Ellender Memorial head coach Kenneth Dixon holds up the
Class 4A runner-up trophy as the Lady Patriots walk off the court after
their 51-49 loss to St. Michael Saturday night in the state championship
game at Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center. Photos by Matt Stamey/Staff
HAMMOND -- Simply put, St. Michael was not leaving the Southeastern
Louisiana University Center without loading up the Class 4A state title
trophy and bringing it to nearby Baton Rouge on Saturday night.
The Warriors and their fans kept coming and coming and coming at Ellender
Memorial until they held the lead once the final buzzer sounded.
Despite being down nine points at halftime, 11 points in the third quarter
and four points with a minute to go, St. Michael defeated Ellender 51-49 on
a jumper in the lane by sophomore guard K.K. Babin with 5 seconds to play.
No. 1 seeded Ellender had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but a well-defended
Da’Jeane Jones missed an off-balance shot from the wing, and St. Michael
began celebrating its first girls’ basketball state title in school history.
"We knew we had to play 32 minutes," St. Michael coach Tami Reynolds said.
"We knew we had to keep our composure and do what we had to do. These kids
are absolutely incredible."
Ellender (35-5 overall) was denied its fifth title in school history and was
making its seventh trip to the Ladies’ Top 28 Tournament and sixth in a
state title game.
The Lady Patriots were attempting to win the Class 4A title after winning
the Class 5A crown last season.
"St. Michael played better and smarter and they deserve the championship,
and we’re runner-up," Ellender coach Kenneth Dixon said. "It’s that simple,
no excuses. They played like they wanted to win. That’s what happens when
you’re hungry."
Ellender, which defeated St. Michael (35-5) twice this season, held an 11-10
lead after the first quarter and a 27-18 halftime advantage.
But with the Lady Pats (52 percent from the field) leading 34-23 with 4
minutes to go in the third quarter, Ellender starter Asia Williams picked up
her fourth foul and was forced to sit.
The Lady Patriots used mostly a five-player rotation throughout the
playoffs.
St. Michael, seeded third, then ran off nine straight points to cut the
Ellender lead to 34-32 with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
"That was key," Reynolds said. "We said it was do or die time. We either had
to do it now, or that was it. (Williams) picking up her fourth foul was
big."
Babin (5-foot-5) made a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer that hit the
rim three times before falling in and tied the game at 37 entering the
fourth quarter.
"I was thinking, how did that go in?" Reynolds said. "It hit the bottom of
the rim and fell. At that point I was telling them we’re in good shape, it’s
a 0-0 game right now. Fresh start."
With Williams (six points) back in the game, Ellender took a 49-45 lead when
Deana Allen (12 points) stole a Babin pass and scored on a layup with 1:09
to go.
Then Williams fouled out and St. Michael’s Jeanne Kenny made two free throws
to cut the Ellender lead to 49-47.
St. Michael (50 percent from the field, 3-of-11 3-pointers) stole the
inbound pass and Jasmine Scott (26 points, nine rebounds, 11-of-14 shooting,
title game MVP) scored to tie it at 49 with 49 seconds to go much to the
delight of the Warriors faithful.
From there, Ellender, which got six points and eight rebounds from Kerry
Hampton and made just 2-of-11 3-pointers, threw the ball away and St.
Michael got it with 46 seconds to play.
Following a timeout, Babin held the ball until the 10-second mark when she
drove on Ellender’s Latika Smith (nine points) and pulled up for the jump
shot in the lane that proved to be the difference.
"I just saw the clock, so I drove in," Babin said. "They didn’t step up, so
I shot it. I was praying and it went in."
The arena erupted after Jones (16 points on 8-of-10 shooting) missed at the
buzzer and St. Michael began its celebration.
"It was amazing that we had the heart to stay in this game and didn’t give
up," St. Michael player Carol Lee Constantine said. "It just makes you want
to cry."
