By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Kyla Morris’ 23 points led West St. John to a double overtime victory at St. Charles on Thursday night, 61-59.

The Rams (5-4) led 31-16 at halftime, and seemed to be on their way to a second decisive win over the Comets in as many weeks, after topping SCC 44-27 in Edgard on Dec. 1.

But the Comets turned up their defensive pressure and wore down a Rams team down to only six players due to varying absences.

“A little fatigue set in, and they forced us into a few turnovers,” said West St. John coach Lester Smith. “We had some bad possessions, took some bad shots, and St. Charles got themselves back in the game.”

Said St. Charles coach Kelly Cupit: “We switched up on defense and ran the floor. We just wore them out for a little while with our press.”

Shantell Pablo scored 15 for West St. John. Ambria Major continued her recent strong play at the offensive end, scoring 14.

“The good defense is still there with her, but she’s becoming a more complete player,” said Smith.

Deja Feist added 10 for WSJ.

For St. Charles (4-6), Kacie Braud led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds. Dominique DiCarlo scored 16 points and four steals.

St. Charles outscored WSJ 17-8 in the third quarter, then 16-9 in the fourth to tie things up.

In the first overtime, WSJ led 55-54 in the closing seconds. But St. Charles had a chance to win after WSJ was whistled for a technical foul with eight seconds left. DiCarlo sunk one-of-two free throws to force a second overtime.

In the second overtime, Morris scored to put WSJ up by two, and Major converted a layup off of her own steal to make it a four-point game. The Rams held the lead from there.

“It was a good high school game,” said Smith. “I just told the team, ‘You played too hard to lose this one.’ We made some mental mistakes to lose the lead, but I thought we responded well to get it back.”

Cupit, likewise, was pleased with the effort of her team as well.

“I think it shows that after losing the way we did last time to them, this team is willing to adjust and prepare,” she said. “We just didn’t finish this time, and that’s what we’ll work toward doing in district.”

PLAQUEMINE 46, WEST ST. JOHN 36 – Major scored 13 points to lead the Rams, but a slow start doomed WSJ against Plaquemine on Tuesday night.

The Rams fell behind 13-2 after a quarter, and never could pull even after that.

“We could have lost by 30, 40, or 50 as poorly as we played. The way we were missing uncontested layups…like I told them, the positive was we kept it from getting to that point. They give me the best effort they can every night, and it’s all we can ask for.”

Morris scored nine, and Pablo added seven.

HOLDEN 65, ST. CHARLES 49 – Holden outscored the Comets 19-4 in the first quarter to set the tone and held on for a 16 point win.

DiCarlo led the Comets with 12 points. Emily Picciola chipped in 11. Braud and Alex Hitt each scored eight.