But falls to ESJ, 43-29
The Hahnville girls’ basketball team suffered their first district loss of the season on Tuesday night, falling to East St. John, 43-29. However, the Lady Tigers are still in contention for the district crown after routing Bonnabel and using a big comeback to knock off Higgins in their first two district games.
Hahnville 65 Bonnabel 27
The Lady Tigers wasted little time jumping out to an early 16-7 lead over Bonnabel before blowing the game wide open with a 21-7 run in the second quarter. Hahnville’s offense didn’t let off the gas pedal in the third and fourth quarters, outscoring Bonnabel 28-13 to cruise to the 65-27 victory.
Hahnville head coach Kevin Robicheaux said his team played a complete game from start to finish.
“Anytime you have a lead, the goal is to keep the lead and extend it throughout the game,” he said. “We had a nice lead going into the third quarter and were able to keep that momentum going in the second half.”
Mariana Gilbert, Bailey Kaplan and Janet Marshall all finished with 13 points in the game. Danashia LeBeauf scored eight points while Akira Zeringue finished with seven points.
Robicheaux said the key to his team’s offensive production is that all of his players are unselfish around the goal.
“Each player has no problem passing up a good shot to get a great shot for their teammate,” he said.
While Hahnville excelled on offense in the rout, it was the defensive pressure that led to the win. The Lady Tigers held Bonnabel under 10 points in each quarter.
“We are beginning to extend our defense full court for the first time all year and it is helping to limit the other teams’ opportunity to score,” Robicheaux said. “I believe in pressure defense but also realize that this team had to prove to me that it could play that style in practice before using it in the game.
“We still have a long way to go, but I have seen a lot of improvement since we began to teach them how to put pressure on the ball and take off the next pass.”
Hahnville 43 Higgins 34
While Hahnville took an early lead against Bonnabel, they had to put together a monumental fourth quarter to beat Higgins.
The Hurricanes led Hahnville 14-11 at the half and extended the lead to 34-24 heading into the fourth quarter. That’s when the Lady Tigers responded by shutting out Higgins in the frame while scoring 19-straight points for a 43-34 win.
“I would love to take credit for our 19-point run and fourth quarter explosion, but at the end of the third quarter the coaches and I didn’t say a single word. We made no strategic adjustments going into the fourth quarter,” Robicheaux said. “It came down to two things, executing on both sides of the court and players making plays.”
Hahnville had missed on several easy buckets earlier in the game and Robicheaux said his team played one of their worst offensive games of the year for three quarters against Higgins.
“If it wasn’t for our defense keeping the game close, we would not have had a chance to come back in the second half and win,” he said.
Even when things weren’t going their way, the Lady Tigers were able to steal momentum in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.
“All you can do as a player is tighten up your shoe laces and keep working hard,” Robicheaux said. “If you do that and don’t panic, the momentum will eventually be in our favor.”
Hahnville 29 ESJ 43
The Lady Tigers trailed East St. John 24-11 at halftime and couldn’t get any closer as the second half wore on. Only Gilbert, who finished with 10 points, managed to score in double figures for Hahnville.
With his team now 2-1 in district play, Robicheaux says his squad is still in the hunt for the District 8-5A title.
“The district championship won’t be decided until the last game is played,” he said.
Hahnville will host John Ehret at 6 p.m. on Friday before traveling to take part in the Episcopal Tournament this weekend. They will travel to Destrehan on Wednesday, Jan. 23 with the game set to begin at 6 p.m.
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