Ellender Memorial’s Asia Williams (35) goes up to block a
shot by Carroll’s Stephany Long (10) during the third quarter of
Thursday’s Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game in Houma. Jim Cenac/Correspondent
HOUMA -- A minute into the fourth quarter, and with his team leading by
double digits, Ellender Memorial girls coach Kenneth Dixon emphatically
called for a timeout, looked at the official, and in his blue Patriots
short-sleeve shirt and khaki pants, he spread his long arms and balled up
both fists.
He wanted a full timeout. It was time for the Lady Patriots to put the game
away.
Ellender went to its isolation offense late to cap a 62-42 Class 4A
quarterfinal round victory over Carroll on Thursday night.
The victory puts the Lady Patriots (35-4) into the Ladies Top 28 tournament
for the seventh time in school history.
No. 1 Ellender will face No. 4 Parkway, a 68-60 winner over Vandebilt
Catholic on Thursday night, at 5 p.m. Thursday at the University Center on
the Southeastern Louisiana campus in Hammond in the semifinals.
The Lady Patriots have played in the state finals five times and won four
state championships.
The last came last season in Class 5A.
Against a young No. 8 Carroll (19-9) team, Dixon, in his 16th season with
Ellender, said some late offensive execution by the Lady Patriots was key.
"It was a pretty tight game, but once we got down to 6 or 7 minutes, they
had to go man-to-man because we didn’t have to rush shots," Dixon said. "We
have a particular set, mostly isolation, that we like to go to when they go
man-to-man. We have an advantage with Tika (Smith) and Deana (Allen), quick
guards."
Allen led Ellender with 22 points, and Kerry Hampton added 19 points.
The game stayed close most of the first half.
Ellender led 18-12 after the first quarter and 28-20 at halftime.
"Ellender is the No. 1 team in the state and the team to beat," Carroll
coach Sheryl Madison said. "We came up short, but we have a bunch of young
kids, and they did an outstanding job. It was a good game. We lost focus on
some defensive points, and had some people in foul trouble, but other than
that, we played a good game."
Ellender extended its lead to 44-30 by the end of the third quarter, which
ended on a deep, running 3-pointer by Ellender’s Da’Jeane Jones at the
buzzer following a travel call on the Lady Bulldogs.
"We got cold in the third quarter," Madison said. "You have to make shots,
and we didn’t when we needed too. They were playing at home and had the
home-court advantage. After she hit that shot at the buzzer, that really
gave them the momentum (going into the fourth quarter). I just told my kids
to play hard and not to quit, and they didn’t."
Carroll, which made 1-of-5 free throws, got 11 points from Kardyn Thornton
and 10 points from Bianca Brown.
Dixon said Ellender, which made 16-fo-20 free throws, did a good job on the
boards.
"They (the Lady Bulldogs) are a great rebounding team," Dixon said. "They
get putbacks and have some
good size. We are 35-4 and you have to know what works now. That was the
key, going out and executing what we are supposed to be in. The girls did a
great job. I thought we played well, especially in the second half."
No. 2 Glen Oaks and No. 3 St. Michael play in the others Class 4A semifinal
at 8 p.m. on Thursday at SLU in Hammond.
The Lady Patriots wore a small black piece of cloth on the upper left-hand
side of their jerseys with a red No. 25 embroidered in memory of Glen Oaks
star player Shannon Veal, who collapsed on the court and died last week.
Ellender Memorial’s Asia Williams (center) comes down with a defensive
rebound before colliding with Teurlings Catholic’s Leslie Guillory
(right) and Julia Pollard (10) during Monday's Class 4A regional playoff
game in Houma. Jim Cenac/Staff
HOUMA – The Ellender Memorial Lady Patriots had trouble making shots in
their Class 4A regional round playoff game against No. 16 Teurlings Catholic
of Lafayette Monday night.
But the Lady Patriots’ pressure defense made up for it, forcing 18 turnovers
(12 in the first half) in their 65-36 victory over Teurlings.
