CHS Ladies' game against Beau Chene ends in brawl

Tuesday’s District 4-4A contest between the Crowley Ladies and the visiting Beau Chene Lady Gators was a fight to the finish - literally.
The Ladies (4-12, 0-2) rallied from a 19-point deficit, but were unable to get over the hump, falling to the Lady Gators, 51-49.
But the final horn to end the game must have sounded like the opening bell to a prize fight.
A loose ball with just seconds remaining had a CHS player clinging to the ball on the ground as the buzzer sounded.
From there, chaos ensued.
Players from each team began a melee that eventually was joined by fans from both sides.
“I think that there were a couple of times that things happened (in the game) that they (referees) missed and if they would have tightened up what was going on during the course of the game, the situation that happened at the end of the game never would have happened,” said CHS coach Alton Allen.
“There was a lot of jawing going back and forth and nothing was done or said to the kids. I did what I could on the bench to try and calm them (players) down and the Beau Chene coach, likewise. But the referees have to take charge, whether it be a technical foul or calling the coaches or teams together.”
Throughout the contest there was talk back and forth by the players and hard fouls on both sides. All that came to a head at the final buzzer.
Fans from both sides flocked to the court, most in an attempt to stop the fracas, but some actually joined in, or were brought into the fight itself by being punched by opposing players.
“It was a very unfortunate situation, something that you never want to see happen,” said Allen. “Things had been brewing during the course of the game and it all escalated and things got out of hand.
“Then, when you have people coming out of the stands, that’s like a double whammy.”
The postgame altercation led to CHS officials attempting to clear the stands of all spectators before starting the boys’ contest.
Fans from both sides protested and the boys’ game was eventually postponed until Wednesday at Beau Chene.
“This was a big game for us so it is a little disappointing that we didn’t get to play tonight,” said CHS boys coach Derrick Boone. “You know, we were ready. We waited all day, went through walk-throughs and it is just disappointing that it had to end like this. But the safety of my players comes first so we just pushed the game back a day.”
Prior to the altercation, there was a game that was played.
And despite a slow start, the Ladies came just short of picking up their first league victory.
The Ladies struggled with turnovers most of the night and missed a number of shots under the basket that led to a 40-21 Beau Chene lead with just 1:12 remaining in the third quarter.
“We missed a whole lot of layups in the first half and we continued to do that in the second half,” said Allen. “And we had some unforced turnovers that were costly. We’d get a stop, but then we would turn the ball right back over. We would do some good things and then turn right back around and do something bad. We just couldn’t get past ourselves.”
The Ladies, however, didn’t give in.
They scored six straight points to end the quarter and dropped in the first four points to start the fourth to cut the lead to nine (40-31).
The Lady Gators maintained that nine-point cushion until Saquoya Savoy drained a 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining. Myah Rogers then hit back-to-back layups; the second after Savoy blocked a shot, cutting the lead to 51-49 with 20 seconds remaining.
The Ladies had one last shot to tie the game following a rebound with seven seconds remaining, but a turnover thwarted the rally.
“I like the way we played and continued to hang in there,” said Allen, whose squad travels to Opelousas to take on the Lady Tigers Friday in another district contest. “We gave ourselves a chance, but for us to be able to contend, we definitely have to tighten up on missed layups and turnovers. For us to have any success in the future, we have to clean those things up.”
Rogers and Alana Plummer paced the Ladies in the loss with 20 and 14 points, respectively. Savoy followed with eight points, Teara Breaux added four, Taylor Dapremont scored two and Nykeila Winters had one.