By LAMAR GAFFORD
HAMMOND – There was no three-peat for Northwood this season.
The Lady Gators’ road to their fourth state title game appearance was filled with many hurdles, but they could not overcome their final one Friday, losing to Southern Lab, 56-41, in the Division IV Select championship game at the Pride Roofing University Center.
“Tough loss for sure, but I can honestly say that my girls were locked in and they gave 100 percent,” Northwood coach Lashonda Cooper said. “We just came up short. I think it was the matter of the experience, but we kept playing all the way until the clock hit zero.”
Unlike last season when the Lady Gators rallied from an 18-point deficit to win their second straight title, they never held the lead in any point of the game despite senior point guard Rhianna Battles’ best efforts.
As she has all season, Battles willed Northwood (19-13) with 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals, but was not enough to slow down a Lady Kitten team that dominated in the paint.
“(Rhianna) put us on her back,” Northwood assistant Darius Cooper said. “She gave us everything that she had. Southern Lab is a really good team, y’all. They’re probably one of the top two or three teams in the state (in any class).”
Southern Lab (28-7) had two players with double-doubles in sophomore Asia Patin (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Kinsley James (13 points, 10 rebounds). Patin was named as the game’s Most Outstanding Player after shooting 8-for-12 and grabbing seven offensive rebounds.
While it was a tough one to swallow, Battles reflected on her career of being just the fourth Rapides Parish girls basketball player to play in four state championship title games this century. The first three were Plainview’s Abigail Pippen, Jordan Thompson and Mackenzie Willis from 2017-2020.
“I knew that I had to play my game every night,” Battles said. “I showed that every year and I most definitely showed that this season.”
The Lady Kittens’ win is their second championship over the last three years – winning the Division IV title in 2021 against Cedar Creek.