Lady Wolves into quarters, Wolves make cut

RAYNE - Many upsets took place Monday during the second round of the girls backet of the 2016 LHSAA State Basketball Playoffs, but not in Rayne.
The No. 6 Lady Wolves handled Benton High with ease as they cruised to a 64-41 win, vaulting Rayne into the state quarterfinals.
With a quaterfinal win, the Lady Wolves will qualify for the State Tournament, the first time in 26 years when fans remember the 1990 Lady Wolves taking home the championship trophy.
Enjoying home court in the first two rounds of action, Rayne will now hit the road Thursday for the first time during the playoffs when they will meet No. 14 Fair Park of Shreveport duirng a 6 p.m. ballgame. The Indians knocked off No. 3 Loranger during a Monday evening upset.
“You have to respect all teams when you get to this point,” stated Rayne High Head Coach Chester Randal as he eyes Thursday’s quarterfinal contest. “But, for them (Fair Park) to beat a number three team like Loranger, we have to be ready for anything.”
The Lady Wolves were sure ready Monday, out-scoring Benton in all categories.
Benton, who was limited with Rayne’s dominating full-court press, posted their first bucket of the ballgame deep in the first quarter at the three-minute mark. The Lady Wolves stretched their lead to 15-5 with the start of the second quarter. They then kicked it into high gear with a new look and poured in 16 points for a 31-11 halftime lead.
“We did have a rather slow start,” Randal stated of the first half of play. “But, we collected ourselves and made some adjustments and it worked.”
And, did it ever.
Rayne came out in the second half with a nine-point run and never looked back as they continued to score off their effective press and collection of trios, extending a 30-point lead as the final quarter rolled along.
In a last-ditch effort, Benton attempted a man-to-man defense, but the Lady Wolves were just too strong all-round and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 64-41 win.
Leading Rayne shooters were Charlesha Dugas and Keysuana Moore with 21 and 20 point, respectively. Dugas dumped in her points off of steals and fast breaks, while Moore collected 15 of her points from 3-pointers.
Tajane Butler had 10 points, along with four steals and 10 assists, while teammate Whitley Larry contributed eight points while leading in team rebounds with 11 and four blocks.
Rounding out the Rayne scoring were Amari Collins with three points and a bucket by Tiesha Young.
Benton was led by Emily Ward with 21 points, along with 10 by Brandy Harris.
The Lady Wolves will meet Fair Park Thursday during a 6 p.m. quarterfinal contest at Shreveport.
1st Round Win
RAYNE – The Rayne Lady Wolves had nearly two weeks off prior to their Class 4A playoff opener against St.Martinville Thursday and the layoff showed.
But only for a brief period.
The No. 6-seeded Lady Wolves scored just 16 points in the first quarter, which is down from their season average, but they knocked the rust off after that and cruised to a 67-30 victory over the visiting Lady Tigers.
“I knew we would come out kind of cold tonight,” said RHS coach Chester Randal. “We had two weeks since we played and we gave the girls some well-deserved time off. It took us some time to get back on track.”
It didn’t take Charlesha Dugas long to get going. The senior poured in 16 points in the second quarter to help push the hosts lead to 37-13.
Dugas finished the night with a game-high 27 points while fellow senior Whitley Larry had 11 points. Dugas also had six steals and five blocks while Larry tallied 14 rebounds, six blocks and six steals.
“This group of upperclassmen (Dugas and Larry) have really stepped up this year,” said Randall of his seniors, who recently won their 100th career game. “We lost some starters from last year, but our upperclassmen have really been leaders and it showed here tonight.”
Rayne’s offensive outburst was just half of the equation Thursday. The Lady Wolves defensive play paved the way as they flustered St. Martinville’s guards the entire game and forced numerous turnovers which turned into points in transition.
Amari Collins added 17 points and three rounds in the victory and Tajane Butler had eight points, four rebounds and seven steals. Keysuna Moore rounded out the Lady Wolves’ scoring with four points and she also had five steals.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAAGirls’ Top 28 Basketball Tournament will be held at the University Center on the SLU campus in Hammond. Semi-finals are set for March 1-3, with finals on March 4-5.
Wolves
Despite a disappointing district season, the Rayne High Wolves made the cut for the playoffs by coming in at the No. 32 seed during Monday’s announcements.
The Wolves will open play against the No. 1 seed St. Thomas More.
The opening game will be held Monday, Feb. 29, at St. Thomas More.