FERRIDAY, La. &045; Sour milk.

That’s the best way to imagine Ferriday’s semifinal playoff loss to Christian Life Academy last season.

Believing for themselves that opportunities slipped by the wayside in that Sweet 16 showdown, it’s fair to say the Lady Trojans (32-0) have played the whole year for today’s 7 p.m. rematch with CLA (34-3) in Baton Rouge.

&uot;We knew in the back of our minds we’d see them down the line this year,&uot; Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron said. &uot;We’ve been keeping tabs on them, and this is what we’ve been waiting for. What better way to return to state than to knock (CLA) off.&uot;

No one will question the Lady Trojans’ will and they certainly don’t underestimate CLA, but exacting revenge will be far from a cakewalk.

The Lady Crusaders went 11-0 to win district 7-2A and their only losses came against two Class 5A squads &045; Byrd and Mount Carmel, ranked fourth and seventh in the final regular season Louisiana Sports Writers Association polls &045; and Ellender of Class 4A, who finished ninth in the 4A LSWA rankings.

&uot;They look much more refined than last year,&uot; Abron said of CLA. &uot;They’re able to change defenses in the middle of the game to what opponents are doing. We might not know how to handle that.

&uot;Usually if a team is going to play us man-to-man from the tip they’ll do it the whole game. Christian Life can adapt to the pace of the game.&uot;

Abron, whose Lady Trojans got here with a 74-56 dismantling of Jewel Sumner on Monday, believes CLA does not want to get involved in a running match &045; Ferriday’s forte.

She is also booking on the Lady Crusaders paying their full, undivided attention to star Trojan Monique Jones &045; a misdiagnosis most Ferriday patients were prone to do this season.

That focus opened up scoring prospects to others like point guard LaShawnda Pryor and post Latasha Cain.

Unfortunately for Abron, Lady Crusader head coach Robert Dallimore is smarter than being sucked into the myth that one superstar, such as Jones, can hold a state title over her head.

&uot;Jones, Pryor, Cain &045; all of them can play. Jones may be the best player, but you don’t get 32-0 with one player,&uot; said Dallimore, whose team advanced Monday with a 70-38 drubbing of Newman. &uot;The whole bunch of them can play college basketball on the next level. (Ferriday) does pretty much everything extremely well.

&uot;That’s why they are undefeated.&uot;

The good thing about old milk is you can throw it out and start over with a new jug. After tonight, the Lady Trojans will check the fridge and know if their state title’s chances had been spoiled by CLA again or are good for at least another week.

&uot;We’re so juiced up and ready to play,&uot; Abron said. &uot;We’ve been looking forward to this all year long.&uot;

Block vs. Plain Dealing

JONESVILLE, La. &045; In need of some good bulletin-board material for today’s Block-Plain Dealing Class 1A quarterfinal contest at 7 p.m., in Jonesville, are you?

Whether or not Lady Bears head coach Veronica Savage intended for her words to sound arrogant, she came as close as one can to a prediction without uttering the final score.

&uot;We’re going to walk away with this. As far as I’m concerned, we’re on our way to (the Sweet) 16,&uot; she said. &uot;We respect everybody we play and take them seriously, but I believe in my girls, and we’re going to break down their every weakness.&uot;

Maybe part of Savage’s assurance comes from defeating East Beauregard &045; the state’s No. 3 team before the playoffs tipped off &045; Monday night, 75-65, in the regional round.

Fast forward three days to the present and the Lady Bears (18-7) now host the state’s No. 4 team in Plain Dealing, who got here by a similar regional round score of 75-63 over Mangham.

&uot;We’re going to do everything that has gotten us to this point,&uot; Lady Lions’ head coach Shelia Bryant said. &uot;If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. When teams get to this point of the season, rankings don’t mean very much. Whoever is better prepared mentally will be moving on.&uot;