By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — A stellar first half performance by sophomore Gioia Tatum followed by an equally impressive second half effort by senior Kiersynce McNeal was nearly thwarted by the Lady Rebels’ fourth quarter Tuesday night as Ruston High (7-9) held on for a 51-45 victory at home in an officially non-district midweek matchup with fellow 2-5A member West Monroe High School (7-9).
Ruston High head coach LaShanda Cooper credited her team’s defensive efforts for holding to get the win after the fourth quarter rally by West Monroe after being outscored 21-14 in the final period.
“I saw some aggressive defensive energy tonight,” Cooper said. “Everybody was locked in. We told them they needed to do a better job of talking on defense and being more in sync, because the type of defense we play, you’re not out there on an island on your own. Everybody has to play together, and the only way to do that is to communicate. So we’ve really been stressing it and stepping up, taking charges and being in good rotation and in the right spots. They really came out with a lot of energy defensively.”
Tatum’s first half 11-point effort helped propel Ruston quickly out of the gate to a 29-18 lead at the half.
”Our biggest thing with Gioia is her confidence,” Cooper said. “We’ve really been trying to get her to understand that if we’ve got confidence in her shooting, then she has to have it, too. I think that’s building. She’s putting in the extra work — she’s up here at 4:30 in the morning at workouts, shooting, whatever she has. She puts herself in the situation to be nothing but successful because she’s not afraid of extra work. She really stepped up tonight and made some big shots and picked up the morale of the game and gave everybody that extra boost of energy.”
McNeal, meanwhile, scored eight of her 16 in third quarter to keep West Monroe at bay despite the rally.
“Her leadership in big moments is improving,” Cooper said of McNeal. “She had been out for a while (with an injury), so she’s having to catch on and learn very quickly, which is a big challenge. We’re pushing her outside of her comfort zone, and no matter what, she’s still remaining coachable — no matter how frustrated she gets, she stays locked in and motivates and pushes her teammates.”
Ruston took its first lead of the night at 3-2 on a made-three by Tatum with 6:33 to go in the first quarter. Tatum would tie the game at 6-6 with her second three of the first quarter just over a minute later for a 6-6 score and forced a charge on West Monroe in the ensuing possession.
Following Another Rebel bucket, senior Kiersynce McNeal got her first three of the night to put the Lady Bearcats back up 9-8 with 3:23 to go in the first quarter. After a made free throw by West Monroe, sophomore Angelica Green found sophomore Jasmine Summerford on a backdoor cut for a layup to extend Ruston’s lead to 12–9.
West Monroe would then go on a 5-0 run over the next two minutes to lead 14-12 before Green knocked down two free throws to tie the game 14-14. Sophomore Journi Douglas added a free throw near the end of the quarter and Ruston led 15-14 after the first.
Tatum’s sharpshooting continued into the second quarter, hitting a three and then scoring in transition to put Ruston up 20-14 to go in the first half. McNeal added another bucket a few seconds later after a steal to give Ruston a 22-14 lead with five to play in the second quarter, leading West Monroe to call a timeout.
In a low-scoring third quarter for both teams, McNeal would get eight more of her points in the period, helping Ruston get to a 37-24 lead going into the fourth.
West Monroe would outscore Ruston 7-2 in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 39-31 before Tatum ended the run with a jumper to put the Lady Bearcats back up 41-31 with 5:15 left to play. The Lady Rebels used a second run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead down to 48-45 with one minute to play, but Ruston held on for the 51-45 final score victory, thanks in part to made free throws down the stretch.
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McNeal would finish the game with 16 points, while Tatum finished with 11. Summerford would add eight.
The Lady Bearcats return to action Friday, Jan. 14, at 5:30 p.m. to take on Pineville in the official district opener.
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