By PRESTON EDWARDS, Journal Sports
Huntington girls’ basketball coach Brian Shyne noted that his team missed a ton of 3-point shots and said that they were a little rusty from a week off after drawing a bye in the LHSAA playoffs’ first round.
Regardless of what he thought, Huntington made believers out of the Acadiana faithful that traveled up I-49 from Lafayette with the visiting Lady Wreckin’ Rams. The matchup between the seventh-seeded Lady Raiders and No. 10 Acadiana shaped up to be very competitive, but it wasn’t.
The trio of Kyndal Graham, Jamari Bell, and ZaNyah Lefear powered the Lady Raiders to a 66-35 victory over the Lady Wreckin’ Rams. The Huntington standouts scored 47 of the team’s total and were catalysts in the defensive effort that saw Acadiana turn the ball over 20-plus times.
Shyne acknowledged the trio and their efforts.
“If those ladies do not score, we don’t win,” he said. ”When they are on, they are on. They are young as well and they are growing up together.”
After a rocky first quarter when both teams shot a ton of air balls from deep and just missed shots in general, Huntington seemed to get it together early in the second quarter. Bell, who lived in the passing lanes all night, ignited an 8-0 run early in the quarter that got the Lady Raiders off and running.
Once that run by the Lady Raiders was finished, Graham took over. She lit the Wreckin’ Rams up from deep with two triples on her way to a 14-point quarter. With Graham’s sharp shooting and the Lady Raiders’ defense in full gear, they pushed their five-point first-quarter lead to 17 by the half.
Lefear led Huntington with a number of steals and by pushing the ball in transition during the third quarter to thwart the surge by Acadiana star Zoe Spain as she began to heat up. Huntington maintained the pressure and the lead as the Lady Raiders stayed in charge of Acadiana and led by 18 going into the final quarter.
While all three ladies scored in the fourth quarter, they got their teammates involved as well. The Lady Raiders were never in danger as they finished the game outscoring Acadiana 20-7 in the fourth. That defensive effort was the theme of the night as the Lady Raiders held Acadiana to three single-digit quarters.
Graham, a freshman, led all scorers on the night as she poured in 24 points. Spain carried the Wreckin’ Rams with 21 points, 15 of those in the second half.
Acadiana finished with a record of 23-10 while Huntington (24-6) prepares to travel to face second-seeded Lafayette in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, with game time to be determined.
The Lady Raiders are shooting for a second straight trip to Marsh Madness after a semifinal trip to Hammond last year.
Contact Preston at preston9360@gmail.com or Twitter handle @peedee1906