After scoring a major tournament championship, unbeaten Destrehan was not about to rest on its laurels. The Ladycats entered the week with a record of 24-0, winning four consecutive district games following its Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic championship run, all by decisive scores. The Wildcats beat Terrebonne, H.L. Bourgeois and Thibodaux at home while scoring a road victory at Central Lafourche, bringing the team’s district record to 6-0.
“We regrouped after the tournament,” Destrehan coach Angi Butler said. “Went back to the drawing board and now have to focus on district. It’s always good after the first round of district to watch film and see what adjustments we can make. We were focused so much on winning (the Sugar Bowl tournament), so now we’ve set our sights squarely on winning the district championship.”
Destrehan has five games remaining in district play (a sixth came Wednesday against East St. John, after press time), and if the Wildcats are able to once again run the table, it would yield a 5th consecutive district championship for the program.
“It would be an accomplishment,” Butler said. “The first year we won it (in Butler’s tenure), we won out by one point on margin after splitting with East St. John. We haven’t lost it since and we want to keep that up.”
This is the deepest into a season the Wildcats have ever been unbeaten, and plenty of observers have noticed. MaxPreps.com ranked Destrehan within its top 30 teams nationally at one point, giving the team a bit of national notoriety. Destrehan no doubt commanded much of that attention through its unbeaten record and the Sugar Bowl win, the latter established as a prestigious tournament on more than just the state level.
“We’re excited for it,” Butler said. “A national ranking … this is a compliment. But it’s like I tell the girls, now we’ve got to play like it. We know we’re 24-0, and a lot of confidence comes from that, but you have to play like you’re capable each time out.”
Senior Cara Ursin is on another roll this season, eying a potential third Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year honor. Kiki Kenner has upped her scoring average to 18 points per game, while the return of Brandi Mason from injury in the past two weeks has also made a big impact.
“It allows us to put four guards on the floor … Cara, Kiki and Brandi can each play in the post and out on the perimeter,” Butler said. “That creates a ton of matchup problems. They can defend bigger players, post up, take defenders off the dribble. When you’ve got that, it’s really difficult for teams to deal with. Brandi’s one of those versatile players that makes it possible.”
Destrehan defeated Central Lafourche by a score of 79-8. Ursin scored 27 and Jerlicia Morris added 19.
Ursin scored 24 to lead her team in its win over H.L. Bourgeois. Morris added 12 and Mason 10.
The Wildcats win at home over Thibodaux came by a 75-51 score. Ursin scored 29, while Mason and Morris each scored 14. Kenner added 12.
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