JOURNAL SPORTS

ALEXANDRIA — The Red River Athletic Conference Tournament tips a three-day run today at the Rapides Parish Coliseum with the LSUS basketball teams aiming for spots in the NAIA Tournament.

The Lady Pilots (26-2) have earned a No. 24 national ranking and are unbeaten in 22 conference contests, riding a 24-game winning streak entering today’s 1:15 first-round game against Louisiana College as the No. 1 seed. The Pilots (21-7), last year’s tournament champs, are seeded fourth entering their opening test against Our Lady of the Lake at 3 this afternoon.

Conference runner-up Xavier and third-place LSU Alexandria are in the other half of the women’s bracket, and both gave LSUS its toughest games in RRAC play this season. They are potential championship game opponents.

LSU Alexandria is the regular-season men’s champion and the No. 1 seed, and a likely semifinal foe for the Pilots, who split regular-season meetings with Our Lady of the Lake.

Semifinals are Saturday, with the women’s round tipping at 1 and the men’s at 5:30. Championship games Sunday are set for 2 (women) and 4:30.

Forward Destanee Roblow was a repeat first-team All-RRAC selection for LSUS, with senior guard Tyquanna Ross earning second-team honors.

Incredibly, LSUS coach Kyle Blankenship was not voted coach of the year despite the Lady Pilots’ dominance and the fact that he coached both the men’s and women’s teams this season. That honor on the women’s side went to LSUA’s Billy Perkins.

For the Pilots, All-RRAC first team honors went to senior guard Chris Carpenter, a Natchitoches Central product. LSUS was represented on the all-conference second team by senior forward Tyler Washington and senior guard Paul King.