By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

A decisive third quarter performance guided West St. John past St. Charles on Tuesday, 44-27, in Edgard.

The Rams (3-3) outscored the Comets 11-3 in the third quarter to push a five-point halftime lead to 13.

WSJ coach Lester Smith said his team pushed the pace to build its lead.

“We went to a man-to-man defense and forced some turnovers,” he said. “We played up-tempo. I thought we were quicker.”

SCC coach Kelly Cupit agreed that turnovers caused a big swing.

“We just couldn’t do anything. Far too many turnovers,” Cupit said. “They outhustled us. I know that if we do a few things differently, we can compete in that game, but we just didn’t take care of the ball.”

Center Kyla Morris scored 20 points to lead the Rams.

“We got the ball inside to her and she had a lot of success,” said Smith.

Ambria Major scored 10 and Shantell Pablo added eight.

For St. Charles (3-4), Alex Hitt chipped in seven points and six rebounds, while Dominique DiCarlo scored seven points of her own. Jaelen Bryant hauled in 13 rebounds.

WEST ST. JOHN 50, SOUTH PLAQUEMINES 21 – The host Hurricanes were no match for the Rams (4-3) Thursday night, who topped their third quarter performance against St. Charles with an even more lopsided one – WSJ outscored South Plaquemines 22-2, blowing a 13-10 halftime advantage into an unreachable 23 point mountain for the Hurricanes to climb.

“We pressed all out,” said Smith. “It caused turnovers, steals, and easy baskets for us, and that got us out ahead comfortably.”

Smith said that the decision to start pressing South Plaquemines came in part because of the surroundings. The Hurricanes play in a small, temporary gym while the school awaits the opening of a new one. Smith says it took some getting used to.

“The backboards are a little smaller, and we didn’t adjust in the first half in our shooting,” he said. “So we changed it up, started pressing and making our offense easier to come by.”

Morris scored 15 to lead the Rams. Major added 13 and Pablo chipped in eight.

It was the second double digit scoring performance this week for Major, who Smith says is stepping up her offensive contributions.

“She’s always been a great defender for us,” he said. “Now we’re getting some scoring out of her. She’s making an impact on both ends.”

ST. CHARLES 43, LUSHER 19 – Emily Picciola scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Comets to their fourth win of the season.

SCC pushed ahead in the second half thanks to a press the team started shortly before the end of the second quarter.

“We got four or five layups off of it in the third quarter,” said Cupit. “We started before the half to see how they’d respond, and it worked to our benefit.”

Dominique DiCarlo scored 10 points for SCC. Bryant grabbed 13 rebounds.

Cupit said that the win was crucial to get the Comets (4-4) back to an even record.

“It was necessary. I think we were a different team on Thursday, versus what we were against West St. John,” said Cupit. “I think our girls realized that when we outhustled teams, it gives us a great chance to win games like the one on Thursday.”