by Malcolm Butler
Four Lincoln Parish girls hoops teams qualified for the upcoming Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoffs as Cedar Creek, Ruston High, Choudrant High and Simsboro High will all be heading to postseason.
Cedar Creek headlines the group as the highest seed with the Lady Cougars earning the No. 2 seed in Select School Division IV with a 26-3 record and an unblemished mark on their way to the District 1-1A title. Head coach Katie Hall’s team earned a first round bye and will host the winner of No. 15 St. Frederick vs. No. 18 Central Private.
“Throughout the last 10 months, we have referenced this part of the season our workouts,” said Hall. “We worked hard in June to prepare for this time of the season. We got through preseason conditioning to prepare for this part of the season. This is when it counts and this is what it matters. But at the same time, I feel like we have been able to enjoy the journey thus far.
“These girls have worked extremely hard these past 10 months and they are being rewarded with having the potential of hosting playoff games at home until the semifinals. I am excited for them to have this opportunity in front of our fans in our community at Cedar Creek.”
St. Frederick, a former district rival, is 17-5 on the season while Central Private is 14-10. Hall said the contest would be scheduled for February 24th.
Ruston High was the last team in for the Non-Select Division I bracket as the Lady Bearcats earned the No. 28 seed by virtue of wins over Ouachita and West Monroe in their last two games of the season. Ruston will travel to face No. 5 Barbe Thursday at 6 p.m.
“This season has been filled with challenges, from battling injuries to finding ourselves in tough situations we shouldn’t have been in,” said head coach LaShanda Cooper. “Despite the obstacles, these young ladies have put in more work than ever before, pushing themselves both physically and mentally.
“It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch them grow, learning to embrace the process whether things are going well or not. As we reached the latter part of the regular season, we emphasized the importance of finishing strong. And these young ladies rose to the occasion, which is why we’ve earned the 28th seed.”
Barbe is 29-3 on the season with their lone losses coming against Southern Lab, Lafayette Christian, and Sulphur. The winner of this game would face the winner of No. 12 Northshore and No. 21 Benton.
Choudrant and Simsboro both earned a spot in the Class B playoffs.
Simsboro is the No. 18 seed and will travel to face No. 13 seed Hathaway. Game day and time yet to be determined. The Lady Tigers posted a 13-14 record on the season, going 4-4 in District 1B action and finishing third behind league champion Quitman and runner-up Weston.
Lacassine posted a 10-14 record on the season competing in District 6B. The winner will face No. 2 seed Bell City.
“I’m hoping Lacassine will get in touch with me because with everybody being out of school today I can’t call the school and try to get in touch with the coach and I don’t have that coach’s number,” said head coach Matt Herring. “I’ve tried to look through the teams they’ve played to see if I have a number of a coach that might have played them to try and get the Lacassine coach’s number, but I don’t have a number of any coach they played, so I’m hoping they will contact me.
“I’ve been watching them on film. I’ve kind of been watching them since last week. They’re like us — they play man-to-man, fullcourt/halfcourt. They’re very similar to Castor, which plays a lot like us. We’re all in the same mold. I think it should be a good, competitive game. I’d be shocked if it doesn’t end up being a close game.”
Choudrant is the No. 20 seed and will travel to face No. 13 seed Hathaway. The Lady Aggies posted a 10-21 record but won the District 2B title. Choudrant won seven of their final nine ball games.
Hathaway posted a 16-17 record on the season competing in District 6B. The winner of this game will face No. 4 seed Quitman.
Gametime for that game is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
The game will be a rematch of a first-round playoff game last year when Hathaway won big over the Lady Aggies.
“So, I do know a lot about that,” said Lady Aggies coach Brandy Roberson. “I had two or three kids out with the flu when I went down last year, and I had the flu, too, so that wasn’t a game to remember. But they’re not quite as good as they were last year, although that district always produces good teams, and we’re a little better than we were last year.
“If we can handle that full-court pressure they love down south, I think we have a shot. If we can handle the ball and get through their pressure, I think we can compete. That’s the goal — to settle down and compete. It’s going to be really mental for us.”
