RUSTON, La. — With one last contest before District 2-5A play begins, the Ruston Lady Bearcats did not disappoint Monday night with a 65-17 home win over the Logansport Lady Tigers.
The win comes back-to-back losses last week, which head coach Lashanda Cooper cited as the reason for her team’s defensive perfomance Monday.
“We took two losses, and we knew we needed to play with a chip on our shoulder,” Cooper said. “We really turned it up in practice — truly wanted to hold them accountable for missed box outs and minor mistakes. We want the girls to lock into details in practice and carry that over to the game. They need to play harder defensively and lock in.”
Defensive intensity was no issue for the Lady Bearcats early after scoring 17 points in the first three minutes thanks to four Ruston steals that led to transition baskets (three of which came from junior Bailee Harrison on fast break layups). Following a Logansport timeout, Harrison took another steal and finished with a layup to cap off an 11-0 run before the Lady Tigers scored again to cut Ruston’s lead to 19-6 with 3:04 to go in the first quarter. Unofficially, Ruston turned Logansport over 11 times in the first quarter alone.
The defense clamped down harder in the second quarter to hold Logansport scoreless in the period. Sophomore Jayleen Spann opened and closed with a three to bookend the second — first at the 7:24 mark to put Ruston up 28-11, sparking a 28-0 run that included a pair threes from both Harrison and senior Akeirah Jones before closing the quarter with her second three-pointer with 20 seconds to go before the half.
The halftime lead set up a running clock for the remainder of the night and allowed Cooper to pull her starters, giving chances for senior Genesis Cooper, junior Qustin Starr, sophomore Eden Dawsey and sophomore Za’Meriah Jones the chance to get in the scorebook. Senior Ali-Claire Palmer registered four steals in the second half, as well.
Harrison led all scorers with 18 points — all in the first half. Jones finished with 11 on the night before halftime.
Both the Ruston boys and girls open district play tonight on the road at West Monroe. Tip off for the girls’ game is set for 5:30 p.m.
“The kids are geared up,” Cooper said of her team. “We’ve been watching film — everybody’s locked in. We’re just pushing to get better.”
