By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

DONALDSONVILLE — Injury and a string of stout opponents have hindered the St. Charles Catholic girls basketball team’s attempt to add wins to their record this season, but as District 7-3A play began this week, the hope for the young Lady Comets is that it all has prepared them for a late-season push.

Though SCC fell in its opening district contest, a 35-30 loss at Donaldsonville, Comets coach Larry Betancourt saw reasons for optimism in the team’s performance.

“You know, we played them evenly for most of the night,” said Betancourt. “We had a bad second quarter. We missed some easy shots that, if we take care of those, we can go on to win.

“We had opportunities to win that we didn’t take advantage of … I do know these girls go out and compete every single night, though. They play hard and their effort-level has been consistently there.”

Julia Cupit led St. Charles with 10 points. Courtney Snyder scored seven, while Kaitlyn Lowry added five.

Patrice West led Donaldsonville (5-11) with 14. De’Miaya Gibson added 12.

The Tigers outscored the Comets 14-6 in the second quarter and led 26-18 at halftime.

St. Charles’ defense answered the bell in the second half, allowing the Tigers just nine points after the break. But the Comet offense struggled as well, scoring just 12 second-half points.

“It came down to us just missing some crucial baskets. We’d make a big defensive play with a steal, then miss an open-court layup,” said Betancourt. “The bottom line was we missed some shots we had to make at the end.

“(Donaldsonville) hurt us on the boards … They’re a little more experienced and physically mature than our group right now.”

One plus for the Comets (4-14) has been the recent return of point guard Courtney Snyder, who had been sidelined for over half of the season following SCC’s opening tournament this season.

Snyder is not only the team’s most experienced player, but her return also allows the Comets to shuffle their other players back into the roles they’re most suited for.

“When Courtney’s out, we have to shift our best rebounder (Jaelen Bryant) to point to handle the ball,” said Betancourt. “(Snyder)’s a good player who can get us into our offense and score on her own. We miss her a lot when she’s out. It helps to have her back in the lineup.”

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The Comets competed at the St. Martin’s tournament last weekend, finishing winless against a trio of tough foes.

St. Charles fell to Franklinton (16-1), 57-33. Cupit scored a team-high 12 points while Snyder added nine. Lowry scored six.

Haynes (12-11) bested SCC, 47-23. Cupit scored 10, while Snyder and Bryant added five and four points respectively.

The Comets fell to St. Martin’s (12-9) 43-12 in a game SCC was without Snyder. Cupit and Bryant each scored five.

Cupit, a senior forward, has led the Comets in scoring in each of the last four games. Betancourt said she has improved tremendously as the season has rolled along.

“She started slowly, but she’s been better each night,” said Betancourt. “She’s got a great work ethic and has really become a scorer for us. If we start to see some others improve at the rate she has, we’ll be in good shape.”