Destrehan is headed to Shreveport and a round two date with Haughton after the Wildcats earned a 56-43 opening round victory at home over Ouachita Parish Thursday night.
It was the ninth straight victory for Destrehan, the No. 13 seed in Division I which moved to 23-8 this season.
The Wildcats stormed out to an early lead before 20th seeded Ouachita Parish rallied to jump ahead. But Destrehan closed the game strong, dominating the rebounding battle in the fourth quarter to seal the game in front of a fired up home crowd of supporters.
“We executed our offense and we played impeccable defense,” said Destrehan head girls basketball coach Twalla Powell. “Defensively, we forced them to turn it over in the first quarter – and we owned the court at that point. But they made a run, got the lead and we had to regroup.”
Powell said the message at that point was to recognize Ouachita Parish wasn’t about to go away without a fight, but that losing wasn’t an option for the Wildcats.
“Win or go home,” Powell said. “We went on our own run, owned the boards in the fourth quarter and we’re headed to the second round.”
Destrehan leading scorer Koi Ursin said her jump shot wasn’t clicking early, so she shifted gears to another form of attack – the drive. Ursin attacked the basket time and time again and paced her team offensively with 23 points.
“We knew they were an aggressive team and we had to match that, play even more aggressive,” Ursin said.
The senior said she’s determined for her last season to be the Wildcats’ best postseason in her time with the program.
“I told my teammates that this is my last year – this is it for me, so do it for me,” Ursin said. “This is my last round. We had to come out and execute.”
Ursin said this Destrehan team has strong chemistry both on and off the court, something that’s helped lead to the team’s success this season.
Another key is this team has been able to handle pressure situations, she said.
“Tonight, we had to stay composed. We knew we were the better team, we just had to execute,” Ursin said.
Harmony Howard scored 14 and Amaya Armstrong scored 10 for Destrehan. Honesty Miller added four.
McKenna Cooley led Ouachita Parish (18-10) with 15 points. Malaysha Scott added 13.
Destrehan will travel to fourth-seeded Haughton in round two. That game is set for Monday night at 6 p.m.
