HAMMOND – Top-seeded Oak Hill put away Rapides Parish rival Plainview while defending state champion Northwood-Lena grinded out a tough semifinal victory Tuesday at the LHSAA’s Marsh Madness girls state basketball tournament.
Oak Hill (29-13) gradually expanded its margin to a final 79-46 count in a Select Division V semifinal, and will face second-seeded J.S. Clark (23-6) at noon Friday for the state title.
No. 2-ranked Northwood (19-12) prevailed 48-41 over third-seeded Hamilton Christian in Tuesday’s first game, entering the fourth quarter ahead by one, falling behind by a point, recovering but never taking a comfortable lead until the closing seconds.
Northwood will face a stout challenge Friday as it tries to defend last year’s Select Division IV state crown. Top-seeded Southern Lab has dominated every playoff opponent and rolled 54-23 Tuesday over Sacred Heart of Ville Platte.
The Lady Falcons got a 21-point day from Rhianna Battles, who made 10 of 18 shots, grabbed 7 rebounds and collected 7 steals. Ja’Shira Henson scored 10 and had 8 rebounds. The rest of the Northwood points came from Amya Weatherall (9) and Nyasia Moran (8).
A Moran jumper with 6:13 to go put the winners on top for good. Battles hit two straight layups to build a 43-38 lead with 4:11 left. That was the biggest margin until the final eight seconds.
Hamilton Christian closed within 44-41 with 26 seconds left, but Moran came through with two free throws five seconds later and after a Battles steal, Moran hit another free throw and Henson rebounded her second one, then clinched the win with a jump shot with eight seconds to go.
Oak Hill gradually pulled away from Plainview, leading 38-27 at halftime, and 54-36 after three quarters before a closing 25-10 blitz in the last eight minutes.
Brilee Dousay led Oak Hill with 24 points and snatched 8 rebounds. Krystina Greene scored 15 and led the way with 9 rebounds and 6 of her team’s 18 steals. Alexis Dyer also scored 15 and led with 4 assists while getting 5 rebounds.
Eleven players scored for the winners.
Libby Tarver and Cameron Sutton both posted 11 points for Plainview (15-19), with Tarver collecting a game-best 11 rebounds. Plainview, the fifth seed, was only able to make 13 of 49 shots from the floor.