By GEORGE MAHL

RESERVE – The East St. John High School Lady Cats can be compared to the Chicago Bulls of the NBA in the 90’s. They are both considered Dynasties.

ESJ racked up its seventh consecutive 6-5A championship with an impressive 72-48 victory over 6-5A foe Thibodaux High School. ESJ guard Erin Keller lead the way with 20 points, while Kojovana Hamilton added 18 in the victory.

“They say the first is always the sweetest,” said ESJ head coach Troy Gior-dano.

“You just have to see have far you can take it. Seven in a row is an amazing accomplishment for anyone,” Gior-dano said.

Things got off to an even start during the first five minutes of the game.

After two free throws were made by Thibodaux’s Chaunte Jenkins, the Lady Tigers trailed by two, 9-7. However, back to back 3-pointers courtesy of Ham-ilton and Keller gave the Lady Cats a 15-7 lead near the end of the first quarter. Jenkins scored all of the Tigers points in the first period.

A 12-1 run by East St. John to start the second period opened up a 27-8 lead for the home team. Thibodaux nailed four 3-point shots in the quarter.

In addition, THS’s final three baskets were from beyond the arch. A fast break bucket from Stuisha Thomas expanded the Lady Cats lead to 37-18 with 51 seconds left. Keller had 11 points for ESJ in the second quarter alone.

In addition, the Lady Cats outscored the Lady Tigers 24-4 in the second period. It was more of the same in the second half for Thibodaux.

Thomas’ easy lay-up gave ESJ a 55-33 lead at the end of the third period.

The East St. John lead grew by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter.

After LeCresha Walker sank two free throws the Lady Cats held a commanding 70-41 lead with 3:08 to play. East St. John went six for six during the final quarter.

About the lone bright spot for THS occurred during the final 2:40 of the game. For a 2:10 stretch, the Lady Tigers went on an 8-0 sprint to end the game.

In addition to Hamilton and Keller, Walker contri-buted with eight and Gay-nelle Brown added six points. For Thibodaux, freshman Desiree Waller lead the way with 19, while Jenkins chipped in with eight.

One thing that improved in 2002-03 was the Lady Cats post play.

“I can say that it was better than last year’s. We definetley have more depth than in the past,” Giordano said.

The Lady Cats will host s top seed a first round playoff game Thursday night. Gior-dano said the opponent will be determined by the final standings in 5A. The regular season ended on Friday.