By GEORGE MAHL-Sports Editor

RESERVE – The East St. John Lady Cats jumped out to a commanding 20-4 first quarter lead and never looked back as they went on to a 41-12 romp of Central Lafourche in Summer League action at Wildcats Gym.

The Lady Cats defense played well throughout the first part of the first half.

They did not allow any points until Rebecca Pagthal sank two free throws, making the score 7-2 ESJ. A 13-2 sprint to end the first half gave the Lady Cats, coached by Troy Giordano, a 20-4 lead at halftime. Dana Mason finished with seven points in the first half.

During the first half, Central committed several turnovers, which resulted in some easy baskets for East St. John. For Central, Pagthal made the only field goal in the first half for the Lady Trojans.

The second half saw more of the same for each team. East St. John’s tough defense continued to shine in the second half. Central only managed six points in the second half. A 10-2 run midway through the half resulted in the Lady Cats holding an insurmountable 30-8 lead with 4:11 to play. During the run, four different Lady Cats made buckets. Stasha Thomas, Mason, Gaynell Brown and Vanessa Smith all contributed to the run. Two consecutive baskets by Thomas gave the Lady Cats a 36-10 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

In addition, ten different East St. John players scored at least a point in the game.

Central JV versus Rivercats

The Rivercats broke a 15-15 game with 4:35 remaining when Stasha Thomas hit a jumper to give them a 17-15 lead. However, two free throws by Central cut the lead to 18-17 with under three minutes remaining. A three-point bucket made the score 21-17 Rivercats with less than one minute remaining.

A put back by Crystal Fleming with about ten seconds left iced the game for the Rivercats.

-By George Mahl

Destrehan versus

St. James

Destrehan made it two for two when playing Summer League games in the East St. John gym. The Lady Wildcats upended St. James 38-14 in the night’s opening game. On June 3, Destrehan, coached by Ulysses Frontha, defeated Central Lafourche’s summer team 25-13. Destrehan will play O.P Walker June 17 (7pm) at Cabrini High School in New Orleans. The River Parishes Summer League schedule shifts to Destrehan on June 19.

-By George Mahl