By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

West St. John is off to a strong start in 2007, as the Lady Rams won each of its first two basketball games of the season with little difficulty, 52-26 at South Plaquemines and 64-27 over Phoenix.

“We played pretty good defensively, and took care of the basketball,” said West St. John Coach Lester Smith. “We didn’t turn it over.”

In the win at Phoenix on Monday, Kayla Morris led the way for the Rams (2-0) with 17 points. Tranell Mitchell notched 16, and Ambria Majors scored nine.

West St. John led by nine at halftime, but pulled away in a big way in the second half, in particular in the fourth quarter. West St. John outscored Phoenix 18-2 in the final quarter.

Against South Plaquemine, the game was fairly close in the first half, with West St. John leading 21-15 at halftime. But the Rams outscored South Plaquemines 15-6 in the third quarter and 17-5 in the fourth to win by 26.

“We were making a few baskets, and they had a dry spell,” Smith said. “We wore them down in the second half.”