By T. Scott Boatright
It came down to getting into an offensive groove — Weston did, and Simsboro didn’t.
The result was a 67-51 win for the 14th-seeded Lady Wolves as they defeated 19th-seeded Lady Tigers in opening round play of the 2026 Louisiana High School Athletics Association Class B girls basketball playoffs Thursday night inside the SHS Gym.
But in the opening seconds, Simsboro looked like it would find an offensive groove from the get-go as eighth-grader Lazorreya Davis pulled up and hit a mid-range jump shot only five seconds into the game to put the Lady Tigers on top 2-0.
That was Simsboro’s first and only lead of the game.
Weston countered with the next five points before another short jumper from Davis cut Weston’s lead to 5-4 only 1:01 into the contest.
But the Lady Wolves went up by as many as eight points late in the opening stanza before heading into the second quarter with a 15-10 advantage after Simsboro seventh-grader Madi Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer with one second left on the clock.
Weston went up by nine points less than a minute into the second quarter on consecutive baskets by Gracie Gray and Rachel Bandy and held onto a solid lead until Simsboro made a mini-run, cutting the Lady Wolves’ advantage to four points at 28-24 on a Mitchell layup with 1:52 left before halftime.
But the Lady Wolves outscored Simsboro 5–1 from there to take a 33-25 lead into the locker room at the half.
“It’s so tough when you get to that playoff environment and you get one shot,” said Simsboro coach Adam Wodach. “I think we know we didn’t play our best and that’s what’s tough with a one-game playoff. It’s so important to earn home playoff games and credit Weston for that. I think that played a large role in the outcome. But we just didn’t play very well.”
Weston pushed its advantage to double digits at 37-27 at the 5:40 mark of the third quarter and took a 47-32 lead into the final stanza on a Tegan Hall putback with 6.5 seconds left on the clock.
The closest Simsboro could get in the fourth quarter was 12 points back at 54-42 on a 3-pointer by freshman Zakiya Jiles with 5:56 remaining, but Simsboro couldn’t find enough offense the rest of the way.
“We’re young, and I think nerves got to us a little bit,” Wodach said. “Weston made some good shots. They had really balanced scoring. (Carly Jo Davis, who finished with five points) is a really good player for them, and she didn’t have as many points as she usually would. We just didn’t start strong and they did.
“They had a lot of different girls that scored and it’s tough to beat a team with that kind of offensive balance. For us, it was really just Madi and Lazorreya. We have to have more balance. Tonight, Weston was much more balanced than us.”
Mitchell led the Lady Tigers with 21 pointers, including four 3-pointers, while Davis added 20.
Eight Lady Wolves put points on the scoreboard, led by Bandy’s 19.
Weston’s Kate Kieffer added 15 points and JaKayla Fourd added 12 points for the Lady Wolves, who ended Simsboro’s season with a record of 8-17.
Wodach said that while the loss stung, he feels good about the future for his young Lady Tigers.
“When you’re that young and haven’t made it through an entire season yet, you just haven’t gone through it,” Wodach said. “We’ve been playing since November, practicing since October. But it was the first playoff game for all of them except Curniya (McAllister — the Lady Tigers’ lone senior) and Bre (Williams).
“A lot of people didn’t think we’d get in (the playoffs). For us to get into the playoffs, and with the schedule we played, I’m super proud of our girls for even getting here. The next step is having a great summer and pushing forward.”