Ellender, the top-seed in the Class 4A playoffs, was able to convert the
turnovers into fastbreak points, helping them turn an eight-point first
quarter lead into a 29-point win.
“Once we got a chance to get a steal and go down and score, we were able to
increase our lead,” Ellender coach Kenneth Dixon said. “We were able to get
a few more turnovers and speed the game up. Teurlings came in here with a
great gameplan by showing some patience. I knew they would come out like
that. I just wanted my girls to stay smart, play passing lanes and not
commit any reach-in fouls. We did that.”
With the win, the Lady Patriots advance to the quarterfinals where they will
host No. 8 Carroll on Thursday. Gametime will be determined later today.
Ellender (33-4 overall) led 12-4 after a low-scoring first quarter, but it
scored 10 of its 15 second quarter points off Teurlings’ turnovers to take a
25-10 lead at halftime.
Aside from the turnovers, Teurlings coach Sallie Guillory said the Lady
Rebels (16-15 overall) failed to create any second-chance opportunities.
“I thought we got a few shots, and we did good setting up our half-court
offense, but we couldn’t get the rebound,” Guillory said. “We gave them a
couple of opportunities off of turnovers. We talked about that before the
game and that was going to be the key – not giving them any points off of
turnovers.”
In the third quarter, Ellender’s Deana Allen and Lakita Smith started to
find their groove. Allen, who scored a game-high 27 points, hit a fadeaway
jumper to put Ellender on top 37-17 with 1:57 left.
Smith, who added 15 points and eight steals for Ellender, beat the Lady
Rebels’ defense with her penetration and found Allen under the goal for an
easy basket, making the score 43-21 with a minute left.
Teurlings’ Julia Pollard drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer, which cut
Ellender’s lead to 46-26 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Ellender got a brief scare when Allen was carried off
the court with an ankle injury with 5:36 remaining, but the Lady Patriots
star returned to the court to score eight points down the stretch to help
seal the win.
“I’m pleased with the outcome,” Dixon said. “We came out in the second half
and executed much better and showed some patience. But we have to start the
game like that.”
Guillory praised Allen and Smith after the game.
“They are great players. Deana’s probably the best player in the state, if
not the best player, I want to see who is. She can play, and we knew that,”
Guillory said. “Latika took what we gave her. She did a great job of taking
us to the goal, and we couldn’t stop her.”
Ellender’s Asia Williams, who scored 10 points, left the game in the third
quarter after falling on the floor hard while fighting for a rebound. She
returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
Samantha Roy led Teurlings with 10 points, while Kaitlyn Moreau added nine.
CLASS 2A REGIONALS -- LAKESIDE 55, ST. JAMES 46
At Sibley, the third-seeded Lady Wildcats couldn’t overcome a slow start in
its loss to No. 19 Lakeside.
Lakeside, a member of District 1-2A, led 17-5 after the first quarter, 30-13
at halftime and 40-34 at the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Wildcats rallied to cut the deficit to two points with 1:47 left in
the game, but Lakeside (17-of-31 free throws) drained its free throws down
the stretch to get the win.
Ariel Mitchell led St. James (27-8 overall) with 20 points, while Markeisha
Keller added 10 points.
“We had a great season,” St. James’ coach Amy Blanchard said. “We have
nothing to hang our heads about. I’m proud of my girls for playing hard and
winning district with an undefeated record. We only lose one player from
this season, so we’ll have everyone back next season to make a run.”
HOUMA – The timekeeper at Ellender Memorial’s Class 4A first-round
playoff game against Northside didn’t start the clock until about 30 seconds
after the opening tip.
By that time, though, the Lady Patriots had forced two turnovers and led 4-0
en route to a dominating 70-34 win on Tuesday night.
The No. 1 seeded Lady Patriots move into the regional round and will host
16th seeded Teurlings Catholic.
Teurlings beat McKinley, 56-51, in the first round.
Ellender coach Kenneth Dixon said he’s seen Teurlings play this season, but
doesn’t know much about them yet.
