Size got the best of Delta Charter School Tuesday night, and basketball coach Ronald Ellis knew it.

The Storm struggled to take control of its own rebounding, also giving up a great number of offensive rebounds leading to an 81-61 loss to West Feliciana.

“There is no blocking out. We have to block out,” Ellis said. “That’s what kills us.”

While Ellis said he could have seen better response to loose balls, he noted the Storm (6-3) was already at a disadvantage — playing up two classifications.

“That’s a (LHSSA) 3A school with good competition, and they beat us by 20,” he said. “I think we could have done better, though.”

Delta Charter did jump out to an early lead after Donta Brown took two big steps from the tip, sinking a 3-pointer from the left side.

West Feliciana had its response, matching the Storm 6-6 midway through the first period and then never losing its lead following a 3-pointer from JaQuaylan Starling.

Starling led the win with 24 points.

Ellis does have a plan on how to improve his team’s rebounding, however, and he said Delta Charter will definitely need it.

The Storm will travel to play West Feliciana again next Monday.

“They had a lot of second chances, and that will kill you,” he said. “We have to get used to our size. We went from having a couple of big guys to being all the same size, and that makes a difference — means everyone has to pitch in on rebounding.

“We need to keep competing, because we have teams of that caliber that are our size. We have a chance to redeem ourselves next week. We saw what they got, so hopefully we will do better.”

Luckily, Ellis said, he also believes the Storm is eager to progress.

Brown led the efforts for Delta Charter with 19 points. Kavarius Whitehead followed closely with 18, and Jalen Williams and Freddie Mango both added eight.

“Their effort I have no problem with. I know they will play hard every night,” Ellis said. “We are getting better, it’s just the small stuff.”

Delta Charter (girls) 66, West Feliciana 41

The Lady Storm (7-4) tallied just eight points in the first quarter, but was able to pull away for a 66-41 win over West Feliciana.

Ellis said he never worried about Delta Charter’s opening pace.

“We started off slow, but we had a lot of confidence,” he said. “This year they are playing better together, and right now they are doing really well.”

The Lady Storm picked up the pace in the second quarter, scoring 25 points to secure its lead for the remainder of the game.

Three Lady Storm players scored in double digits, led by Shyvlie Blaney with 21. Cloi Cummings had 20 and Kierra Neal scored 14.

“They really enjoy playing together,” Ellis said. “We have a lot of new pieces, but they are happy to player with each other.”