French Settlement set one goal when the Lions entered the season: to win a state championship.
The Lions (28-3) moved one step closer after they defeated Ville Platte 63-51 in the Division III nonselect semifinals at the University Center in Hammond on Tuesday night.
The win marks French Settlement’s first state championship appearance since 1986. The Lions will play Westlake at 8 p.m. on Friday in the championship.
French Settlement struggled early and trailed Ville Platte 13-8 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs forced French Settlement into six turnovers in the opening period, which led to five fast-break points. The Lions shot just 4-of-14 from the field in the first quarter.
“I thought we came out really sloppy,” Lions coach Jake Bourgeois said. “The things we’ve done well all year, we didn’t do a great job of in the first quarter.”
Lions junior forward Braidy Trabeau converted a layup after she caught a pass in the post from junior guard Laney Wilson to cut the deficit to three points to start the second quarter.
Trabeau ended the game with a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
“Braidy had a heck of a first half for us with us feeding her the ball,” Bourgeois said. “She kept us in the game early. If she didn’t get those points inside, it could have been a lot different game.”
She tied the game at 14 points apiece after she scored another layup with an assist from senior guard Stella Allison.
Allison drove into the paint and dished another assist, this time to senior forward Rilan Delaneuville, for a layup to give the Lions the lead. Junior guard Ava Acosta stole the ball near midcourt and threw it to a cutting Allison for a layup to continue the run.
Acosta later buried a 3-pointer from the wing, and Delaneuville made a layup to make it a 10-point game.
Ville Platte (21-8) used a mix of free throws and fast-break points to close the first half on an 8-2 run. French Settlement led 28-24 at the half after scoring 20 second-quarter points.
After Trabeau scored a layup for the Lions’ first points of the third, Delaneuville nabbed a steal and scored a pair of layups to make it an eight-point game.
Ville Platte sophomore guard Yazminn Ardoin knocked down her team’s first triple of the game to end the run.
The Lions made four shots in a row to take a 44-31 lead late in the third. Trabeau and Allison each scored twice during the 10-2 run.
“We finally started playing some defense where we forced them into tough shots,” Bourgeois said. “We finally started limiting them to one shot.”
Allison made a pair of free throws just before the quarter ended to give French Settlement a 46-35 lead after three quarters.
French Settlement began to pour it on with 10 points in the paint to take an 18-point lead midway through the fourth. The Lions rolled to a 63-51 win. Allison led the team in scoring with 21 points.
“It’s crazy, honestly,” Allison said about the chance to win a state title. “It would just be the biggest blessing I could ever ask for.”
