In a top-five LHSAA District 2-2A matchup Tuesday, No. 3 ranked Ferriday High School watched in disarray as second-ranked Rayville scored basket after basket.

With 11.3 seconds remaining in the game, the Hornets (22-5) sank their final point, propelling them into triple digits and an easy victory over the Trojans, 100-53.

“We didn’t do anything that we talked about all week,” Ferriday coach K.G. Watkins said. “They didn’t score 100 points. We let them have 100 points.”

Ferriday (17-6) had many faults on the nights, but perhaps the most detrimental was its inability to convert layups.

“When we got the ball under the rim, we couldn’t put it in the basket,” Watkins said. “We gave up too many easy baskets and did not make the transitions. We just didn’t play.”

The Trojans also had a hard time at the free throw line, with junior Dantrieze Scott missing 11 of his 15 attempts.

Scott put forth his best effort, however, leading the team with 14 points, including a wide-open dunk with less than two minutes to play.

Overall, FHS struggled keeping up with Rayville’s fast-pace tempo. In every quarter, the Hornets scored over 20 points and had scores from 11 different players.

“Plain and simple, we didn’t play good defense,” Watkins said. “We let people run by. It’s like we gave up and quit.”

With the win, Ferriday could have tied with Rayville to share the top spot in the district.

“I just told them to go home and forget it,” Watkins said. “The sun will come up tomorrow. You can’t go back and make something happen. You just have to take it like it was and just go with it. If things go like I hope they will, we will see them again.”

Rayville (girls) 62, 

Ferriday 47

Lady Trojan coach Lisa Abron used a sneaky tactic to encourage her team in the second half of girls action Tuesday, leading to a 62-47 loss after being down 23 points at halftime.

Instead of Ferriday’s starters coming back to start the third quarter, Abron let her freshman take the reins.

“I just didn’t see the effort I wanted in the first half from the starters I put out there,” Abron said. “I changed the line up and tried to motivate the older ones and it kind of worked. They (the freshman) played awesome and gave it a good fight. That’s all I wanted from the beginning.”

Leading the team was freshman Pacha Poole who scored 14 points, all coming in the second half.

Poole was able to get under the rim to find multiple easy baskets, and at one point, had her team within eight points of the lead.

Freshman Tierra Spurs did her part by adding six points of her own.

“We are going to need the aggressive behavior, since we are trying to make a run in the playoffs,” Abron said.

Ferriday is currently ranked No. 17 in Class 2A and the top 32 teams will receive a spot in the bracket during the postseason.

Abron said it’s important for her team to keep fighting down the stretch because she needs them to be in the best position possible.

“We are pushing to be a little bit higher than that and a few wins will do that,” she said. “That’s what we are aiming for.”

Additionally, if the Lady Trojans are able to receive a higher seed, they will most likely receive home court advantage in a game with a much lower seed.

“Anytime we are at home, we need to get the win,” Abron said. “It’s hard to beat anybody on the road.”