It is now time to kick things up to high gear.
As district play now begins across the area, the Rapides Parish basketball teams are set to make their playoff pushes with a little over a month to go in the season.
Once again, we delve into the top storylines from this past week with the Rapides Parish Hoops Report.
Peabody finishes as runner-up in Sugar Bowl Prep Classic’s national tournament
The Warhorses stepped up in competition last week weekend by taking part in the national tournament at the Sugar Bowl Prep Classic – going 3-1 for the tournament.
Peabody defeated Booker T. Washington (Fla.), Crescent City and Silsbee (Texas) to get to the championship game before losing a 48-45 heartbreaker in overtime against Trinity (Ky.).
For his play, Rashad Mitchell was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Battle between recent state champions
With four teams ranked in the top five in their respective classifications, there are not many districts in the state that are tougher than District 4-B.
Defending Division V select champion Oak Hill had a huge task ahead of it Tuesday to open district play as it traveled to Hicks in a matchup between recent state champions and the top teams in Division V select and non-select, respectively.
While her squad lost 68-56, Oak Hill coach Kaci West was pleased with the effort her team gave.
Oak Hill trailed 33-18 at the half but countered to score 13 unanswered points to pull within two in the first two minutes of the third quarter. However, the Lady Pirates responded with a 10-2 run of their own to put it back into double-digits.
Oak Hill was led by a double-double from junior Jodie Jowers, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Alexis Dyer scored a game-high 15 points with eight rebounds, while junior point guard Brilee Dousay added 12 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and six steals.
Best wins of the week
For the girls, Bolton earns the best win of the week after defeating in-parish rival Buckeye, 50-43, to open District 2-3A play Tuesday.
Senior forward Takyah Stanford paced the Lady Bears with 13 points, as they look to gain momentum in district to earn a home playoff game. The Lady Bears had a rough 4-13 start but were competitive in many games – suffering single-digit losses to Alexandria Senior High, Pickering, Zachary and Merryville.
By winning the National Tournament at the Sugar Bowl Prep Classic, Peabody is an obvious choice for the second straight week. However, let us also show love for Buckeye pushing its record to 20-0 after defeating Bolton on Tuesday.
The Panthers trailed by 10 at the half but rallied back for the 45-38 win to reach the 20-win mark for the second straight season.
10 games for the next 10 days
Here is this week’s look at the 10 most anticipated games for this weekend and next week involving Rapides Parish schools.
Girls
Lafayette Christian vs. Oak Hill (Jan. 15): Oak Hill steps out of district play to travel to Baton Rouge for the MLK Extravaganza as it looks to slow down LSU signee Jada Richard.
Menard at Rosepine (Jan. 16): It is a huge week for Menard in District 4-2A play as they begin the week traveling to defending Division III non-select champion Rosepine in the battle of Lady Eagles.
Pitkin at Oak Hill (Jan. 16): If Pitkin loses to Anacoco this Friday, this could be a battle between good teams looking to avoid an 0-2 hole in a tough District 4-B.
Northwood at LaSalle (Jan. 19): The Lady Gators are finding their championship DNA as the season progresses and they will have a tough road test with undefeated LaSalle in Olla.
Oakdale at Menard (Jan. 19): The second half of the Lady Eagles’ big week pits the senior laden backcourt of Ellie Juneau and Abgail Atherton against the Warrior duo of Emani Young and Akeelah Hobson fresh off winning the Division IV non-select title last season.
Boys
Ruston at Pineville (tonight): The Rebels open District 2-5A play against a state title contender as they welcome 2023 Division I finalist Ruston.
Buckeye at Marksville (tonight): Buckeye’s 20-0 start will be put to the test against a Marksville squad that has scheduled many state championship contenders.
Tioga at St. Mary’s (tonight): A couple of scrappy teams duel in Natchitoches as the Class A TIgers hope to slow down Tiger senior sharpshooter Ayden Warren.
ASH vs. Madison Prep (Jan. 15): The Trojans travel to Baton Rouge to play in the nightcap of the MLK Extravaganza against the Chargers – the No. 1 ranked team in Division II select.
Liberty Magnet at Peabody (Jan. 19): Fresh off coming a runner-up performance at the Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic, the Warhorses face Liberty Magnet in a matchup of teams prime to play in the Top 28 at Lake Charles.
A former sports reporter for The Town Talk in Alexandria and the Natchitoches Times in Natchitoches, LaMar Gafford has covered the sports scene in Central Louisiana for the last 10 years. Along with contributing a weekly basketball column for the Rapides Parish Journal, the eight-time LSWA award winner writes about Cenla sports for his website CenlaPreps.com. You can contact LaMar by e-mail at lamargafford@gmail.com or on Twitter/X @lamargafford.