BY GEORGE MAHL

RESERVE – The East St. John High School Lady Cats proved recently why they are one of the elite girls basketball teams in the state.

With a home record of 70-1 going in, ESJ executed in all phases leading to a 70-33 blowout of Central Lafourche High School.

“This is a great way to start district play. We played well offensively and defensively,” said ESJ head coach Troy Giordano.

The Lady Cats got off to a fast start. A 14-2 run to start the game put the Lady Trojans in a deep hole. In fact, CL only managed to score four points in the quarter.

During the run, CL was held scoreless for almost five minutes. Solid guard play from Erin Keller was one of the main factors why ESJ took an early lead.

“Our guards have played steady all season. If we can be more consistent with our post play, we will be a team to be reckoned with at the end of the season,” Giordano said.

ESJ’s Whitney Chapman, a center, scored a lay-up at the beginning of the quarter making the score 17-4 East St John. Throughout the game, the defending District 6-5A champs were able to make long-range shots.

Two consecutive three-pointers, courtesy of Keller and Lecresha Walker, made the score 33-8 ESJ with about two minutes remaining in the first half. A 7-0 spurt to end the half put the Reserve school up 40-10 at halftime.

From the third quarter on, the Lady Cats reserves saw plenty of action. After Central Lafourche (10-11) starter Mattie Govaux hit a jump shot making the score 40-14, the home team went on a 14-4 blitz to give the Lady Cats a 54-18 lead heading into the final quarter.

“I thought everyone that we had in there tonight played well,” Giordano said of his bench play.

Leading scorers for East St John included Keller (23 points), Kojavona Hamilton (10 points) and Whitney Chapman (9 points). Govaux led the Lady Trojans attack by scoring 15 points, while Megan Foran finished with six.