SULPHUR — No size, no problem.
The Sulphur Lady Tors used early sizzling shooting and some clutch defense and free-throw shooting down the stretch to hang
on for a 71-69 win over Ouachita in the Class 5A quarterfinals Monday night.
Sulphur (27-3) will face No. 2 seed Natchitoches Central in the semfinals.
The Tors had problems stopping Ouachita (33-3) center Kevione Moten, who at 6-feet-4 towered over the smaller Tors, who started
Moten scored 31 points on 13-of-14
shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, but the Tors responded with a barrage
of jumpers, making
18 of 33 field goal attempts over the first three quarters.
Sulphur never trailed after taking a 9-8 lead midway through the
first quarter on a drive by Hannah Cupit.
Sulphur stretched the lead to eight
points at halftime and as many as 13 in the third quarter. Ouachita
started the fourth
quarter with a 12-3 run to get within 59-58 with 3:55 left. Over
the remainder of the game, the Lions had the ball with a
chance to take the lead four times, but the Tors stopped them
every time. Ally Cupit drained a 3-pointer from the left baseline
with 1:47 left to make it a two-possession game at 64-60.
Ouachita’s T’Erika Bell banked in a runner to cut the lead to two, but the Tors made four straight free throws to extend the
lead to six. Ouachita never got closer than four the rest of the way until Nakalia Woods made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Hannah Cupit led Sulphur with 25 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Ally Cupit scored 17, Kristina Metoyer had
14 and Becca Brooks scored 10.
“It was a good game, Ally was hitting shots, Becca was hitting shots, it wasn’t me, it was our team,” Hannah Cupit said. “It
was tough trying to shoot over (Moten). It feels great to win my last game here, I was nervous at first.”
Hannah Cupit made 5 of 6 free throws in the last 1:11 after missing 3 of 4 early in the quarter.
“It was a little easier when I knew I had two,” she said. “I had been struggling before that.”
Ouachita had trouble getting offense from anyone besides Moten over the first three quarters, when she scored 24 of the team’s
44.
The Lions scored 25 in the final quarter, with Bell and Woods combining for 14 points in the quarter.
“They picked up their pressure, which
we knew they would,” said Tors head coach Helen LeFevre. “Handling that
pressure was
tough to do. When we had the lead in the fourth quarter, a couple
of times our shot selection was not great. Thank goodness
we can shoot free throws.”
LeFevre said her post players, junior Metoyer and sophomore Lauren Pace, did not back down against Moten.
“They weren’t intimidated. We had some defenses, we were going to try to sandwich her, but she still getting the ball and
when she got it, she finished it. She is a good player.”
Boys Quarterfinal Pairings
No. 8 East St. John at No. 1 Ouachita
No. 5 Brother Martin at No. 4 East Ascension
No. 3 Comeaux at No. 22 Archbishop Rummel
No. 2 Scotlandville at No. 10 Ruston
No. 8 O.P. Walker at No. 1 Peabody
No. 5 East Jefferson at No. 4 Northside
No. 3 Alexandria at No. 11 Istrouma
No. 7 St. Augustine at No. 2 St. Thomas More
No. 9 Glen Oaks at No. 1 Bossier
No. 5 Brusly at No. 4 Carroll
No. 3 Farmerville at No. 11 Amite
No. 2 Richwood at No. 23 Parkview Baptist
No. 8 Winnfield at No. 17 Episcopal
No. 5 Ville Platte at No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas
No. 6 John Curtis at No. 3 Riverside
No. 10 Lakeview at No. 2 University Lab
No. 8 Houma Christian at No. 1 Christian Life
No. 21 White Castle at No. 4 Country Day
No. 6 Delhi at No. 3 North Central
No. 2 Central Catholic at No. 7 Arcadia
No. 8 Zwolle at No. 1 Madison Prep
No. 4 Castor at No. 12 Coudrant
No. 6 Midland at No. 3 Simsboro, 6 p.m. Tuesday
No. 2 Fairview at No. 7 Anacoco, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
No. 8 Pleasant Hill at No. 1 Atlanta
No. 4 Sicily Island at No. 21 Dubach
No. 6 Family Christian at No. 3 New Living Word
No. 7 Reeves at No. 2 Pelican, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
No. 1 Southwood vs. No. 5 Denham Springs
No. 2 Natchitoches Central vs. No. 6 Sulphur
No. 1 Warren Easton vs. No. 5 St. Thomas More
No. 2 St. Michael vs. No. 3 Vandebilt Catholic
No. 1 Albany vs. No. 5 Rayville
No. 2 Baker vs. No. 6 Abbeville
No. 1 University vs. No. 4 John Curtis
No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 3 Pickering
No. 1 West St. John vs. No. 4 Central Catholic
No. 2 Vermilion Catholic vs. No. 3 North Central
No. 1 Lacassine vs. No. 4 Hathaway
No. 2 Fairview vs. No. 3 Florien
No. 1 Pelican vs. No. 4 Saline
No. 2 Dubach vs. No. 3 Plainview