RESERVE — In her first season as head girls basketball coach at Riverside Academy, Kathy Luke decided to throw a little basketball tournament. It didn’t go quite as planned.

“We actually lost a little money,” said Luke, who had come to Riverside for the 2013-14 season after spending 27 seasons at Vandebilt Catholic in Houma. “So last year, I decided not to do it.”

Luke is hoping this year is the charm.

As the Christmas holidays begin throughout the area, Riverside Academy will host a three-day tournament in the Rebels gym. Assumption, Ursuline Academy, Country Day, West St. John, South Terrebonne, H.L. Bourgeois and Thibodaux are scheduled to compete through Saturday in a round-robin format.

The action begins at 4 p.m. Thursday with West St. John against H.L. Bourgeois. Riverside will play Assumption at 5:30 p.m. The key match-up on the first day pits Ursuline against Thibodaux at 7 p.m.

“That’s two really, really good teams,” Luke said. “There will be a lot of college coaches at that one.”

Ursuline is 7-2 heading into the game. Thibodaux is 8-3.

West St. John coach Lester Smith said he is looking forward to the competition for his team, which is coming off a 2-1 performance at last week’s St. James tournament. The Rams beat Parkview Baptist and South Terrebonne, but lost to Donaldsonville.

Senior guard Maya Trench, a fifth-year starter for the Rams, scored her 2,000th career point against Donaldsonville.

“Kathy (Luke) did a good job of getting some good teams,” Smith said. “I think it’ll be a great test for us. We want to play a lot of good teams to help make us better.”

Smith proved he’s not shying away from good competition after scheduling Class 4A  Ellender on Monday. Unfortunately, West St. John dropped the contest, 71-51, to fall to 5-4.

Besides putting a little extra change in the bank, Luke said she is hoping this tournament will help get her very young team some much needed experience. The Lady Rebels have no junior or senior starters. They’re all freshmen and sophomores.

Sophomore Ja’Keyra Gautreaux, who has started since she was a seventh grader, is averaging 17 points per game. She scored a season-high 34 on Friday against Assumption.

RA beat Assumption 55-53 and entered play this week 6-2.

Sophomore guard Briley Becker is a third-year player and the best outside defender. Dannecia Nora is a 6-foot post player averaging 10.5 points per game.

“We still want to put a good product on the floor,” Luke said. “They’re still trying to understand the concept of what I’m trying to do. They’re just getting to understand some of the concepts of basketball. We’re a little ways from where we want to be, but we’re working hard to get there.”

Luke’s teams won 19 games her first season and 22 her second season.

“We want everybody to win,” Luke said. “I want our girls to see the boys doing well and winning. I love to go watch our boys play. We’re not intimidated. We want to win too.”

Roundup

East St. John finished its trip to the St. James tournament with a 56-40 victory over McDonogh 35 on Friday. The Wildcats are 5-4 with a layoff until Monday.

St. Charles Catholic is 11-3 after posting a 47-27 win over Central Lafourche on Friday.