In a double overtime thriller filled with turnovers and missed shots, Ferriday High School held on to defeat Block High School, 73-67, in girls basketball action Tuesday night.

The Lady Trojans led 27-12 at the break, but the Lady Bears came back strong in the second half. They scored 12 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter and tied the game, 40-40, with 4:52 remaining in regulation.

“Block has turned into a huge rivalry. Every time we play them it’s always a tough game, and I didn’t expect anything less tonight,” Ferriday coach Lisa Abron said. “All of the mistakes put us in a bad situation where we had to fight in order to win.”

Ferriday had eight different scorers on the night, but it was Zhane Green who had the final basket to seal the victory. She led the Lady Trojans with 18 points, and Anasia Turner had 16 points. Shakeyla McCray ended the game with 10 points of her own.

Ferriday had a chance to pull away at the end of the first overtime, but Turner missed two missed free throws which led to the second period of extra minutes.

“Tonight just showed me that they have tenacity and a will to win,” Abron said. “I know they were tired, but they had a determination to never give up. That’s going to help us going into district.”

Lakisica Bowman led the Bears with 20 points, and Delicia Ceasor did her part in the near comeback with 15 points.

“I wish we would have won, because we fought hard,” Block coach Veronica Savage said. “My kids have fast feet and they were able to press when they needed to. If we keep working, I am hoping we will be deadly because I can see the perfection.”

Block (7-8) will take on LaSalle at home next Tuesday in its district opener, while Ferriday (10-6) stays home to face Madison Parish on Friday.

Ferriday (boys) 82, 

Block 63

Ferriday (12-4) came out fast and strong and had four players in double digits to defeat Block, 82-63.

Carlos Collins led the Trojans with 17 points, Marquell Griffin added 15 points, Dantrieze Scott ended the night with 13 points, and Ronald Williams had 12 points.

“What I saw was what I expected, and I know what we are capable of,” Ferriday coach K.G. Watkins said. “It’s all about continuing to learn how to play together as a group and finishing strong. We are still young, but we will be OK.”

Block (3-11) was down 20 points at the end of the third quarter, but fought hard until the end as it outscored Ferriday, 17-16, in the fourth.

“We have to get in better shape, and they are giving up sometimes when they shouldn’t,” Block coach SueAnn Easterling said. “Overall, we had some good scores, but we just have to get more of that. We have to move on running out the plays and getting a little tighter.”

Tee Evans was the lead scorer for the Bears with 19 points, and Chris Holmes followed with 18 points.