By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD – West St. John played a perfect fourth quarter defensively en route to a 48-18 blowout victory over Ascension Christian in a District 8-1A game on Tuesday night.

Kyla Morris scored 18 to lead the Lady Rams (8-7, 2-1) to the win. Ambria Major followed up with 11, and Jasmine Young chipped in eight.

West St. John opened up a 22-8 lead at halftime thanks in large part to a defensive performance that held Ascension Christian to four points in each of the first two quarters.

Talar Lewis’ halfcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime didn’t hurt matters either for the Rams.

But in the third quarter, ACHS scored more than they had the entire first half, outscoring the Rams 10-9 in the period.

“We went a little lax in the third after getting out to the big lead,” said WSJ coach Lester Smith. “I thought we started playing too conservatively, trying not to foul.”

But that changed in the fourth quarter. The Rams shut Ascension Christian out the rest of the way, while scoring 17 points of their own to make it a 30-point victory margin.

“WE weren’t pressing, but we were able to get out in transition off of rebounds,” said Smith. “We picked up our effort overall.”

West St. John returns to action Tuesday against White Castle, a game against one of the top teams in the district and one that carries extra importance for WSJ – after this game in Edgard, the Rams go on the road for four of the next five games, all district contests.

“We’ve got to stay out of foul trouble and take care of the ball,” said Smith.

“And hopefully that’ll give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter.”