Early in the game, Northside (8-13) tried to slow the pace, holding onto the
ball for long periods of time, while Ellender (33-4) sat in a zone defense.
However, when Northside would miss a shot, the Lady Patriots were off and
running and scoring in transition.
By the end of the first quarter, Ellender led 20-2.
Deana Allen had eight points in the quarter, and finished with a game-high
29 points.
“We were sitting in the zone there,” Dixon said.
“We were working on some things. (Northside) came out, and they weren’t
aggressive. They held the ball, so we just sat in our zone for a while,
because we really wanted to work some things and positions where people need
to be when we’re in (the zone).”
Northside coach Tarunye Kanonu said Ellender’s ability to run was why her
team tried to slow the game.
“We wanted a slow-paced game,” she said.
“We knew that we didn’t want to get into a running match. They’re a good
shooting team, and we just wanted to slow the game and try to play into our
own elements.”
Down by 18 points at the start of the second quarter, Northside was forced
into more of a fast-paced game.
The quicker-paced game helped ignite the Lady Vikings offense somwhat, but
Ellender increased its halftime advantage to 33-14.
In the third quarter, the Lady Patriots defense dominated, outscoring
Northside 22-4.
“In the second half, we came out and manned up just to speed up the game a
little bit, so we could get some legs under us and run some transition
offense,” Dixon said.
“We tried to make the most of it.”
The Lady Patriots played their starting five for the better part of three
quarters, making their first substitution at the 1:07 mark of the third
quarter.
Dixon said that strategy was meant to give his starters as much time as
possible together on the court.
“Just trying to get some legs under us,” he said.
“My kids can develop a false sense of security. That’s one of the things I
can do, is run them a little bit and let them work a little longer.”
Three Ellender starters scored in double digits, with Allen’s 29 leading the
way.
Da’Jeanne Jones had 12 points, and Asia Williams added 11.
Ellender Memorial’s Asia Williams (35) shoots a 3-pointer
over Vandebilt Catholic’s Sybil Washington (32) and Sumar Leslie (10)
during Friday night’s District 8-4A showdown at the Ellender gym in
Houma. Jim Cenac/Correspondent
HOUMA – Vandebilt Catholic’s Sumar Leslie lost a contact lens early on.
Ellender Memorial’s Kaylie Leblanc had her glasses knocked off late.
But it wasn’t hard for anyone to see just how dominant the Lady Patriots
were on Friday night.
With an 80-38 victory over Vandebilt, Ellender clinched the District 8-4A
title and avenged an earlier district loss to the Lady Terriers in
leave-no-doubt-about-it fashion.
It is Ellender’s 13th district title in 15 years under coach Kenneth Dixon
and its fourth in a row.
“I was proud of the way they played with consistency,” Dixon said. “We took
Vandebilt lightly the first time, and I thought we executed well. We have
been watching film and watching film, now it’s time to win or go home.”
Both Ellender, ranked second in Class 4A, and Vandebilt (25-5, 6-2 in
district), ranked fourth in Class 4A are postseason bound, though Vandebilt
coach Kathy Luke would like to be entering the playoffs coming off a better
performance.
“They (the Lady Patriots) played extremely well,” Vandebilt coach Kathy Luke
said. “We lost our composure a little bit, and we didn’t execute our offense
against their 1-3-1. Ellender came out and played like they wanted to win
the district championship.”
Ellender (32-4, 7-1 in district) led 24-17 after a first quarter, which
featured three ties.
But with Asia Williams scoring 19 of her 23 points in the first half, which
included five first-half 3-pointers, Vandebilt had to come out and guard
her, which allowed Deana Allen (25 points) to drive to the goal and score or
pass.
That led to a 50-27 halftime lead for Ellender.
“That was huge,” Dixon said. “That’s what we hope for. That is Asia’s job.
We are going to need her to hit those shots to open things up. We have quick
guards.”
