The Destrehan Lady Wildcats are the hottest basketball team in the state, and will take a 26 game winning streak into their quarterfinal matchup with Walker Thursday night after knocking off Haughton and Zachary in the early rounds.
Destrehan (29-1) got off to an impressive start in the playoffs last Friday with an 87-33 victory over Haughton.
The Lady Wildcats stormed out to an astounding 28-2 lead in the first quarter and never looked back during the rout.
Jordan Dabney and Cara Ursin led Destrehan to the win by each scoring 24 points. Alexis Jackson finished with 14.Destrehan head coach Angi Butler said it was one of her team’s best performances of the season.
“We played extremely well. This was one of the few games where the girls came out really ready to play,” she said. “One of this season’s goals was to make it past the first round and they were willing to do whatever it took to promote us to the second round.”
The Lady Wildcats have made it to the playoffs for the last three years, but failed to advance past the first round in their previous two attempts. Butler said the victory over Haughton lifted a weight off her players’ shoulders.
“We know how talented we are, but sometimes it’s not enough when you are having an off game. To get past the first round is a huge step for us in our dream of playing in the state championship,” she said.
After getting past Haughton, Destrehan held on for a 51-47 win over Zachary in the second round. Ursin was phenomenal in the game, scoring 20 points and finishing with 19 rebounds.
Though the Lady Wildcats got the win, Butler felt her team could have been more consistent.
“We made some mistakes, but did our best to make up for them in other areas. We were not as consistent off the block as we have been in the past and that was detrimental to our game,” she said. “It caused the game to be a close scoring game and prevented us from creating that comfort gap we are so used to.”
However, Butler was proud of how her team fought off a late Zachary rally in the fourth quarter.
“The key to this win was staying mentally focused and playing every play to our best ability. The girls had to dig down deep and work even harder,” she said. “This was the closest game we’ve had all season and the girls had to remain focused to the very end.”
The Lady Wildcats will be tested again on Thursday when they host Walker High School on Thursday at 6 p.m. at R.K. Smith Middle School.
Walker is currently 30-4 on the season and advanced to the matchup with Destrehan after beating South Lafourche, 52-38, and Thibodaux, 48-44, in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Destrehan crushed South Lafourche during the regular season by scores of 48-28 and 67-37. The Lady Wildcats also beat Thibodaux four times this season, including a 70-48 victory in November.
However, Butler said Walker is a very good team that passes well and has consistent shooters.
“We are going to have to come out strong, stay focused and be consistent on offense (in order to win),” Butler said.
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