Ferriday — Sha’Keria Kelly netted 28 points for the Ferriday High School girls’ basketball team despite being hounded by Lake Providence defenders all night.

Meanwhile, teammate Jada Griggs fought through the pain of having teeth pulled early Friday and scored 18 points for the Lady Trojans. But despite both girls’ best efforts, Ferriday still fell one-point short Friday night.

Lake Providence’s Kojerin Hawkins nailed a free throw to give the Lady Panthers a 62-61 advantage with 51 seconds to go in the game.

Ferriday had two chances to tie or take the lead. The first ended with a turnover. Then Lake Providence killed nearly 40 seconds off the clock, and Ferriday’s last second, desperation attempt ended without a shot opportunity.

The Lady Trojans attempted to foul several times during Lake Providence’s final possession but were unable to get a call, and that allowed the Lady Panthers to take nearly all the remaining time off the clock.

“I’m really proud of my girls,” head coach Lisa Abron said. “They did everything we could ask for, and we just didn’t get the calls at the end and made a couple of mistakes at the end.”

The Lady Trojans overcame an early deficit to rally for 21 points in the second quarter and tie the game at halftime, 27-27.

Kelly scored 13 points in the first half and got even hotter in the third quarter. She netted 12 in the third quarter alone and forced Lake Providence to face guard her the entire length of the floor.

“(Sha’Keria) has stepped up big time for us,” Abron said. “(Lake Providence) remembered her from last year’s team. She put the team on her shoulders.”

Abron was also pleased with the way Griggs battled through her pain to play well for the Lady Trojans.

Lake Providence’s Destiny Willis, who scored 23 points, including 15 in the second half, overmatched Ferriday inside.

The loss dropped the Lady Trojans to 1-1 in LHSAA District 2-2A.

“We have Homer next, and they are pretty tough,” Abron said. “We have to get back to work Monday, because we know we have our work cut out for us.”

Ferriday will host Homer Tuesday.

Ferriday 62, Lake Providence 58

DeJohn Mitchell finished with 19 points, and Quavion Ellis netted 17 to lead the Ferriday boys’ basketball team to a home victory over Lake Providence Friday night.

The Trojans escaped with a 62-58 victory, but head coach K.G. Watkins said he has seen his team play better basketball.

“We got away with one,” he said. “A win is a win, but we didn’t play half as well as we played Tuesday (in a loss to Sterlington). It’s like we don’t play to our best. We play to our competition.”

The Trojans missed 23 free throws, which remains an issue for the team, Watkins said.

“We came out lackadaisical, but we played well enough to win,” he said.

Ferriday will host Homer Tuesday, and Watkins said that game will go a long way in determining the team’s postseason chances.

“They beat us last year both times, so we’ve got something to go back to get,” he said. “We start with three home games in the district, and if we can leave home at 2-1, we should be OK.”