points and the Lady Cougars overcame some fatigue in posting a 48-35 road victory over West Ouachita Monday night.
The win earned Cedar Creek 57.0 power points as the Lady Cougars (14-3) remain No. 2 in the unofficial geauxpreps.com rankings in Select School Division IV, trailing only Southern Lab.
Creek is now 5-3 against Class 4A and 5A teams with wins over West Ouachita, West Monroe, Bastrop, Benton and Northwood.
“I think this group realizes it can play with anybody, and it has developed a grit and a determination when its tested,” said head coach Katie Hall. “We will be able to look back (later in the season) and say remember when. It will give them a boost of confidence later in the season when we need it.”
Senior Mallory Smith got Cedar Creek off to a hot start with back-to-back layups in the opening two minutes and then a three-pointer with 4:30 to play in the first quarter as the Lady Cougars led 13-10 at the end of the first period.
West Ouachita (13-4) tied the score at 13-13 with a three-pointer early in the second quarter but Ryan scored six straight points inside off of assists by her Lady Cougar teammates.
After Zoey Venters hit a pair of free throws to make it 21-15 with 4:00 to play, Ryan scored on a turnaround jumper in the lane to make it 23-17. Caroline James ended the first half scoring with a baseline jumper with 20 seconds to play in the second quarter as the Lady Cougars led 25-20 at the half.
Creek struggled for the entire game with its three-point shooting, making only 3-of-18 despite getting great looks time after time.
“I was fearful of us coming off a tough physical and mental weekend (in Shreveport),” said Hall. “These girls were a step slow and just a little bit off, but they still were able to find a way to move the ball and get the ball inside (to Ryan) and figure out what was working for us.
“Going on the road to a 4A school that I knew had been preparing for us … I knew it would be a tough (game) and I am glad to come away with a win.”
James opened the scoring in the second half with a layup off the fast break. Following a free throw by Ryan, Taylor Martinez connected on a three-pointer with 4:40 to play to make the score 31-20 in favor of Cedar Creek.
Smith hit a layup and Ryan followed with another before Martinez connected on a short jumper with 1:20 to play to make it 37-26 Lady Cougars.
In addition to Ryan’s big night, Smith added nine points and Martinez and Mary Grace Hawkins each scored seven points.
“We have talked a lot about playing inside out,” said Hall. “We try to get the ball inside (to Ryan) and if she is double or triple team, she has learned to trust her teammates and kick it back out because they are great shooters. She also trusts them to know if she kicks it out, she can repost and they will look back in there to her. They are figuring out how to play together and trust each other.”
Leading 37-29 at the end of the third quarter, Cedar Creek got seven fourth quarter points from Hawkins, including only the team’s third three-pointer of the game, as the Lady Cougars held West Ouachita to just six points over the final eight minutes of the game.
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Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points
Alivia Lee 0-2=2; Mary Grace Hawkins 2(1)-2=7; Caroline James 2-0=4; Mallory Smith 4(1)-0=9; Taylor Martinez 3(1)-0=7; Zoey Venters 1-2=4; Avery Ryan 6-3=15. Totals: 18(3)-9=48.
Score by Quarters
Cedar Creek 13-12-12-11=48
West Ouachita 10-10-9-6=35