Also, Leslie (22 points) picked up her third foul with 2 minutes to go in
the first half and with her on the bench Ellender closed it on a 9-1 run.
“Sumar getting into foul trouble hurt,” Luke said. “She got hit early and
had some blood in her eye. It stopped bleeding, but she said she couldn’t
see, but they outplayed us. They pushed the ball up the floor, and we were
slow getting down on transition.”
Ellender, which got 11 points from Kerry Hampton, led 69-30 at the end of
the third quarter.
Luke was hit with a technical foul with 4:30 to play after she said a
referee was rude in informing her team that it could not sit on the bench
during a 30-second timeout.
Luke said she and her team thought it was a full timeout and that the
referee could have been more professional in informing them that it was of
the 30-second variety.
When Luke let the referee know her feelings about the situation following
the timeout, he immediately hit her with the technical.
Both coaches emptied their benches with 2 minutes to play.
Ellender seniors Da’Jeanne Jones, Allen, Hampton and Williams were
honored following the game.
A pair of Asia Williams 3-pointers early in the first period highlighted a 22-2
run by the Lady Patriots to start the game.
Ellender never looked back as Williams and Deana Allen each had 15 points on the
night.
Three other Lady Patriots reached double digits. DeJeane Jones had 12, while
Kailie LeBlanc and Kerry Hampton both chipped in 10. In all, ten Lady Patriots
scored.
On defense, Ellender (26-4, 4-1) forced 32 turnovers and limited Belle Chasse to
11 first half points.
"This was good for us to get back on track," said Ellender Coach Kenneth Dixon.
"DeJeane is coming back from an injury, and she got some quality minutes in. We
are just going to keep working hard."
Vandebilt Catholic’s Sumar Leslie (10) draws
a foul from Ellender Memorial’s Kayla Celestin (11) as Latika
Smith (33) looks on during Friday’s District 8-4A game in Houma.
(Jim Cenac/Correspondent)
HOUMA – With successful veteran coaches such as Ellender Memorial’s Kenneth
Dixon and Vandebilt Catholic’s Kathy Luke roaming the sidelines, Friday’s
District 8-4A showdown between the Lady Patriots and the Lady Terriers resembled
a chess match.
And for four quarters, the crosstown rivals battled back-and-forth, entertaining
a packed crowd inside of Vandebilt’s main gym.
Ellender held a slim 5-point lead after the third quarter.
But in the final quarter, Vandebilt senior Sumar Leslie took over.
Leslie scored 12 of her 35 total points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lady
Terriers to a 59-51 win over Ellender.
Vandebilt, who made 17-of-19 free throws, outscored the Lady Patriots 19-11 in
the fourth quarter to pick up the win.
“I was really proud of our effort in the fourth quarter,” Luke said. “It’s
always exciting when we beat a crosstown rival. Ellender is a premier team, so
it took everything we had. I’m just really proud of my kids because we did hold
our composure.”
After fouling out of the game with 29 seconds left in the fourth, the Terriers’
crowd gave Leslie (11-of-12 free throws) a standing ovation as she left the
court.
“We just had great intensity out there. We were ready to play tonight,” Leslie
said. “We were excited and we kept our composure the entire game. This win gives
us confidence that we could push our way back up to the top. We’re ready. I
believe we can do anything.”
After both teams were tied at 12 at the end of the first quarter, Ellender
(26-4, 3-1 in district) took a 29-22 lead at halftime and a 45-40 lead at the
end of the third quarter. At one point, the Lady Patriots held a 10-point
advantage in the second quarter.
But Dixon said Ellender, who had 15 turnovers and shot 5-for-12 from the
free-throw line, didn’t do what its supposed to do, which caused them the game.
“Vandebilt did an excellent job,” Dixon said. “Their players were very
disciplined. They did what they were supposed to do, and we didn’t do what we
were supposed to do. We did what we wanted to do, and that’s why we come in on
the short end of the stick.”
Vandebilt (19-4, 3-1) outrebounded Ellender, 24-16. Shikera Ross scored 12
points for the Lady Terriers.
