FERRIDAY — Trying to defeat the same team three times in the same season can sometimes be a daunting task for some teams in high school basketball. Especially when the first two match-ups occurred in district play.

Not so for the Ferriday High School Lady Trojans, the No. 7 seed in the 2020 LHSAA Class 2A playoffs when they took on a familiar opponent in District 2-2A foe and the No. 26 seed Mangham High School Lady Dragons last Thursday night at the Ferriday Junior High School Gym.

Shekayla Miller finished with a game-high 17 points and Aaliyah Gray added 13 points to lead five Ferriday players in double figures as the Lady Trojans used a big first half and got significant contributions from their bench players in a 70-35 win over the Lady Dragons.

Any concerns Lady Trojans head coach Lisa Abron may have had about her team getting off to a slow start did not take place. Ferriday jumped out to a 22-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and then outscored Mangham 22-4 in the second quarter for an insurmountable 44-12 halftime lead.

“We have been talking and stressing about being a little more focused on defense and offense,” Abron said. “So we wanted to mix things up, change some things for the future. They remained focused the whole game.”

The only quarter in which Mangham managed to crack double digit scoring was the third quarter and the Lady Dragons were still outscored by the Lady Trojans 18-17 to fall behind 62-29.

Tierra Spurs had 12 points for Ferriday (23-4) while Shakeyla McCray and Pacha Poole chipped in with 10 points apiece.

“I was able to play most of my players off the bench. It was a nice, comfortable win,” Abron said. “My bench played well because when you’re able to sub in and out and you continue to do the things you do, everyone is on board. Everyone was able to communicate.”

Skylar Smith led Mangham with eight points and Alasia Hicks had six points.

The Lady Trojans will be at home in the regional round when they take on No. 10 seed Jonesboro-Hodge High School Monday at 6 p.m. at the Ferriday Junior High School Gym. The Lady Tigers held on for a 60-51 win at home over No. 23 seed Madison Parish High School.

Monterey 54, Pitkin 44 (Thurs.)

VIDALIA — Monterey High School didn’t have enough seating capacity for the Lady Wolves’ 2020 LHSAA Class B Bi-District Round home game against No. 24 seed Pitkin High School.

Because of that, the game between the No. 9 seed Lady Wolves and the Lady Tigers was played at the Vidalia High School Gym.

In what turned out to be a closer game than most expected, Monterey was able to fend off multiple comeback attempts by Pitkin after the first quarter to defeat the Lady Tigers 54-44 last Thursday night.

The Lady Wolves raced out to a 17-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter, but Pitkin tried its best to make a dent in that nine-point lead. Yet every time the Lady Tigers tried to do so, Monterey would make sure that it didn’t lose too much of its advantage.

“It was a hard-fought game. The kids kept playing and playing. Both teams worked really hard,” Cary Shively, Lady Wolves head coach, said. “We got the ball to go in the basket more than they did. It was a back-and-forth running game.”

Led by Morgan McAllister and Jacey Merchant, Pitkin outscored Monterey 15-14 in the second quarter to go into halftime down 31-23 and 10-9 in the third quarter to make it a 40-33 game in favor of the Lady Wolves. McAlliser led the Lady Tigers with 14 points and Merchant had nine points.

However, Monterey (25-6) responded in kind by outscoring Pitkin 14-11 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 10-point win. The Lady Wolves were led by Andy Gray with a game-high 15 points while Sarah Gray and Allie Lipsey contributed with 12 points each.

“We go the lead in the first quarter. They made a little run and we made a little run,” Shivley said. “It was a 32-minute game. There weren’t any brakes in it.”

The Lady Wolves will be on the road in the regional round when they travel to Morse, La. in Acadia Parish to take on No. 8 seed Midland High School Monday at 6 p.m. The Lady Rebels beat No. 25 seed Converse High School 64-41 last Thursday night.

Red River 87, Vidalia 43 (Thurs.)

COUSHATTA, La. — The No. 2 seed Red River High School Lady Bulldogs cruised to an 87-43 win over the No. 31 seed Vidalia High School Lady Vikings last Thursday night in the Bi-District Round of the 2020 LHSAA Class 2A playoffs.

Vidalia’s season came to an end with the loss with an overall record of 12-13.

East Beauregard 50, Delta Charter 22 (Thurs.)

DERIDDER, La. — A rough 2019-2020 season for the No. 20 seed Delta Charter School Lady Storm came to an end last Thursday night in a 50-22 loss on the road to the No. 13 seed East Beauregard High School Lady Trojans in the Bi-District Round of the 2020 LHSAA Class 1A playoffs.

Delta Charter finished with an overall record of 8-20. East Beauregard improved to 14-13 overall and will play at No. 4 seed Merryville High School, which received a bye in the opening round, Monday at 6 p.m. at Merryville.