By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD – West St. John beat St. John-Plaquemine by 12 in the first matchup between the teams. It earned a sweep in more dominating fashion.

The Rams downed the Eagles 53-25 on Tuesday night to move within a single win of clinching a share of the District 8-1A championship.

West St. John (16-8, 9-2) was scheduled to play Christian Life last night to determine if it would earn that tie with district leader East Iberville which has completed district play with a 10-2 record.

The Lady Rams certainly seemed motivated by the championship potential. WSJ jumped out to leads of 12-4 after a quarter and 26-13 at halftime. That advantage grew to 42-21 after three quarters.

“They rely on 3-point shooting, and we contested those,” said West St. John coach Lester Smith. “We just looked to make those shots tough on them.”

Freshman point guard Jaylyn Gordon scored 23 to lead all scorers. Senior center Kyla Morris added 16.

Regardless of a potential Ram win to finish the season, West St. John entered Friday’s game already having accomplished more than other WSJ teams in recent memory.

A playoff spot is already wrapped up, and as of Thursday West St. John was sitting at No. 11 in Class 1A power points. That means the Rams will host a home playoff game barring a drastic change.

“We’d really like to host one,” said Smith. “The motivation has definitely been there.”