Deana Allen led Ellender with 25 points. Asia Williams added 12 points, and
Latika Smith had 10 points.
HOUMA -- The Ellender Memorial Lady Patriots came
out and dominated early during Monday night’s 55-37 nondistrict win over St.
Mary’s Academy.
"We played extremely well against a good squad," Ellender coach Kenneth Dixon
said. "This gave us a chance to work on some specifics. They play a man-to-man
on defense and they run a motion offense. This gave us a chance to defend
against the motion offense and to run a motion offense."
Deana Allen came out storming in the opening quarter scoring 11 of her 24 points
in the first quarter. Allen scored the first six points of the game to give the
Lady Patriots (24-3 overall) a 6-0 lead.
St. Mary’s (18-6) got on the board with 4:41 left in the first quarter on a
Jenna Beamer basket.
Ellender followed with a 10-0 run until Rejane Brooks scored with 29 seconds
left. Ellender led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter.
Chevelle Johnson scored off a steal in the opening possession of the second
quarter for the Lady Cougars. Allen then scored six straight points for Ellender
giving the Lady Patriots a 24-6 lead.
Ellender led 33-9 going into halftime.
"We played Belle Chase Friday to open district play," Dixon said. "That gives us
and opportunity to get ready for Helen Cox Saturday."
After two Kawanda Chatman baskets to open the second half, St. Mary’s went on a
12-0 run cutting the Ellender lead to 37-21.
Allen converted on a 3-point opportunity to end the run. Ellender led after the
third quarter, 40-23.
"We had to sit three starters because they weren’t coming to practice," St.
Mary’s coach Keith Haywood said. "We started mostly six and eighth graders and
brought our starters in the second half and made a little run. We still played
undisciplined, but it’s district time now and we’ll see what happens."
Both teams exchanged shots in the fourth quarter.
Allen led all scorers with 24 points. Asia Williams joined her in double figures
with 11. Kerry Hampton had eight rebounds for the Lady Patriots.
Johnson led St. Mary’s with 16 points. The Lady Cougars had 18 turnovers opposed
to Ellender’s nine.
At the Rumble on the River at the Alario Center, the Lady Patriots beat St.
Michael’s in the tournament’s championship to finish in first place.
The teams were tied 22-22 at halftime, but Ellender (22-3) outscored the Lady
Warriors 13-8 in the third quarter, and used that momentum to take the
championship.
Deana Allen led the Lady Patriots with 13 points. Kerry Hampton added 12 points
and Asia Williams had 10.
Earlier in the day, Ellender beat Iota 60-51 to clinch a spot in the
tournament’s title game. Allen scored 22 points while Hampton and Williams had
14 each.
HOUMA -- During Tuesday’s nondistrict game against
Franklin, the Ellender Memorial girls’ basketball team didn’t play in its
typical dominating fashion.
But the Lady Patriots still found a way to get the job done.
Ellender forced 28 turnovers, including 20 in the first half, to beat Franklin
52-34.
After losing the St. Charles Shootout championship game to Hahnville on
Saturday, Ellender coach Kenneth Dixon said it was good to get back on the
winning side against Franklin.
"I’m pleased with the win because I definitely didn’t want to lose two straight.
I was hoping that we would come out and at least get a win under our belts,"
Dixon said. "We just wanted to get our confidence back up. I thought we did
okay. We can do better. We have to execute better in our half-court offense."
Ellender (17-3) led 10-2 after the first quarter and 26-11 at halftime.
Thanks to their pressure defense, the Lady Patriots forced many turnovers, which
led to easy fastbreak points.
"I thought we did an excellent job with our pressure defense, man-to-man and we
played the passing lanes very well," Dixon said. "We’ve been working on that the
last couple of days, and I thought they did a decent job."
In the second half, Ellender continued to force turnovers. Leading 30-11 6:50
left in the third quarter, Ellender’s Deana Allen stripped Franklin’s Angelle
Stansbury and sprinted down the court for the easy basket.
