By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

WHITE CASTLE – West St. John’s school-record winning streak came to an end as the Lady Rams were upended on the road Tuesday night against district foe White Castle, 46-42.

The victory puts White Castle in sole possession of first place in District 8-1A.

It snaps the Rams’ 11-game win streak.

The teams will rematch at West St. John on Feb. 4.

The Rams struggled with foul trouble beginning in the second quarter when three key players – Jaylyn Gordon, Jujuan Nicholas and Deja Feist – all picked up their third foul.

“We got in some foul trouble there and it handcuffed us,” said West St. John coach Lester Smith. “We couldn’t get going.”

The Bulldogs took advantage, outscoring the Rams 26-18 over the second and third quarters behind standout center Brittany Gibson, who led all scorers with 16 points.

“I knew it would be tough, that we’d have problems matching up with her,” said Smith. “She’s got good size and she was able to get great shots. Her eight makes were pretty much all layups underneath.”

Gordon led the Rams with 14 points. Danasia Bell scored nine and Nicholas added seven.

The loss drops the Rams to 15-3 (3-1) – still the best start in school history. White Castle moves to 9-5 (4-0).

Smith said the impressive part about his team’s streak was that most of those wins came on the road. In fact, 9 of the 11 were away from home.

He now hopes to begin another streak – this one would have a few more home victories.

Including one likely already circled on the Rams’ calendar.

“Hopefully when we play again, we’ll only have one loss,” said Smith. “And that the path to that district title would still come through West St. John.”