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FRANCISVILLE, La. — After having their previous four games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within their own team, the Ferriday High School Lady Trojans returned to the court last Friday night to face West Feliciana (La.) High School Lady Saints on the road.

Ferriday got off to a rough start on both ends of the court in the first quarter and its comeback attempt late in the second half came up a little bit short as the Lady Trojans fell to the Lady Saints 56-49.

This was the Lady Trojans’ first game since a 60-43 win over Madison Parish High School back on Dec. 30, 2021 at the Sicily Island Tournament. But head coach Lisa Abron said that neither COVID-19 nor being in quarantine for as long as they were had anything to do with how they played in the first quarter nor the eventual outcome of the game.

“We practiced three or four days before this game. We weren’t in bad conditioning going into this game. We just got off to a slow start,” Abron said. “They caught us off guard with their fast break. Every time we took a shot and missed, they ran it up the court.”

By the time the first quarter was over, West Feliciana had a commanding 23-9 lead. The Lady Saints were led by S. Jarrels with 23 points and S. Jones with 10 points.

Ferriday played much better over the final three quarters. The Lady Trojans were only outscored by two points in both the second and third quarters, 13-11 and 11-9, respectively, yet by the end of the third quarter, they trailed the Lady Saints 47-29. 

“We made some adjustments. We shut down their fast break. But we started turning the ball over a little bit,” Abron said.

Abron added that every time Ferriday would cut into West Feliciana’s lead, they would turn the ball over. She then added that if the Lady Trojans had a few more minutes, they would have pulled out a major come-from-behind win. They still outscored the Lady Saints 20-9 in the fourth quarter.

“They were starting to wear down. We started making a run at the end. We ran out of time. That’s all,” Abron said.

Shekayla Miller lead Ferriday with a game-high 26 points and Aaliyah Gray chipped in with 11 points.

As for Miller’s performance, Abron said, “She was awesome. She has always been our floor leader and our captain. She started out with a bang. Everyone played right along with her. It’s just a shame we couldn’t pull out the win. That happens sometimes.”

Abron noted that this game was a good learning experience for the Lady Trojans as they get ready for LHSAA District 2-2A play, which started Tuesday night at home against Concordia Parish rival Vidalia High School.

“West Feliciana is a very well-coached team. It got us ready for district,” Abron said. “We’re excited about playing (Tuesday). They have to come to us. It’ll be exciting to play in front of our home crowd.”