By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

DESTREHAN — When asked what he and his East St. John Wildcats did in Friday night’s Class 5A first round playoff game to attempt to slow Cara Ursin and the Destrehan offense, ESJ coach Jackson Manuel put things simply.

“We tried everything,” he said, adding extra emphasis on the ‘every’ part of the word.

No. 29 seed ESJ did indeed slow No. 4 Destrehan early, but DHS proved too powerful to keep down for four quarters as it surged in the second half for a 77-50 victory, advancing to the regional round where it hosted No. 13 Covington Monday night.

“We made too many mistakes early on,” Manuel said. “At one point, we were 10 for 19 at the foul line, and that’s not even taking into account the number of easy layups we missed.

“Against a not so good team, you might get away with that. Against (Destrehan), against a quality team, they’re going to make you pay, and we did.”

Ursin, a sophomore who helped lead Destrehan to a state runner-up finish last season, finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Brandi Mason and Krysten Kenner each scored 13 points while Jasmine Morris added 11.

Ursin scored just eight first-half points against East St. John’s box-and-one defense designed to limit her touches, but she found her groove in the second half.

“In warm-ups, I was hitting from outside and I thought I’d be scoring from there in the game, but they played the box-and-one, and I can’t shoot jumpers with a girl right in my face,” Ursin said. “I had to create offense in other ways, like on the offensive glass.”

“That’s the beautiful thing when it comes to Cara,” Destrehan coach Angie Butler said. “She has such a well-rounded game that she can affect things no matter how teams play her.”

It was the third win this season for Destrehan over its district rival, the first two each coming by 21 points or more.

This time, ESJ (18-7) stayed within arm’s reach for two-and-a-half quarters, limiting Ursin in part through the box-and-one and some tough individual defensive play by Kariontae Victor, while also earning a steady flow of offense through its interior players.

But in the middle of the third quarter, Destrehan (23-2) broke loose. Two Ursin free throws, followed by a Morris basket in transition pushed the lead to 17. Moments later, the lead grew to 19 after Ursin snatched a defensive rebound and hurled an outlet pass down court to an open Morris for two. An Ursin putback pushed the team to 22 after a Morris free throw, and then Morris scored again to make it 61-36. That bucket capped a 10-0 run that all but put things away.

In the first half, Kennisha Brooks, Meah Monroe and Brianna Thompson led the East St. John front court charge on a steady diet of putbacks, post touches and finishes in transition, as Da’Rae Taylor and Victor limited ESJ mistakes as ballhandlers against the Destrehan press. ESJ trailed by five after the first quarter and by 11 at halftime.

“East St. John came to play tonight, I’m not going to lie,” Butler said. “I told our girls, ‘This is a team you can’t underestimate because their girls come ready to play.’ This is the playoffs. What we did before doesn’t matter. You lose now, you’re out.”

Though Manuel was disappointed with the loss, he said the Ladycats season was a success, as a team loaded with youth earned 18 victories.

“Overall, I’m very, very happy with our season,” Manuel said. “We dropped a few games we should have won here and there, and we’ll learn from that next season.”