By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — It was a night when the shots would just not fall for Ruston as a stingy Ouachita (13-12) defense led to a first-round upset of Lady Bearcats (12-8) Monday 54-42 in the first round of the 2025-26 LHSAA playoffs.
A team known for hitting three’s, Ruston would only get two before the start of the fourth quarter and would only have one in the final stanza.
“I felt like we we had a pretty good game plan against them,” Ruston High Head Coach LaShanda Cooper said. “We tried to change it up a little bit from how we played them the last time. However, it was just a lot of the small things that continued to add up on us. We weren’t able to capitalize on a lot of their mistakes. When we made the 15-9 run, we just kind of felt like it was time to go ahead and start taking over the game, but we had turnovers and missed assignments. Everything just kind of started falling their way, and we just could never get back on track.”
The first quarter proved tight in scoring as Ouachita took an early 5-0 lead after Lady Lion senior McKenna Cooley scored four of the first five points in the first three minutes. Ruston would get its first of two threes in the quarter thanks to senior Journi Douglas knocking down one from the corner with 5:06 to go in the first quarter. After a Ouachita technical foul, junior Angelica Green knocked down the free throws to tie the game 5-5 at the 4:39 mark.
After a Lion free throw and another bucket from Cooley for a 9-6 score, sophomore Jayleen Spann hit a three-pointer to tie the game 9-9 in the final minute of the first.
Freshman Dakota Powell helped Ruston to a 6-0 run to start the second quarter after scoring two baskets and getting two steals in the first three minutes of the period with a bucket from junior Kearra Wilson in between for a 15-9 lead with 5:23 to go in the half.
The Lady Lions would finally get on the scoreboard in the second quarter after a jumper from Rylei James at the 3:42 mark in the half to cut Ruston’s lead to 15-11. Two free throws soon after by Cooley would get the score even closer at 15-13, and Cooley would then tie the game with a basket at 15-15 with just over three minutes to go before halftime. A bucket by Ouachita’s Tylah Saucer capped off an 8-0 run to give Ouachita its first lead since late in the first quarter at 15-17.
After trading buckets, Ouachita would eventually pull slightly away and led 21-17 at halftime.
Ruston sophomore Adrianna Robinson scored the first basket of the second half in the first 30 seconds, and Green followed up shortly after with a basket to tie the game 21-21 with 6:47 to go in the third. Ouachita’s Jordanne Warren would then hit the Lady Lions’ first three of the night at the 6:18 mark, and Taylor Madison would knock down a shot to put Ouachita up 26-21 with 4:44 to go in the quarter.
Lady Bearcat senior Akeirah Jones would then go to the free throw line at the 4:34 mark of the third quarter and made both before she headed out with an apparent leg injury (she would return in the fourth quarter). Ouachita would end with a 31-25 lead headed into the fourth after a pair of key baskets by Saucer.
Ouachita would lead by as many as 12 points early in the fourth quarter, but missed free throws for the Lions let Ruston pull the game close in the final stanza.
Saucer led all scorers with 19 points, while Cooley finished with 14. Junior Kearra Wilson led the Lady Bearcats with 11 points.
Ruston will graduate Jones, Douglas, Genesis Cooper, Ella Kate Jones and Ali-Claire Palmer.
“We love them,” Cooper said of her senior class. “I’m proud of them. We talked to them in the back about their leadership. Things may not have gone the way that that we wanted, but the impact they had on the team really helped to allow everyone to grow up. I told them to take lessons learned inside of our program and just be be successful at the next level whatever it is that they decide to do next.”
The Lady Lions will go down to south Louisiana to take on No. 3 Prairieville early next week.
