By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

It’s been a wild ride for the East St. John Lady Cats this season. And in many ways, Wildcats Coach Troy Giordano would like to see that ride calm down.

The Wildcats struggled on offense for much of its Friday night semifinal game with Chalmette at the Chalmette Christmas Classic. And while East St. John’s defense was strong, Chalmette established a second half lead that it would not relinquish. The Owls advanced to the finals, 34-27.

It was only the second time in the last nine games that the Wildcats (12-7) failed to score 50 points, and the first time all season that the team didn’t crack the 30 point mark.

Giordano acknowledged that his team can score in bunches, but says that his team must find a cure for the inconsistency that he says has plagued East St. John all year long.

“One night we play really well. The next, we just play poorly,” said Giordano. “We’ve gotta get it straight soon, or we’re going to be in some trouble.”

Laci Dent led the Wildcats with 11 points. Christin Hildreth scored six.

Despite its scoring troubles, East St. John led 13-10 at halftime.

But in the third quarter, Chalmette outscored the Wildcats 11-2, and established a 21-15 lead. It held the advantage in the fourth.

“It was just one of those nights. Nothing went in,” said Giordano. “We played good defensively, but we couldn’t score.”

East St. John was able to shake off the loss in its Saturday tournament game with Karr. Mechelle Thomas scored 16 and Wanisha Creecy scored 10 to lead the Wildcats to a decisive 55-32 win over Karr.

East St. John put the game away in the third quarter by outscoring the Cougars 16-2. It took a 43-22 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We ran the floor well,” said Giordano. “Karr has a good team, and we were able to put them away early in the second half.”

East St. John, Chalmette, and Karr all ended the round-robin tournament tied with one loss apiece.

But the win, in contrast to Friday’s game, was also an example of the inconsistency Giordano spoke of.

“From one night to the next, I don’t know what I’ll get,” he said. “On Saturday, we’re moving on defense, hustling, playing with energy. On Friday, we’re sluggish.”

With only two games and a tournament remaining before district play, Giordano is hopeful that his team will rectify the situation very soon.

“I was hoping that by 19 games into the season, our kids would be getting it together,” he said. “We’re going to have to come out of the holidays ready to play every time out.”