FERRIDAY — For the first minute and a half, the Ferriday High School girls basketball team failed to score a basket.

Once Shakeria sank a 3-pointer at the 6:30 mark in the first, however, Ferriday took the game over completely.

The Lady Trojans rode a 36-point first quarter into a 71-29 victory Friday night, their second win of the season. Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron said after her team’s recent struggles, a blowout win was just what the doctor ordered.

“We needed a game like this to get our confidence and motivation level back up,” Abron said. “It was good to see everything come together. Our press and defense looked good, and our offense was clicking. We were on a five- to six-game losing streak, and we needed a win going into the holidays.

After Sicily Island scored the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer by Janisha Smith, the Lady Trojans strung together 13 unanswered points before Nicole Phillips hit a field goal at the 5:01 mark. Ferriday went 23-8 the rest of the way to lead 36-11 after one.

The Lady Trojans subbed in their backups in the second quarter, slowing down the scoring considerably. Ferriday led 49-19 at the break.

The Lady Trojan subs continued to play the majority of the minutes in the second half, and D’Asia Mitchell finished the game with 14 points for Ferriday. Jada Griggs and Shakeria Kelly scored 12 points apiece, and Trenace Morgan added 10 points.

Ferriday hit eight 3-pointers in the game, something Abron said she was pleased to see.

“We shoot like that in practice,” Abron said. “We just hesitate to take those shots against better teams. I think (hitting several 3s) is what got us going early.”

Smith was the only player for Sicily Island to score in double figures. She finished with 15 points.

Ferriday (2-7) will play again in the Sicily Island tournament beginning Thursday.

Ferriday boys 57, Sicily Island 54

The Trojans were able to overcome a flat first half to tally their third win of the season, edging Sicily Island, 57-54, Friday night.

Will Scott led the Ferriday boys in scoring with 16 points, and Steve Wilson added 14 points for the Trojans. DaJohn Mitchell contributed 12 points for Ferriday.

Trojans head coach K.G. Watkins said his team didn’t play particularly well throughout the game, but he was happy his team pulled out a win despite a late run by Sicily Island in the final quarter.

“I was afraid, with it being the last day of school (before the holiday break) and us getting out at noon, that we’d come out a bit lackadaisical,” Watkins said. “We came out flat in the first half and made too many mental mistakes and didn’t hustle.

“In the second half, we hunkered down and played harder defensively. We didn’t play good defense the whole game, but we played a little better and shot better in the second half.”

Sicily Island was led in scoring by Ladarius Frazier, who tallied 18 points. Derion Dunbar scored 15 points, and Javontae Smith finished with 13 points. Sicily Island led 28-27 at intermission.

After the game, Watkins said he told his players getting a win despite playing poorly was a positive sign.

“Winners figure out a way to win, so I was happy with that,” Watkins said. “The game was full of adversity, but we figured out a way to win.”

Ferriday (3-7) will play in the Sicily Island Tournament beginning Thursday.