The Lady Hornets (9-8) went on a 9-0 run that cut the lead to 36-18 with 1:25
remaining, but Ellender answered with two straight fastbreak lay-ups from Latika
Smith and a jumpshot from Allen to take a 42-20 lead at the end of the third
quarter. In the fourth quarter, Franklin used a 10-0 run to cut the lead to
46-34 with 3:11 left.
But Ellender answered with lay-ups from Da’Jeane Jones, Kerry Hampton and Allen,
which sealed the game.
In the end, Franklin coach K’wasi Lewis said the Lady Hornets couldn’t overcome
the turnovers.
"We had a bunch of turnovers, and that forced us to play catch-up," Lewis said.
"Turnovers were our downfall tonight. If we wouldn’t have turned the ball over
so much, we would’ve had a better chance to stay in the game. You can’t stay in
the game if you keep turning the ball over."
With 15 turnovers, Dixon said the Lady Patriots have to do a better job of
protecting the basketball.
"I felt we committed too many unforced turnovers trying to make spectacular
plays," Dixon said. "We don’t have to be spectacular, simply just score. They
want to do such a good job that I think they might be trying too hard at times.
We just want to calm down and just play our game."
Allen finished with a game high 25 points and 10 steals. Kawanda Chatman added
10 points for Ellender, while Jones had 10 points.
Stansberry led Franklin with 12 points, and Chenet Small added 10 points.
On the girls’ side of the Casey Kozminiski tournament, the Lady Patriots
overcame Hahnville for the tournament title.
Hahnville was standing in the way, but Ellender defeated the Lady Tigers 61-41
on Saturday night.
Down by 25-19 at the half, the Lady Tigers were able to get as close as three
before the Lady Patriots (12-2) were able to run off with the game.
"We played well considering I played about 6 players," Ellender coach Kenneth
Dixon said. "Hahnville is a very good team and their coach does a good job. We
switched up or defenses an I’m very pleased the way we played man and zone."
The Lady Patriots switched to a full court man-to-man defense in the fourth
quarter and forced seven turnovers, and allowed them to go on a 21-9 fourth
quarter run.
Ellender’s Deana Allen and Brittany Price each had six points in the fourth
quarter.
"We played them tough, but we the turnovers killed us," Hahnville coach Kevin
Robichaux said.
Allen had game high 29 points and nine rebounds.
Danielle Douglas led the Lady Tigers with nine points and six rebounds.
Ellender Memorial's Latika Smith (33) drives past Franklin's Angelle
Strausberry (15) during Friday's Casey Kozminski tournament game
in Gray. (Jim Cenac/Correspondent)
GRAY -- After watching the Ellender boys drop their game to Christian Life
Academy just minutes before, the Ellender Lady Patriots took the court for the
Casey Kozminski tournament looking for a different outcome.
While it wasn’t their most perfect game of the season, the Lady Patriots left
H.L. Bourgeois with a commanding 53-30 victory over the Franklin Lady Hornets.
Ellender coach Kenneth Dixon said while he’ll take the win, he still feels his
team needs to improve in order to remain competitive.
"We were a little sluggish," Dixon said. "In situations like this I look for us
to execute, and we didn’t completely do that."
Behind an eight-point performance by Latika Smith in the first quarter, the Lady
Patriots quickly jumped out to a 14-9 lead at the end of the first.
The Lady Hornets (9-5) were held to three points in the second quarter and the
Lady Patriots used a 7-0 run, sparked by five points from Kerry Hampton, to take
the 24-12 lead at halftime.
Despite the lead at halftime, Dixon said he felt his team was capable of playing
even better.
"We need to improve on our rebounding and hitting easy shots," Dixon said.
"We’ll get there, we just have to work on it in practice. It’s still early in
the season."
