
Hahnville battled, but a first quarter drought offensively spelled the end of the Lady Tigers’ season Thursday.
The District 7-5A champions and No. 12 seed in Class 5A fell to visiting Northshore, 44-37, in the opening round Division I playoff matchup between the teams.
Paige Friloux led the Tigers with 20 points, many of which coming off of offensive rebounds – the junior was a force on the boards all night and a bright spot for HHS. Dihlynn Mitchell added five and Aaliyah Lorio four for the Tigers.
Northshore’s Cherie Spencer was the offensive catalyst for the victor. Spencer scored 20 points, including eight in the final quarter of play and she hit four 3-pointers on the night. Kiley Lizana added nine for the Panthers.
For Hahnville (23-6), the night began with the Tigers finding themselves in a hole that it would climb out of, but could never quite shake off for good. Northshore led 11-2 after the opening quarter and 17-9 at half.
“I thought if we’d have had a better first quarter … in the playoffs, you can’t have that,” said Hahnville head coach Joshua Bellaire, wrapping up his first season as the team’s head coach. “We didn’t play bad defense – they only scored 11, but you can’t put up 2. There was a lid on that basket and it just wouldn’t go down for us.”
With Hahnville needing a spark late in the third quarter, Friloux sprung into action. Ripping down offensive rebounds and scoring on those second chance opportunities, she scored eight points in the final stages of the quarter and helped the Tigers tie the score at 27 early in the fourth.
“When we came out in the second half, we knew we really had to pick it up,” Friloux said. “We had to keep pushing and we had to want it.”
Northshore (21-12) regrouped. The No. 21 seed answered at the other end and dug in again on defense. Her team leading by five, sophomore Kasey Smith drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to push that lead to eight, and it proved to be a dagger – the Tigers scored just two points the rest of the way.
It was the sixth straight win for the Panthers as they advanced to round two. The team fell to No. 5 seed Parkway in that round, ending their season.
For Hahnville, the opening loss brought to an end a season that saw the Lady Tigers dominate much of its competition throughout the season. HHS ran off two separate win streaks of eight and at one point won 16 out of 17 games, a stretch that keyed Hahnville earning the District 7-5A championship.
“I felt like we had a great season. We kept working and we kept pushing,” Friloux said. “The results did show, but this wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”
Bellaire said it was a tough loss for a veteran group that he knew wanted to advance very much, and who put the work in all season.
“Sometimes, the basketball gods just aren’t with you, and they weren’t in that first quarter,” he said.
Friloux, he said, left everything on the court.
“I’m so proud of that young lady. She’s been working hard all season, staying after practice and putting in extra work. I’m looking for some really big things in the future and am really proud of her effort tonight.
“We accomplished a lot this season. 20 wins, a district championship. We want to make a run in the playoffs – that’s where you make your name and solidify yourself as a strong team and program. I think we are, but it just didn’t go our way tonight.”