Bogalusa falls to Amite to cap off regular season

Published 12:43 pm Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Bogalusa’s Lady Jacks’ suffered a 69-28 loss to Amite in the final game of the 2016-17 regular season at home Thursday.
Bogalusa trailed 21-7 after one quarter and trimmed it to 21-9 just 15 seconds into the second quarter when Prayja Bickham knocked down two free throws, but Amite broke the game open after that.
The Lady Warriors scored 21 unanswered points, as turnovers hurt the Lady Jacks.
The run began when Anayshia Courtney, who posted six points, hit a layup with 7:33 on the clock to make it a 14-point game.
Alesia Jackson split free throws, but Amite grabbed the offensive rebound and Jackson was fouled again and this time made both for a 26-9 advantage.
The Lady Warriors then missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but got the offensive board, which led to Courtney hitting a layup for a 28-9 lead with 6:36 on the clock.
Kayla Watson, who scored a game-high 25 points that included three 3-pointers, tallied the next seven with a 3-pointer, a layup and a putback from an offensive rebound. Jackson made it 39-9 with a jumper before Watson capped off the run with a 3-pointer. It was 42-9 with 4:42 left in the first half.
Bogalusa’s Diamond Martin, who had seven points that included a 3-pointer, posted the next three points after she went to the free-throw line twice and hit three of her four attempts.
Amite scored the next five, but Asia Nelson, who led the Lady Jacks with eight points, drained a 3-pointer with about 25 seconds left. It was 47-15 at the break.
Bogalusa began the second half with five straight points, as Nelson hit a jumper and Martin was successful on a 3-pointer, trimming it to 47-20 with 5:43 left. That was the closest the Lady Jacks were able to get in the 69-28 loss.
Bickham finished with seven points for Bogalusa, including a 3-pointer, while Quantasia Lewis finished with four points and Bianca Pittman added two.
Bogalusa finishes the regular season with a 9-15 overall record and an 0-8 district mark in a tough league.
The district features two teams in the top 10 of the unofficial LHSAA Class 3A power rankings in Albany (No. 6) and Jewel Sumner (No. 7), and a top-20 squad in Amite (No. 18). Sumner is the defending Class 3A state champion and Albany reached the quarterfinals last season.
“Amite is No. 2 in the district. If Sumner would’ve beaten Albany tonight (Albany won that game, 69-47), it would’ve been a three-way tie, but you know, you think about it, you’ve got Albany No. 1, Amite No. 2 and Sumner No. 3. It’s a tough district. All of them are in the top (18),” Bogalusa coach Ken Matthews said.
Amite finishes the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and 6-2 in district.
Amite’s Ania Johnson had 10 points.
Synterriea Doughty recorded seven while Whitley Franklin totaled six, Latavia Jenkins and Alesia Jackson posted five each, Dawnisha Franklin and Tytiana Gardner put up two and Jamaya Porter added one. Jenkins hit a 3-pointer.