After a layup by Tanazya Washington cut the lead to 26-14, the Lady Patriots
(11-2) went on a 14-0 run behind nine points by Deana Allen to take the
commanding 40-14 lead. The Lady Hornets ended the run after a bucket by Kayla
Jackson, but still trailed 42-19 heading into the final quarter.
Allen led all Lady Patriots with nine while Da’Jeane Jones added nine to help
the cause.
Jackson scored five of her team’s 11 points in the fourth quarter, but the Lady
Patriots went on for the 53-30 win.
At the Casey Kozminski Memorial tournament, the Lady Patriots had little trouble
with the Lady Wildcats in a 22-point win Wednesday to improve to 10-2 on the
season.
Deana Allen led all players with 23 points for the Lady Patriots and Asia
Williams added 17.
Ariel Mitchell led the Lady Wildcats (9-6) with 22 points and Brandi Jeffry
scored 14.
Prior to the boys game, the Lady Patriots moved to 9-2 on the season with the
nondistrict victory.
Ellender led 12-5 after the first quarter, 27-13 at halftime and 42-32 at the
end of the third quarter.
Terrebonne (9-6) got as close as 44-36 with just under 6 minutes to play before
Ellender sealed the victory down the stretch.
Asia Williams led Ellender with 19 points, Deana Allen and Kerry Hampton scored
12 points each, and Da’Jeane Jones added seven points for the Lady Patriots.
Sierra Lyons led Terrebonne with 19 points, Alaina Verdin scored 10 points, and
Leah Lyons added seven points for the Lady Tigers.
At Baton Rouge, the Lady Patriots were outscored 22-6 in the fourth quarter in
the nondistrict loss.
Ellender (5-2) got 13 points from Da’Jeane Jones, and 11 points from Latika
Smith, and led 8-4 after the first quarter, 19-10 at halftime and 30-21 at the
end of the third quarter.
Shannon Veal led Glen Oaks with 19 points, and Lonette Green added 16 points.
In other nondistrict girls action from Monday, Terrebonne fell to Morgan City,
52-49.
WESTWEGO – The Ellender Memorial girls basketball team won the Gold Division of
the Battle of the Bayou Tournament over the Thanksgiving holidays at the Alario
Center.
Ellender defeated St. Michael for the title.
It also beat Plaquemine and Vandebilt Catholic at the event and fell to John
Curtis.
Ellender Memorial's Deana Allen (12) reaches for a rebound over
Destrehan's Tawanna Lee during Thursday's game in Houma. (Matt
Stamey/Staff)
HOUMA -- The Ellender Memorial girls basketball team looked a little less
like its normal running and gunning self in Thursday’s game against Destrehan.
That was probably because staring point guard Latika Smith was out with an ankle
injury, and another key contributor, Brittany Price, was also limited with a
foot injury suffered in the junior-varsity game before the main event.
Nonetheless, the Lady Patriots overcame a sluggish first half to defeat the Lady
Wildcats 52-38 in nondistrict play.
Da’Jeane Jones led Ellender (2-0) with 15 points, Deana Allen, who on Wednesday
signed with UNO and played the point Thursday night, had 13 points, and Asia
Williams scored 11 points for the Lady Patriots.
"Being without your point guard, the one that keeps it going is tough," Ellender
coach Kenneth Dixon said. "Deana (Allen) can do it, but she’d much rather be a
(shooting guard) rather than a (point guard). She had to do what we needed her
to do. I thought we should have run a little more, but without Latika, we didn’t
run lanes very well."
On the strength of a 70-foot buzzer beater by Tawana Lee (16 points) Destrehan
(3-1) led 12-11 after the first quarter, but Ellender took a 26-21 halftime
advantage.
"I thought we were a little lackadaisical, slow and a little pokey," Dixon said.
"I thought we were concentrating too much on shooting from the perimeter instead
of running the offense. We go over it everyday. One day we execute it (like
Tuesday night in a 67-35 win over Hahnville) and the next we don’t. I want to
know what the problem is."
There was no problem for the Lady Patriots in the third quarter.
